VIFF to PBM Converter

VIFF (Visualization Image File Format) is a scientific image format developed by Khoral Research (originally at the University of New Mexico), first appearing around 1990 with the Khoros visual programming environment for image processing and data visualization. VIFF files use a 1024-byte header followed by optional color map data, and the image data itself, with the header containing detailed specifications: data storage type (bit, byte, short, integer, float, double, complex), data encoding (none, CCITT Group 3/4), color space model (none, generic, RGB, HSI, CMYK, and others), and support for multi-band (multi-channel) images with arbitrary numbers of bands. The format accommodates one-dimensional signals, two-dimensional images, three-dimensional volumes, and location data (sparse pixel coordinates), making it versatile beyond simple image storage. VIFF was designed for the Khoros/VisiQuest visual dataflow programming environment, where users constructed image processing pipelines by connecting processing nodes in a graphical canvas — an approach that influenced later systems like AVS, MATLAB Simulink, and LabVIEW. One advantage is scientific data fidelity: VIFF supports the full range of numeric types used in scientific computing (including complex numbers and double-precision floats), stores multi-band datasets natively, and carries calibration metadata — making it suitable for remote sensing, medical imaging, and spectral analysis applications where generic image formats lose information. The format's connection to the Khoros visual programming paradigm provides another notable dimension — VIFF was the standard I/O format for one of the most influential early visual programming environments for scientific image analysis. VIFF files can be read by ImageMagick and legacy Khoros/VisiQuest installations.