CodeGuru content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
It is possible to invert a bitmap (laterally or vertically) IN-PLACE – ie.
without creating any intermediate or temporary bitmaps. You can modify the
original bitmap directly. This can be very
useful if you are wanting to reflect a LARGE bitmap, and don’t want to
allocate the extra storage. The operation requires 50% more StretchBlt
operations, but does not have the overhead of creating the extra bitmaps
and device contexts. Compare this to GetInvertedBitmap presented elsewhere
which needs to make a copy of the original bitmap.
The Windows SDK appears to provide very few functions for manipulating the
contents of a bitmap. Sure, you can draw on a bitmap using GDI functions.
And you can copy a rectangular part of a bitmap onto another bitmap with
BitBlt or StretchBlt, but that’s about it.
However, the BitBlt and StretchBlt routines are quite powerful little
beasts,
and you can do all sorts of manipulations using them.
For example, you can use StretchBlt to copy a bitmap onto another bitmap,
but
reflect it in the x or y axis along the way. And if you do both at once,
you
can copy the image flipped upside down. To do this, you specify a negative
value for the destination width (for a y-axis reflection) or destination
height (or a x-axis reflection).
You can also use the various raster operations (or ROPs) to achieve various
interesting effects by specifying how the source and destination bits
interact
with each other.
All these operations are good for copying from one bitmap to another (
including copy from a bitmap to the screen – which is just another bitmap
anyway). But what about actually CHANGING a bitmap itself?
Well, you could make a second bitmap, do your magic with it, and then copy
the
result back. However, that means you need an extra BitBlt to copy back,
AND
you need extra storage for the temporary bitmap.
A better solution is to do all the changes in place on the original bitmap.
This is not always possible, but when it is, you get savings in both memory
and processing.
In this article we will look at using StretchBlt to do x and y axis
reflections in-place, WITHOUT needing another bitmap.
Before leaping straight into some code, lets go back to one of the simplest
functions a beginning program learns how to write – the function to swap
the
values of two variables.
void Swap (int& a, int &b) {
int temp = a;
a = b;
b = temp;
}
This function swaps two integer variables. Note that this requires the use
of a temporary variable, which I have given the unoriginal name ‘temp’. We
make a copy of ‘a’ in ‘temp’, overwrite ‘a’ with ‘b’ (but we still have a
copy
in ‘temp’) and then finally clobber ‘b’ with the saved value in ‘temp’.
All
very simple – and a temporary int is not a problem.
But what if a and b are large structures or blocks of memory instead? Then
a temporary could be an expensive thing indeed? But how can we swap the
values without it?
Elementary, my dear Watson, we use logic!
One of the basic primitive operations that you can do to a lump of bits is
called an exclusive-or (‘XOR’) operation. It is a cousin of the more
familiar
‘AND’ and ‘OR’ operations that we all know and love. When you combine two
values with an ‘XOR’, you get a 1-bit for each bit that is different and a
‘0’ bit for each that is the same. That is, it sets a bit if and only if
one
or the other (but not both) of the input bits are set.
Here are some ‘truth tables’ that might clear it up. Compare the table for
XOR with those for AND and OR.
XOR 0 1 AND 0 1 OR 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1
By looking at the truth table for XOR, you can see that it effectively
toggles
(or swaps) the state of a bit of one input when the corresponding bit of
the
other input is 1.
Also not that ‘(A XOR B) XOR B)’ returns A, regardless of B. The first XOR
with B swaps the state of some of the bits, and then the second XOR swaps
the
same states back again.
In C (and C++) the XOR operator is ‘^’, so ‘a ^ b’ will do a bit-wise XOR
operation between a and b and return the result. There is also a
XOR-assignment operator ‘^=’, so ‘a ^= b’ will do a bit-wise XOR of b ont
a,
replacing the original value of a.
