Summary of PNG IMAGE DECODING LIBRARY DOES IT WITH MINIMAL RAM
The article discusses PNGdec, an Arduino-friendly PNG decoding library created by Larry Bank, designed to enable microcontrollers with limited memory (at least 48 KB RAM) to display PNG images. PNGdec solves the challenge of decoding PNGs, which require more memory than typical microcontrollers have, by being self-contained and free of external dependencies. It supports pixel format conversion for different displays, making it practical for use with small LCD and OLED screens. Larry Bank's prior projects include optimized GIF and JPEG decoders, benefiting hobbyists using microcontroller displays.
Parts used in the PNGdec Arduino Project:
- Arduino or compatible microcontroller board
- Display module (LCD or OLED)
- PNGdec software library
Want to display a PNG file on a display attached to an Arduino or other microcontroller board? You’ll want to look at [Larry Bank]’s PNGdec, the Arduino-friendly PNG decoder library which makes it much easier to work with PNG files on your chosen microcontroller.
The PNG image format supports useful features like lossless compression, and was generally developed as an improved (and non-patented) alternative to GIF files. So far so great, but it turns out that decoding PNG files on a microcontroller is a challenge due to the limited amount of memory compared to desktop machines. When the PNG specification was developed in the 90s, computers easily had megabytes of memory to work with, but microcontrollers tend to have memory measured in kilobytes, and lack high-level memory management. [Larry]’s library addresses these issues.
PNGdec is self-contained and free from external dependencies, and also has some features to make converting pixel formats for different display types easy. It will run on any microcontroller that can spare at least 48 K of RAM, so if that sounds useful then check out the GitHub repository for code and examples.
We’ve seen [Larry]’s wonderful work before on optimizing GIF playback as well as rapid JPEG decoding, and these libraries have increasing relevance as hobbyists continue to see small LCD and OLED-based displays become ever more accessible and affordable.
Source: PNG IMAGE DECODING LIBRARY DOES IT WITH MINIMAL RAM
