Making a Image from CSV

[M.O.S. Studios]

Hey everyone!

 

I’m convert a CSV file into a Jpg file using php.

 

so, the script would take the information from the CSV file, and create a visual version that can be viewed on program that displays JPG.

 

anyone of a script that does that? 
 

i was thinking of making it from scratch, but thought I might be reinventing the wheel

[requinix]

CSV is text data. JPG is image data. It does not make sense to convert one to the other.

...unless you have some kind of specific knowledge about this process. Specific knowledge that nobody else probably has. So if your question is "is there a script out there made by someone to happens to share my specific knowledge" then the answer is no.

Describe, with details, what it is you want to do.

[Danishhafeez]

Converting a CSV file directly to a JPG image is not a common task, as CSV files typically contain tabular data, while JPG files are images. However, if you have specific requirements for visualizing the data from the CSV file as an image, you may need to create a custom solution.

 

• Read the CSV file: Use PHP's built-in functions like fgetcsv() to read the CSV file and extract the data.
• Process the data: Depending on how you want to visualize the data, you'll need to process it accordingly. For example, if you want to create a chart or graph, you might need to calculate values or organize the data in a certain way.
• Create the image: Use libraries like GD or Imagick in PHP to create and manipulate images. You'll need to determine how to represent the data visually in the image.
• Save the image: Once you've created the image, save it as a JPG file using the appropriate functions.

example related to this task:

Quote

 

<?php
// Read CSV file
$csvFile = 'data.csv'; // Replace with your CSV file path
$csvData = [];
if (($handle = fopen($csvFile, 'r')) !== FALSE) {
    while (($row = fgetcsv($handle, 1000, ',')) !== FALSE) {
        $csvData[] = $row;
    }
    fclose($handle);
}

// Process data (simplified example: concatenate rows)
$imageText = '';
foreach ($csvData as $row) {
    $imageText .= implode(', ', $row) . "\n";
}

// Create image
$image = imagecreatetruecolor(400, 300); // Replace with desired image dimensions
$backgroundColor = imagecolorallocate($image, 255, 255, 255); // White background
$textColor = imagecolorallocate($image, 0, 0, 0); // Black text

// Write text to image
$font = 'arial.ttf'; // Replace with desired font file path
imagettftext($image, 12, 0, 10, 50, $textColor, $font, $imageText);

// Save image as JPG
$imagePath = 'output.jpg'; // Replace with desired output file path
imagejpeg($image, $imagePath);

// Free up memory
imagedestroy($image);

echo 'Image created successfully: ' . $imagePath;
?>

 

i hope you will understand it.

[M.O.S. Studios]

 

2 minutes ago, requinix said:

CSV is text data. JPG is image data. It does not make sense to convert one to the other.

...unless you have some kind of specific knowledge about this process. Specific knowledge that nobody else probably has. So if your question is "is there a script out there made by someone to happens to share my specific knowledge" then the answer is no.

Describe, with details, what it is you want to do.

Php has lots of libraries and functions to turn text into an image.

 

I want to take a CSV file, and use the values to create a JPG image

Here is an example of what I am

looking for. This requires Java, which I don’t have 

[M.O.S. Studios]

1 minute ago, Danishhafeez said:

Converting a CSV file directly to a JPG image is not a common task, as CSV files typically contain tabular data, while JPG files are images. However, if you have specific requirements for visualizing the data from the CSV file as an image, you may need to create a custom solution.

 

• Read the CSV file: Use PHP's built-in functions like fgetcsv() to read the CSV file and extract the data.
• Process the data: Depending on how you want to visualize the data, you'll need to process it accordingly. For example, if you want to create a chart or graph, you might need to calculate values or organize the data in a certain way.
• Create the image: Use libraries like GD or Imagick in PHP to create and manipulate images. You'll need to determine how to represent the data visually in the image.
• Save the image: Once you've created the image, save it as a JPG file using the appropriate functions.

example related to this task:

i hope you will understand it.

