AlphaComposite

java.lang.Object
- java.awt.AlphaComposite

All Implemented Interfaces:: Composite

public final class AlphaComposite
extends Object
implements Composite

The AlphaComposite class implements basic alpha compositing rules for combining source and destination colors to achieve blending and transparency effects with graphics and images. The specific rules implemented by this class are the basic set of 12 rules described in T. Porter and T. Duff, "Compositing Digital Images", SIGGRAPH 84, 253-259. The rest of this documentation assumes some familiarity with the definitions and concepts outlined in that paper.

This class extends the standard equations defined by Porter and Duff to include one additional factor. An instance of the AlphaComposite class can contain an alpha value that is used to modify the opacity or coverage of every source pixel before it is used in the blending equations.

It is important to note that the equations defined by the Porter and Duff paper are all defined to operate on color components that are premultiplied by their corresponding alpha components. Since the ColorModel and Raster classes allow the storage of pixel data in either premultiplied or non-premultiplied form, all input data must be normalized into premultiplied form before applying the equations and all results might need to be adjusted back to the form required by the destination before the pixel values are stored.

Also note that this class defines only the equations for combining color and alpha values in a purely mathematical sense. The accurate application of its equations depends on the way the data is retrieved from its sources and stored in its destinations. See Implementation Caveats for further information.

The following factors are used in the description of the blending equation in the Porter and Duff paper:

Factor Definition
A_s the alpha component of the source pixel
C_s a color component of the source pixel in premultiplied form
A_d the alpha component of the destination pixel
C_d a color component of the destination pixel in premultiplied form
F_s the fraction of the source pixel that contributes to the output
F_d the fraction of the destination pixel that contributes to the output
A_r the alpha component of the result
C_r a color component of the result in premultiplied form

Factor	Definition
A_s	the alpha component of the source pixel
C_s	a color component of the source pixel in premultiplied form
A_d	the alpha component of the destination pixel
C_d	a color component of the destination pixel in premultiplied form
F_s	the fraction of the source pixel that contributes to the output
F_d	the fraction of the destination pixel that contributes to the output
A_r	the alpha component of the result
C_r	a color component of the result in premultiplied form

Using these factors, Porter and Duff define 12 ways of choosing the blending factors F_s and F_d to produce each of 12 desirable visual effects. The equations for determining F_s and F_d are given in the descriptions of the 12 static fields that specify visual effects. For example, the description for SRC_OVER specifies that F_s = 1 and F_d = (1-A_s). Once a set of equations for determining the blending factors is known they can then be applied to each pixel to produce a result using the following set of equations:

      F_s = f(A_d)
      F_d = f(A_s)
      A_r = A_s*F_s + A_d*F_d
      C_r = C_s*F_s + C_d*F_d

The following factors will be used to discuss our extensions to the blending equation in the Porter and Duff paper:

Factor Definition
C_sr one of the raw color components of the source pixel
C_dr one of the raw color components of the destination pixel
A_ac the "extra" alpha component from the AlphaComposite instance
A_sr the raw alpha component of the source pixel
A_dr the raw alpha component of the destination pixel
A_df the final alpha component stored in the destination
C_df the final raw color component stored in the destination

Factor	Definition
C_sr	one of the raw color components of the source pixel
C_dr	one of the raw color components of the destination pixel
A_ac	the "extra" alpha component from the AlphaComposite instance
A_sr	the raw alpha component of the source pixel
A_dr	the raw alpha component of the destination pixel
A_df	the final alpha component stored in the destination
C_df	the final raw color component stored in the destination

Preparing Inputs

The AlphaComposite class defines an additional alpha value that is applied to the source alpha. This value is applied as if an implicit SRC_IN rule were first applied to the source pixel against a pixel with the indicated alpha by multiplying both the raw source alpha and the raw source colors by the alpha in the AlphaComposite. This leads to the following equation for producing the alpha used in the Porter and Duff blending equation:

      A_s = A_sr * A_ac

All of the raw source color components need to be multiplied by the alpha in the AlphaComposite instance. Additionally, if the source was not in premultiplied form then the color components also need to be multiplied by the source alpha. Thus, the equation for producing the source color components for the Porter and Duff equation depends on whether the source pixels are premultiplied or not:

      C_s = C_sr * A_sr * A_ac     (if source is not premultiplied)
      C_s = C_sr * A_ac           (if source is premultiplied)

No adjustment needs to be made to the destination alpha:

      A_d = A_dr

The destination color components need to be adjusted only if they are not in premultiplied form:

      C_d = C_dr * A_d    (if destination is not premultiplied)
      C_d = C_dr         (if destination is premultiplied)

Applying the Blending Equation

The adjusted A_s, A_d, C_s, and C_d are used in the standard Porter and Duff equations to calculate the blending factors F_s and F_d and then the resulting premultiplied components A_r and C_r.

