dcmdspfn(1)                       OFFIS DCMTK                      dcmdspfn(1)

NAME
       dcmdspfn - Export standard display curves to a text file


SYNOPSIS
       dcmdspfn [options]

DESCRIPTION
       Command  line  program  converts  a  DCMTK monitor / camera / printer /
       scanner  characteristics  file  to  tabbed  text  file  describing  the
       characteristic   curve   (CC),  the  display  function  and  the  post-
       standardized curve (PSC) for an 8 bit display. The 256 values  of  each
       curve  can  be  visualized by a common spread sheet program. Above that
       the display curve (without CC and PSC)  can  also  be  computed  for  a
       specified  luminance/OD range (min/max) and a certain number of Digital
       Driving Levels (DDL).

PARAMETERS
       dcmfile-in  DICOM input filename to be dumped

OPTIONS
   general options
         -h   --help
                print this help text and exit

              --version
                print version information and exit

              --arguments
                print expanded command line arguments

         -q   --quiet
                quiet mode, print no warnings and errors

         -v   --verbose
                verbose mode, print processing details

         -d   --debug
                debug mode, print debug information

         -ll  --log-level  [l]evel: string constant
                (fatal, error, warn, info, debug, trace)
                use level l for the logger

         -lc  --log-config  [f]ilename: string
                use config file f for the logger

   input options (mutually exclusive)
         +Im  --monitor-file  [f]ilename: string
                text file describing the monitor characteristics

         +Ic  --camera-file  [f]ilename: string
                text file describing the camera characteristics

         +Ip  --printer-file  [f]ilename: string
                text file describing the printer characteristics

         +Is  --scanner-file  [f]ilename: string
                text file describing the scanner characteristics

         +Il  --lum-range  [m]in max: float
                minimum and maximum luminance (cd/mˆ2)

         +Io  --od-range  [m]in max: float
                minimum and maximum optical density (OD),
                automatically converted to luminance

   creation options
         +Ca  --ambient-light  [a]mbient light: float
                ambient light value (cd/mˆ2, default: file f)

         +Ci  --illumination  [i]llumination: float
                illumination value (cd/mˆ2, default: file f)

         +Dn  --min-density  [m]inimum optical density: float
                Dmin value (default: off, only with +Ip and +Io)

         +Dx  --max-density  [m]aximum optical density: float
                Dmax value (default: off, only with +Ip and +Io)

         +Cd  --ddl-count  [n]umber of DDLs: integer
                number of Digital Driving Levels
                (default: 256, only with --lum/od-range)

         +Cf  --curve-fitting  [n]umber: integer
                use polynomial curve fitting algorithm with order n
                (0..99, default: file setting or cubic spline)

   output options
         +Og  --gsdf  [f]ilename: string
                write GSDF curve data to file f

         +Oc  --cielab  [f]ilename: string
                write CIELAB curve data to file f

NOTES
       The output file describing the CC, GSDF or CIELAB and PSC for an 8  bit
       display  system  (monitor, camera, printer or scanner) is a simple text
       file. Lines starting with a '#' are treated as comments and, therefore,
       skipped as well as blank lines. An  input  file  can  for  instance  be
       created by the command line tool dconvlum.

       The ambient light value possibly defined in the characteristics file is
       also  used  for  the calculation. In this case the value is part of the
       file comment header as well as  the  number  of  DDL  (digital  driving
       level)  values,  the  absolute luminance range (measured in candela per
       square  meter)  and  the  range  of  the  JND  index  (just  noticeable
       difference) in case of GSDF. Alternatively, the ambient light value can
       be  specified  as a command line option. When setting the two luminance
       values instead of reading a monitor characteristic file  as  input  the
       luminance range is linearly divided by the number of DDLs.

       For printers and scanners the illumination can be specified in addition
       to the reflected ambient light (both in the characteristics file and on
       the  command  line). The header of the output file includes the minimum
       and maximum Optical Density (OD) instead of the luminance range. Please
       note that the OD values in  the  input  file  have  to  be  ordered  in
       descending order (in contrast to the luminance values used for monitors
       and  cameras).  The  DDL value 0 always means black (darkest value) and
       the maximum DDL value means white (brightest value, clear film).

       The data folder contains  sample  characteristics  file  for  monitors,
       cameras,  printers  and  scanners.  See DICOM standard part 14 for more
       details on display calibration and Barten's model (including GSDF).

LOGGING
       The level of logging output of  the  various  command  line  tools  and
       underlying  libraries  can  be  specified by the user. By default, only
       errors and warnings are written to the  standard  error  stream.  Using
       option  --verbose  also  informational messages like processing details
       are reported. Option --debug can be used to get  more  details  on  the
       internal  activity,  e.g.  for debugging purposes. Other logging levels
       can be selected using option --log-level. In --quiet  mode  only  fatal
       errors  are reported. In such very severe error events, the application
       will usually terminate. For  more  details  on  the  different  logging
       levels, see documentation of module 'oflog'.

       In  case  the logging output should be written to file (optionally with
       logfile rotation), to syslog (Unix) or the event log  (Windows)  option
       --log-config  can  be  used.  This  configuration  file also allows for
       directing only certain messages to a particular output stream  and  for
       filtering  certain  messages  based  on the module or application where
       they are generated.  An  example  configuration  file  is  provided  in
       <etcdir>/logger.cfg.

COMMAND LINE
       All  command  line  tools  use  the  following notation for parameters:
       square brackets enclose optional  values  (0-1),  three  trailing  dots
       indicate  that multiple values are allowed (1-n), a combination of both
       means 0 to n values.

       Command line options are distinguished from parameters by a leading '+'
       or '-' sign, respectively. Usually, order and position of command  line
       options  are  arbitrary  (i.e.  they  can appear anywhere). However, if
       options are mutually exclusive the rightmost appearance is  used.  This
       behavior  conforms  to  the  standard  evaluation  rules of common Unix
       shells.

       In addition, one or more command files can be specified  using  an  '@'
       sign  as  a  prefix to the filename (e.g. @command.txt). Such a command
       argument is replaced by the content  of  the  corresponding  text  file
       (multiple  whitespaces  are  treated  as a single separator unless they
       appear between two quotation marks) prior to  any  further  evaluation.
       Please  note  that  a command file cannot contain another command file.
       This simple but effective  approach  allows  one  to  summarize  common
       combinations  of  options/parameters  and  avoids longish and confusing
       command lines (an example is provided in file <datadir>/dumppat.txt).

FILES
       <datadir>/camera.lut - sample characteristics file of a camera
       <datadir>/monitor.lut - sample characteristics file of a monitor
       <datadir>/printer.lut - sample characteristics file of a printer
       <datadir>/scanner.lut - sample characteristics file of a scanner

SEE ALSO
       dconvlum(1), dcod2lum(1)

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (C) 1999-2025 by OFFIS e.V., Escherweg  2,  26121  Oldenburg,
       Germany.

Version 3.7.0                   Mon Dec 15 2025                    dcmdspfn(1)