At first glance this is what I am looking for.

 

yeah, I wanted to arrange the data as a chart, like how it would be displayed if it was opened in excel.

 

I am  going to see if I can work with what you sent me

[gizmola]

Ok, so I think we finally have an idea of what you are looking for:  You actually want to chart data from the CSV.

In the olden days, this was typically done using one of many charting libraries that can be used to output an image format (gif/jpg/png) etc.

Practically speaking, few people use those libraries these days, and instead, javascript libraries have become the best practice way of presenting data. You move the burden of presentation to the client, and it provides a lot more usability as well, when compared to having to output an image.  With the old php graphing libraries, images are also more difficult to maintain especially if you want to cache them, which is a good idea.  If the data is frequently being updated/replaced, it's also a huge logistic pain, where you have to build in intelligence into the process of determining when to (re)create a file.  Not caching the images and instead just generating them on the fly is a great way to crush your server.

For all these reasons, people just render in their UI using clientside javascript.  You can also typically configure options to those libraries that let people download the graphs as an image, which is a built in for most of them.

Your PHP code then becomes simply a translator from the original csv file(s) to the json format of the data you need to deliver to the javascript charting library you are using in your client code.

There are many libraries, but I will point you to one I've used in the past, and is widely used throughout the industry, at least as a starting point:  https://www.highcharts.com/

From there it's easy enough to find competitors/alternatives with a bit of searching.

Just to give you an idea, some years ago I had projects using the php graph libries phplot and phpcharts.  Here's an old article about a hobby project I wrote and maintained for a while:  https://www.gizmola.com/blog/archives/63-PHPlot,-MySQL-and-the-Dark-Ages-of-Camelot.html

Here's a Codepen I created using the Plotly js library, for a project one of my kids was doing in school many years ago:  https://codepen.io/gizmola/pen/MpjLeK

Codepen and/or similar sandboxes can be a good way to experiment and get some experience with a particular library prior to doing the integration with your system.

 

 

[M.O.S. Studios]

I haven't had time until now to work on this project. I am going to take a crack at it now.
these images are going to be accessed by a design program that can grab photos from a url.

Since there is no browser directly involved, I don't think javascript would work.

 

Thanks for the link! I will take a look at the library 

Edited February 22 by M.O.S. Studios

[Danishhafeez]

you can achieve a similar outcome by interpreting the CSV data and creating an image based on it using PHP libraries like:

GD Library: Built-in for image manipulation (drawing text, shapes, etc.).

Imagick: Extends GD with wider image format support and advanced features.

Here's a general approach:

Read the CSV: Use fgetcsv or str_getcsv to parse the data into an array.

Analyze the data: Understand the meaning of each column and how it contributes to the desired image.

Create the image:

Initialize an image canvas using imagecreate, setting dimensions appropriately.

Iterate through the CSV data, using library functions to:

Draw text, shapes, or other visual elements based on the data, potentially applying formatting as needed.

Output the image: Use imagejpeg to save the created image as a JPG file.

Remember to:

Install required libraries (sudo apt install php-{gd|imagick} on Ubuntu/Debian).

Handle potential CSV data variations for flexibility.

Design the visualization logic to match your specific requirements.

[M.O.S. Studios]

So I was working on this for a bit, and I found a round about way to do it.

 

It requires FPDF, and Imagick.