Preparing Results

The results only need to be adjusted if they are to be stored back into a destination buffer that holds data that is not premultiplied, using the following equations:

      A_df = A_r
      C_df = C_r                 (if dest is premultiplied)
      C_df = C_r / A_r            (if dest is not premultiplied)

Note that since the division is undefined if the resulting alpha is zero, the division in that case is omitted to avoid the "divide by zero" and the color components are left as all zeros.

Performance Considerations

For performance reasons, it is preferrable that Raster objects passed to the compose method of a CompositeContext object created by the AlphaComposite class have premultiplied data. If either the source Raster or the destination Raster is not premultiplied, however, appropriate conversions are performed before and after the compositing operation.

Implementation Caveats

Many sources, such as some of the opaque image types listed in the BufferedImage class, do not store alpha values for their pixels. Such sources supply an alpha of 1.0 for all of their pixels.
Many destinations also have no place to store the alpha values that result from the blending calculations performed by this class. Such destinations thus implicitly discard the resulting alpha values that this class produces. It is recommended that such destinations should treat their stored color values as non-premultiplied and divide the resulting color values by the resulting alpha value before storing the color values and discarding the alpha value.
The accuracy of the results depends on the manner in which pixels are stored in the destination. An image format that provides at least 8 bits of storage per color and alpha component is at least adequate for use as a destination for a sequence of a few to a dozen compositing operations. An image format with fewer than 8 bits of storage per component is of limited use for just one or two compositing operations before the rounding errors dominate the results. An image format that does not separately store color components is not a good candidate for any type of translucent blending. For example, BufferedImage.TYPE_BYTE_INDEXED should not be used as a destination for a blending operation because every operation can introduce large errors, due to the need to choose a pixel from a limited palette to match the results of the blending equations.
Nearly all formats store pixels as discrete integers rather than the floating point values used in the reference equations above. The implementation can either scale the integer pixel values into floating point values in the range 0.0 to 1.0 or use slightly modified versions of the equations that operate entirely in the integer domain and yet produce analogous results to the reference equations.
Typically the integer values are related to the floating point values in such a way that the integer 0 is equated to the floating point value 0.0 and the integer 2^n-1 (where n is the number of bits in the representation) is equated to 1.0. For 8-bit representations, this means that 0x00 represents 0.0 and 0xff represents 1.0.
The internal implementation can approximate some of the equations and it can also eliminate some steps to avoid unnecessary operations. For example, consider a discrete integer image with non-premultiplied alpha values that uses 8 bits per component for storage. The stored values for a nearly transparent darkened red might be:
```
    (A, R, G, B) = (0x01, 0xb0, 0x00, 0x00)
```
If integer math were being used and this value were being composited in SRC mode with no extra alpha, then the math would indicate that the results were (in integer format):
```
    (A, R, G, B) = (0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00)
```
Note that the intermediate values, which are always in premultiplied form, would only allow the integer red component to be either 0x00 or 0x01. When we try to store this result back into a destination that is not premultiplied, dividing out the alpha will give us very few choices for the non-premultiplied red value. In this case an implementation that performs the math in integer space without shortcuts is likely to end up with the final pixel values of:
```
    (A, R, G, B) = (0x01, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00)
```
(Note that 0x01 divided by 0x01 gives you 1.0, which is equivalent to the value 0xff in an 8-bit storage format.)
Alternately, an implementation that uses floating point math might produce more accurate results and end up returning to the original pixel value with little, if any, roundoff error. Or, an implementation using integer math might decide that since the equations boil down to a virtual NOP on the color values if performed in a floating point space, it can transfer the pixel untouched to the destination and avoid all the math entirely.
These implementations all attempt to honor the same equations, but use different tradeoffs of integer and floating point math and reduced or full equations. To account for such differences, it is probably best to expect only that the premultiplied form of the results to match between implementations and image formats. In this case both answers, expressed in premultiplied form would equate to:
```
    (A, R, G, B) = (0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00)
```
and thus they would all match.
Because of the technique of simplifying the equations for calculation efficiency, some implementations might perform differently when encountering result alpha values of 0.0 on a non-premultiplied destination. Note that the simplification of removing the divide by alpha in the case of the SRC rule is technically not valid if the denominator (alpha) is 0. But, since the results should only be expected to be accurate when viewed in premultiplied form, a resulting alpha of 0 essentially renders the resulting color components irrelevant and so exact behavior in this case should not be expected.

