Image Processing Toolbox

Words You Need to Know

At the beginning of each chapter we provide glossaries of key words you need to know in order to understand the information in the chapter. The chosen words are defined generally, and then sometimes include a MATLAB specific definition.

Many of the words are standard image processing terms that we define for your convenience. In some cases, the words are included because they can sometimes be confusing, even for domain experts. Here are some examples:

• In image processing, one word is sometimes used to describe more than one concept. For example, image resolution can be defined as the height and width of an image as a quantity of pixels in each direction, or it can be defined as the number of pixels per linear measure, such as 100 pixels per inch.
• In image processing, one concept is sometimes described by different terminology. For example, a grayscale image can also be called an intensity image. We use the word intensity in our documentation and include a definition for it, because it may be unfamiliar to those who use the word "grayscale." (It is also defined in order to explain how MATLAB stores an intensity image.)

If you want to know whether a word is defined in one of the chapter glossaries, look up the word in the index. If we have defined it, the index entry for the word will have a subentry of "definition."

For terminology that is new to you and not covered in our "Words You Need to Know" tables, we suggest you consult a more complete image processing glossary.

About This Manual

Typographical Conventions