Now comes some magic, we can use XOR’s bit state swapping abilities to do
our entire integer swapping WITHOUT a temporary.
void InPlaceSwap (int& a, int &b) {
a ^= b;
b ^= a;
a ^= b;
}
Let’s look at some bits to see this in action. We’ll start off with a=12
and
b = 10 (in binary a=1100, b=1010). Watch what happens to the bits as each
statement of InPlaceSwap executes:
a b Algebra
1100 1010
a ^= b; 0110 1010 a' = a^b
b ^= a; 0110 1100 b' = b^a' = b^a^b = a
a ^= b; 1010 1100 a" = a'^b' = a^b^a = b
The end result is that a and b are swapped.
You can use the same technique to swap to large blocks of memory by XOR-ing
their bits using the same algorithm. In fact, you can swap chunks of bits
in
a BITMAP using this algorithm – by using BitBlt with the SRCINVERT raster
op,
which does an XOR operation.
void SwapBlt (CDC* pDC1, int x1, int y1,
int nWidth, int nHeight,
CDC* pDC2, int x2, int y2
) {
if (! nWidth || ! nHeight) return;
pDC1->BitBlt(x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight, pDC2, x2,y2, SRCINVERT);
pDC2->BitBlt(x2,y2, nWidth,nHeight, pDC1, x1,y1, SRCINVERT);
pDC1->BitBlt(x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight, pDC2, x2,y2, SRCINVERT);
}
The SwapBlt function above uses exactly the same algorithm as the
SwapInPlace
function previously to swap the rectangle of size nWidth x nHeight at [x1,
y1]
with the one at [x2,y2]. Each BitBlt simply does an XOR of two chunks of
bitmap memory.
By creating a compatible device context and selecting a bitmap into it, you
can use SwapBlt to swap the left hand side and right hand side of the
bitmap
image as shown below.
First we need a helper function to give us the actual width and height of
the
bitmap.
void GetWidthAndHeight(CBitmap* pBitmap, int* pw, int* ph) const {
if (! pBitmap && ! pBitmap->GetSafeHandle()) { // no bitmap yet
if (pw) *pw = 0;
if (ph) *ph = 0;
} else {
BITMAP bm;
pBitmap->GetObject(sizeof(bm), &bm);
if (pw) *pw = bm.bmWidth;
if (ph) *ph = bm.bmHeight;
}
}
Here’s the swapper:
void SwapLeftAndRightHalves (CBitmap* pBitmap) {
if (!pBitmap || ! pBitmap->GetSafeHandle()) return;
// create DC and select bitmap into it
CDC dc;
CDC* pDC = &dc;
pDC->CreateCompatibleDC( NULL );
CBitmap* pBmpOldImage = pDC->SelectObject(pBitmap);
// get bitmap size
int nWidth,nHeight;
::GetWidthAndHeight(pBitmap,&nWidth,&nHeight);
// do the swap
int nHalfWidth = nWidth/2;
if (nHalfWidth < 1) return;
::SwapBlt(pDC,0,0,nHalfWidth,nHeight,pDC,nWidth-nHalfWidth,0);
// reselect old bitmap into DC
pDC->SelectObject(pBmpOldImage);
}
This function simply works out the width of the two halves, by halving the
bitmap width. Then it swaps the left and right sides by passing the same
DC
for both arguments of SwapBlt, and by giving positions and sizes for the
left
and right hand sides.
This is the first step toward doing a reflection. Now if only we could
reflect each half we would be done. That is exactly what we can do – with
a
little bit of recursive programming.