See Also:: Composite, CompositeContext

Field Summary

Fields
Modifier and Type	Field and Description
`static AlphaComposite`	`Clear` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque CLEAR rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static int`	`CLEAR` Both the color and the alpha of the destination are cleared (Porter-Duff Clear rule).
`static AlphaComposite`	`Dst` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque DST rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static int`	`DST` The destination is left untouched (Porter-Duff Destination rule).
`static int`	`DST_ATOP` The part of the destination lying inside of the source is composited over the source and replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Destination Atop Source rule).
`static int`	`DST_IN` The part of the destination lying inside of the source replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Destination In Source rule).
`static int`	`DST_OUT` The part of the destination lying outside of the source replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Destination Held Out By Source rule).
`static int`	`DST_OVER` The destination is composited over the source and the result replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Destination Over Source rule).
`static AlphaComposite`	`DstAtop` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque DST_ATOP rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static AlphaComposite`	`DstIn` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque DST_IN rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static AlphaComposite`	`DstOut` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque DST_OUT rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static AlphaComposite`	`DstOver` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque DST_OVER rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static AlphaComposite`	`Src` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque SRC rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static int`	`SRC` The source is copied to the destination (Porter-Duff Source rule).
`static int`	`SRC_ATOP` The part of the source lying inside of the destination is composited onto the destination (Porter-Duff Source Atop Destination rule).
`static int`	`SRC_IN` The part of the source lying inside of the destination replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Source In Destination rule).
`static int`	`SRC_OUT` The part of the source lying outside of the destination replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Source Held Out By Destination rule).
`static int`	`SRC_OVER` The source is composited over the destination (Porter-Duff Source Over Destination rule).
`static AlphaComposite`	`SrcAtop` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque SRC_ATOP rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static AlphaComposite`	`SrcIn` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque SRC_IN rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static AlphaComposite`	`SrcOut` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque SRC_OUT rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static AlphaComposite`	`SrcOver` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque SRC_OVER rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static AlphaComposite`	`Xor` `AlphaComposite` object that implements the opaque XOR rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
`static int`	`XOR` The part of the source that lies outside of the destination is combined with the part of the destination that lies outside of the source (Porter-Duff Source Xor Destination rule).

Method Summary

Methods
Modifier and Type	Method and Description
`CompositeContext`	`createContext(ColorModel srcColorModel, ColorModel dstColorModel, RenderingHints hints)` Creates a context for the compositing operation.
`AlphaComposite`	`derive(float alpha)` Returns a similar `AlphaComposite` object that uses the specified alpha value.
`AlphaComposite`	`derive(int rule)` Returns a similar `AlphaComposite` object that uses the specified compositing rule.
`boolean`	`equals(Object obj)` Determines whether the specified object is equal to this `AlphaComposite`.
`float`	`getAlpha()` Returns the alpha value of this `AlphaComposite`.
`static AlphaComposite`	`getInstance(int rule)` Creates an `AlphaComposite` object with the specified rule.
`static AlphaComposite`	`getInstance(int rule, float alpha)` Creates an `AlphaComposite` object with the specified rule and the constant alpha to multiply with the alpha of the source.
`int`	`getRule()` Returns the compositing rule of this `AlphaComposite`.
`int`	`hashCode()` Returns the hashcode for this composite.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

- Field Detail
  - CLEAR
```
public static final int CLEAR
```
    Both the color and the alpha of the destination are cleared (Porter-Duff Clear rule). Neither the source nor the destination is used as input.
    F_s = 0 and F_d = 0, thus:
```
  A_r = 0
  C_r = 0
```
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - SRC
```
public static final int SRC
```
    The source is copied to the destination (Porter-Duff Source rule). The destination is not used as input.
    F_s = 1 and F_d = 0, thus:
```
  A_r = A_s
  C_r = C_s
```
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - DST
```
public static final int DST
```
    The destination is left untouched (Porter-Duff Destination rule).
    F_s = 0 and F_d = 1, thus:
```
  A_r = A_d
  C_r = C_d
```
    Since:
    
    1.4
    
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - SRC_OVER
```
public static final int SRC_OVER
```
    The source is composited over the destination (Porter-Duff Source Over Destination rule).
    F_s = 1 and F_d = (1-A_s), thus:
```
  A_r = A_s + A_d*(1-A_s)
  C_r = C_s + C_d*(1-A_s)
```
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - DST_OVER
```
public static final int DST_OVER
```
    The destination is composited over the source and the result replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Destination Over Source rule).
    F_s = (1-A_d) and F_d = 1, thus:
```
  A_r = A_s*(1-A_d) + A_d
  C_r = C_s*(1-A_d) + C_d
```
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - SRC_IN
```
public static final int SRC_IN
```
    The part of the source lying inside of the destination replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Source In Destination rule).
    F_s = A_d and F_d = 0, thus:
```
  A_r = A_s*A_d
  C_r = C_s*A_d
```
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - DST_IN
```
public static final int DST_IN
```
    The part of the destination lying inside of the source replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Destination In Source rule).
    F_s = 0 and F_d = A_s, thus:
```
  A_r = A_d*A_s
  C_r = C_d*A_s
```
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - SRC_OUT
```
public static final int SRC_OUT
```
    The part of the source lying outside of the destination replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Source Held Out By Destination rule).
    F_s = (1-A_d) and F_d = 0, thus:
```
  A_r = A_s*(1-A_d)
  C_r = C_s*(1-A_d)
```
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - DST_OUT
```
public static final int DST_OUT
```
    The part of the destination lying outside of the source replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Destination Held Out By Source rule).
    F_s = 0 and F_d = (1-A_s), thus:
```
  A_r = A_d*(1-A_s)
  C_r = C_d*(1-A_s)
```
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - SRC_ATOP
```
public static final int SRC_ATOP
```
    The part of the source lying inside of the destination is composited onto the destination (Porter-Duff Source Atop Destination rule).
    F_s = A_d and F_d = (1-A_s), thus:
```
  A_r = A_s*A_d + A_d*(1-A_s) = A_d
  C_r = C_s*A_d + C_d*(1-A_s)
```
    Since:
    
    1.4
    
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - DST_ATOP
```
public static final int DST_ATOP
```
    The part of the destination lying inside of the source is composited over the source and replaces the destination (Porter-Duff Destination Atop Source rule).
    F_s = (1-A_d) and F_d = A_s, thus:
```
  A_r = A_s*(1-A_d) + A_d*A_s = A_s
  C_r = C_s*(1-A_d) + C_d*A_s
```
    Since:
    
    1.4
    
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - XOR
```
public static final int XOR
```
    The part of the source that lies outside of the destination is combined with the part of the destination that lies outside of the source (Porter-Duff Source Xor Destination rule).
    F_s = (1-A_d) and F_d = (1-A_s), thus:
```
  A_r = A_s*(1-A_d) + A_d*(1-A_s)
  C_r = C_s*(1-A_d) + C_d*(1-A_s)
```
    Since:
    
    1.4
    
    See Also:
    Constant Field Values
  - Clear
```
public static final AlphaComposite Clear
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque CLEAR rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    See Also:
    CLEAR
  - Src
```
public static final AlphaComposite Src
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque SRC rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    See Also:
    SRC
  - Dst
```
public static final AlphaComposite Dst
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque DST rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    Since:
    
    1.4
    
    See Also:
    DST
  - SrcOver
```
public static final AlphaComposite SrcOver
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque SRC_OVER rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    See Also:
    SRC_OVER
  - DstOver
```
public static final AlphaComposite DstOver
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque DST_OVER rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    See Also:
    DST_OVER
  - SrcIn
```
public static final AlphaComposite SrcIn
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque SRC_IN rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    See Also:
    SRC_IN
  - DstIn
```
public static final AlphaComposite DstIn
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque DST_IN rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    See Also:
    DST_IN
  - SrcOut
```
public static final AlphaComposite SrcOut
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque SRC_OUT rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    See Also:
    SRC_OUT
  - DstOut
```
public static final AlphaComposite DstOut
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque DST_OUT rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    See Also:
    DST_OUT
  - SrcAtop
```
public static final AlphaComposite SrcAtop
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque SRC_ATOP rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    Since:
    