void MirrorLeftAndRightHalves (CBitmap* pBitmap) {
if (!pBitmap || ! pBitmap->GetSafeHandle()) return;
// create DC and select bitmap into it
CDC dc;
CDC* pDC = &dc;
pDC->CreateCompatibleDC( NULL );
CBitmap* pBmpOldImage = pDC->SelectObject(pBitmap);
// get bitmap size
int nWidth,nHeight;
::GetWidthAndHeight(pBitmap,&nWidth,&nHeight);
// do the mirror
::RecursiveMirrorBlt(pDC,0,0,nWidth,nHeight);
// reselect old bitmap into DC
pDC->SelectObject(pBmpOldImage);
}
BOOL RecursiveMirrorBlt (CDC* pDC1, int x1, int y1,
int nWidth, int nHeight
) {
int nHalfWidth = nWidth/2;
if (nHalfWidth < 1) return;
int x2 = x1+nWidth-nHalfWidth;
::SwapBlt(pDC,x1,y1,nHalfWidth,nHeight,pDC,x2,y1);
RecursiveMirrorBlt(pDC,x1,y1,nHalfWidth,nHeight);
RecursiveMirrorBlt(pDC,x2,y1,nHalfWidth,nHeight);
}
The ‘MirrorLeftAndRightHalves’ function is similar to our earlier
‘SwapLeftAndRightHalves’. However, instead of calling SwapBlt it calls
‘RecursiveMirrorBlt’. This helper function works out the width of the two
halves and calls SwapBlt to swap them. Then it calls itself recursively to
mirror each half. The recursion stops when we get down to a single pixel
wide column to mirror, at which stage we have successfully mirrored the
bitmap image.
Now, this recursive method is not very efficient – it involves move BiBlt
operations than are necessary. We could expand this out to an iterative
method, but there is an even easier way of achieving the same result
without
looping or recursion.
The magic here is to write a version of SwapBlt the also does the
reflection at
the same time.
Lets see if this will work with some test data nd some pseudo-code
a b
1100 1010
a ^= reverse(b); 1001 1010
b ^= reverse(a); 1001 0011
a ^= reverse(b); 0101 0011
We do indeed end up with a = reverse(b) and b = reverse(a). Overall we
have
a mirror of the original bit pattern.
We can do this reverse and XOR using StretchBlt with a negative value for
the
width. The function to do this is very much like SwapBlt
void SwapYInvertBlt (CDC* pDC1, int x1, int y1,
int nWidth, int nHeight,
CDC* pDC2, int x2, int y2
) {
if (! nWidth || ! nHeight) return;
pDC1->StretchBlt (
x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight,
pDC2,
x2+nWidth-1,y2, -nWidth, nHeight,
SRCINVERT
);
pDC2->StretchBlt (
x2,y2, nWidth,nHeight,
pDC1,
x1+nWidth-1,y1, -nWidth, nHeight,
SRCINVERT
);
pDC1->StretchBlt (
x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight,
pDC2,
x2+nWidth-1,y2, -nWidth, nHeight,
SRCINVERT
);
}
Notice the negative sign in each StretchBlt for the width. And also notice
that the destination x value is adjusted to take into account the negative
width.
Now we can rewrite our ‘SwapLeftAndRightHalves’ function to not just swap,
but to actually do the mirror.
void MirrorLeftAndRightHalves (CBitmap* pBitmap) {
if (!pBitmap || ! pBitmap->GetSafeHandle()) return;
// create DC and select bitmap into it
CDC dc;
CDC* pDC = &dc;
pDC->CreateCompatibleDC( NULL );
CBitmap* pBmpOldImage = pDC->SelectObject(pBitmap);
// get bitmap size
int nWidth,nHeight;
::GetWidthAndHeight(pBitmap,&nWidth,&nHeight);
// do the swap
int nHalfWidth = nWidth/2;
if (nHalfWidth < 1) return;
::SwapYInvertBlt(pDC,0,0,nHalfWidth,nHeight,pDC,nWidth-nHalfWidth,0);
// reselect old bitmap into DC
pDC->SelectObject(pBmpOldImage);
}
This require only 3 StretchBlt operations, each on a half of the bitmap, so
is very efficient.
Of course the same technique can be used to mirror top and bottom.