    1.4
    
    See Also:
    SRC_ATOP
  - DstAtop
```
public static final AlphaComposite DstAtop
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque DST_ATOP rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    Since:
    
    1.4
    
    See Also:
    DST_ATOP
  - Xor
```
public static final AlphaComposite Xor
```
    AlphaComposite object that implements the opaque XOR rule with an alpha of 1.0f.
    
    Since:
    
    1.4
    
    See Also:
    XOR
- Method Detail
  - getInstance
```
public static AlphaComposite getInstance(int rule)
```
    Creates an AlphaComposite object with the specified rule.
    
    Parameters:
    rule - the compositing rule
    
    Throws:
    
    IllegalArgumentException - if rule is not one of the following: CLEAR, SRC, DST, SRC_OVER, DST_OVER, SRC_IN, DST_IN, SRC_OUT, DST_OUT, SRC_ATOP, DST_ATOP, or XOR
  - getInstance
```
public static AlphaComposite getInstance(int rule,
                         float alpha)
```
    Creates an AlphaComposite object with the specified rule and the constant alpha to multiply with the alpha of the source. The source is multiplied with the specified alpha before being composited with the destination.
    
    Parameters:
    rule - the compositing rule
    alpha - the constant alpha to be multiplied with the alpha of the source. alpha must be a floating point number in the inclusive range [0.0, 1.0].
    
    Throws:
    
    IllegalArgumentException - if alpha is less than 0.0 or greater than 1.0, or if rule is not one of the following: CLEAR, SRC, DST, SRC_OVER, DST_OVER, SRC_IN, DST_IN, SRC_OUT, DST_OUT, SRC_ATOP, DST_ATOP, or XOR
  - createContext
```
public CompositeContext createContext(ColorModel srcColorModel,
                             ColorModel dstColorModel,
                             RenderingHints hints)
```
    Creates a context for the compositing operation. The context contains state that is used in performing the compositing operation.
    
    Specified by:
    
    createContext in interface Composite
    
    Parameters:
    srcColorModel - the ColorModel of the source
    dstColorModel - the ColorModel of the destination
    hints - the hint that the context object uses to choose between rendering alternatives
    
    Returns:
    the CompositeContext object to be used to perform compositing operations.
  - getAlpha
```
public float getAlpha()
```
    Returns the alpha value of this AlphaComposite. If this AlphaComposite does not have an alpha value, 1.0 is returned.
    
    Returns:
    the alpha value of this AlphaComposite.
  - getRule
```
public int getRule()
```
    Returns the compositing rule of this AlphaComposite.
    
    Returns:
    the compositing rule of this AlphaComposite.
  - derive
```
public AlphaComposite derive(int rule)
```
    Returns a similar AlphaComposite object that uses the specified compositing rule. If this object already uses the specified compositing rule, this object is returned.
    
    Parameters:
    rule - the compositing rule
    
    Returns:
    an AlphaComposite object derived from this object that uses the specified compositing rule.
    
    Throws:
    
    IllegalArgumentException - if rule is not one of the following: CLEAR, SRC, DST, SRC_OVER, DST_OVER, SRC_IN, DST_IN, SRC_OUT, DST_OUT, SRC_ATOP, DST_ATOP, or XOR
    Since:
    
    1.6
  - derive
```
public AlphaComposite derive(float alpha)
```
    Returns a similar AlphaComposite object that uses the specified alpha value. If this object already has the specified alpha value, this object is returned.
    
    Parameters:
    alpha - the constant alpha to be multiplied with the alpha of the source. alpha must be a floating point number in the inclusive range [0.0, 1.0].
    
    Returns:
    an AlphaComposite object derived from this object that uses the specified alpha value.
    
    Throws:
    
    IllegalArgumentException - if alpha is less than 0.0 or greater than 1.0
    Since:
    
    1.6
  - hashCode
```
public int hashCode()
```
    Returns the hashcode for this composite.
    
    Overrides:
    
    hashCode in class Object
    
    Returns:
    a hash code for this composite.
    See Also:
    Object.equals(java.lang.Object), System.identityHashCode(java.lang.Object)
  - equals
```
public boolean equals(Object obj)
```
    Determines whether the specified object is equal to this AlphaComposite.
    The result is true if and only if the argument is not null and is an AlphaComposite object that has the same compositing rule and alpha value as this object.
    
    Overrides:
    
    equals in class Object
    
    Parameters:
    obj - the Object to test for equality
    
    Returns:
    true if obj equals this AlphaComposite; false otherwise.
    See Also:
    Object.hashCode(), HashMap

Submit a bug or feature
For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java SE Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.
Copyright © 1993, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Class AlphaComposite

Preparing Inputs

Applying the Blending Equation

Preparing Results

Performance Considerations

Implementation Caveats

Field Summary

Method Summary

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

Field Detail

CLEAR

SRC

DST

SRC_OVER

DST_OVER

SRC_IN

DST_IN

SRC_OUT

DST_OUT

SRC_ATOP

DST_ATOP

XOR

Clear

Src

Dst

SrcOver

DstOver

SrcIn

DstIn

SrcOut

DstOut

SrcAtop

DstAtop

Xor

Method Detail

getInstance

getInstance

createContext

getAlpha

getRule

derive

derive

hashCode

equals