We can use these techniques to derive from class CBitmap and add in-place
inverting functionality to it. Here, I have single function ‘Invert’ which
takes a BOOL value indicating whether we want left/right or top/bottom
mirroring. Also note that some of the functions above now appears as
member
functions of this class
//MyBitmap.h
class CMyBitmap : public CBitmap {
public:
void GetWidthAndHeight (int* pw, int* ph) const;
public:
void Invert (BOOL bLateral);
};
// Global helpers
void SwapBlt (CDC* pDC1, int x1, int y1, int dx, int dy, CDC* pDC2, int x2, int y2);
void SwapXReflectBlt (CDC* pDC1, int x1, int y1, int dx, int dy, CDC* pDC2, int x2, int y2);
void SwapYReflectBlt (CDC* pDC1, int x1, int y1, int dx, int dy, CDC* pDC2, int x2, int y2);
//MyBitmap.cpp
#include "stdafx.h"
#include "MyBitmap.h"
void CMyBitmap::GetWidthAndHeight(int* pw, int* ph) const {
if (! GetSafeHandle()) { // no bitmap yet
if (pw) *pw = 0;
if (ph) *ph = 0;
} else {
BITMAP bm; GetObject(sizeof(bm), &bm);
if (pw) *pw = bm.bmWidth;
if (ph) *ph = bm.bmHeight;
}
}
void CMyBitmap::Invert (BOOL bLateral) {
// must have a bitmap
if (! GetSafeHandle()) return;
// create DC and select this into it
CDC dc; CDC* pDC = &dc;
pDC->CreateCompatibleDC( NULL );
int nWidth,nHeight; GetWidthAndHeight(&nWidth,&nHeight);
CBitmap* pBmpOldImage = pDC->SelectObject(this);
// do the reflection
if (bLateral) {
int nHalfWidth = nWidth/2; if (nHalfWidth < 1) return;
SwapYInvertBlt(pDC,0,0,nHalfWidth,nHeight,pDC,nWidth-nHalfWidth,0);
} else {
int nHalfHeight = nHeight/2; if (nHalfHeight < 1) return;
SwapXReflectBlt(pDC,0,0,nWidth,nHalfHeight,pDC,0,nHeight-nHalfHeight);
}
pDC->SelectObject(pBmpOldImage);
}
// swap two rectangles in two (different or same) DC's (ie. bitmaps)
void SwapBlt (CDC* pDC1, int x1, int y1, int nWidth, int nHeight, CDC*pDC2, int x2, int y2) {
if (nWidth && nHeight) { // ignore degenerate cases
pDC1->BitBlt( x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight, pDC2, x2,y2, SRCINVERT );
pDC2->BitBlt( x2,y2, nWidth,nHeight, pDC1, x1,y1, SRCINVERT );
pDC1->BitBlt( x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight, pDC2, x2,y2, SRCINVERT );
}
}
// swap two rectangles in two (different or same) DC's (ie. bitmaps) and reflect in X asis
void SwapXReflectBlt (CDC* pDC1, int x1, int y1, int nWidth, int nHeight, CDC* pDC2, int x2, int y2) {
if (nWidth && nHeight) { // ignore degenerate cases
pDC1->StretchBlt( x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight, pDC2, x2,y2+nHeight-1,nWidth, -nHeight, SRCINVERT );
pDC2->StretchBlt( x2,y2, nWidth,nHeight, pDC1, x1,y1+nHeight-1,nWidth, -nHeight, SRCINVERT );
pDC1->StretchBlt( x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight, pDC2, x2,y2+nHeight-1,nWidth, -nHeight, SRCINVERT );
}
}
// swap two rectangles in two (different or same) DC's (ie. bitmaps) and reflect in Y axis
void SwapYInvertBlt (CDC* pDC1, int x1, int y1, int nWidth, int nHeight,CDC* pDC2, int x2, int y2) {
if (nWidth && nHeight) { // ignore degenerate cases
pDC1->StretchBlt( x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight, pDC2, x2+nWidth-1,y2,-nWidth, nHeight, SRCINVERT );
pDC2->StretchBlt( x2,y2, nWidth,nHeight, pDC1, x1+nWidth-1,y1,-nWidth, nHeight, SRCINVERT );
pDC1->StretchBlt( x1,y1, nWidth,nHeight, pDC2, x2+nWidth-1,y2,-nWidth, nHeight, SRCINVERT );
}
}