<?php

require('fpdf.php');
$file  = 'file.CSV';
$kcal = 2000 / 1000;

function near5($v){
    return round($v * 2) / 2;
}

function content($file){
    $header = array();
    if (($handle = fopen($file, "r")) !== FALSE){
        $body   = array();
        $header = fgetcsv($handle);
        $header[0] = 'Category/Weight(Lbs)';
        $w = 20 + (count($header)*10);
        $h = 7;
        while (($data = fgetcsv($handle)) !== FALSE){
            $body[]  = $data;
            $h += 7;
        }
        fclose($handle);
    }
    return array($header, $body, $h, $w);
}

class PDF extends FPDF{
    // Simple table
    function BasicTable($header, $data, $kcal){
        // Header
        $first = 30;
        foreach($header as $col){
            $v = is_numeric($col) ? round(($col*2.2),1) : $col;
            $this->Cell($first,7,$v,1,0,'C');
            $first = 10;
        }
        $this->Ln();
        // Data

        foreach($data as $row){
            $first = 30;
            foreach($row as $col){
                $v = is_numeric($col) ? near5($col/$kcal) : $col;
                $this->Cell($first,7,$v,1,0,'C');
                $first = 10;
            }
            $this->Ln();
        }
    }
}


// Column headings
content($file);
list($header, $row, $h, $w) = content($file);
// Data loading
$pdf = new PDF();
$pdf->SetFont('Arial','',5);
$pdf->AddPage();
$pdf->BasicTable($header,$row, $kcal);

$output = $pdf->Output('f.pdf','F');
$imagick = new Imagick();
$imagick->readImage('f.pdf');
$imagick->setImageCompressionQuality(100);
$imagick->setResolution($w*500,$h*500);
$imagick->borderImage("#ffffff", 20, 20);
$imagick->trimImage(0.3);

$imagick->setImagePage($imagick->getImageWidth(), $imagick->getImageHeight(), 0, 0);
$imagick->setImageFormat("png");

header("Content-Type: image/" . $imagick->getImageFormat());
echo $imagick->getImageBlob();

unlink('f.pdf');

two problems and this would work perfectly.

 

1. The resolution is awful. I tried messing around with the settings; I couldn't figure it out. Any ideas?

2. I'd prefer to have it where it doesn't save the PDF file. Is there a way I can send it to imagick without saving the file?

Here is the CSV File

heaading,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,h7,h8,h9,h10,h11,h12,h13,h14
Row1, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14
another,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,110,111,112,113,114

[M.O.S. Studios]

Figured it out.

 

Here is my round about way to take a CSV file, and visualize it as a table.

 

<?php

require('fpdf.php');
$file  = file.csv';

function near5($v){
    return round($v * 2) / 2;
}

function content($file){
    $header = array();
    if (($handle = fopen($file, "r")) !== FALSE){
        $body   = array();
        $header = fgetcsv($handle);
        $header[0] = 'Category/Weight(Lbs)';
        while (($data = fgetcsv($handle)) !== FALSE){
            $body[]  = $data;
        }
        fclose($handle);
    }
    return array($header, $body);
}

class PDF extends FPDF{
    // Simple table
    function BasicTable($header, $data, $kcal){
        // Header
        $first = 30;
        foreach($header as $col){
            $v = is_numeric($col) ? round(($col*2.2),1) : $col;
            $this->Cell($first,7,$v,1,0,'C');
            $first = 10;
        }
        $this->Ln();
        // Data

        foreach($data as $row){
            $first = 30;
            foreach($row as $col){
                $v = (is_numeric($col)) ? near5($col/$kcal) : $col;
                $this->Cell($first,7,$v,1,0,'C');
                $first = 10;
            }
            $this->Ln();
        }
    }
}


// Column headings
content($file);
list($header, $row) = content($file);
// Data loading
$pdf = new PDF();
$pdf->SetFont('Arial','',5);
$pdf->AddPage();
$pdf->BasicTable($header,$row, $kcal);

$output = $pdf->Output('S');

$im = new imagick();
$im->setResolution(300, 300);
$im->readImageBlob($output);
$im->setImageFormat('png');
$im->setImageCompression(imagick::COMPRESSION_JPEG); 
$im->setImageCompressionQuality(100);

$im->borderImage("#ffffff", 20, 20);
$im->trimImage(0.3);
$im->setImagePage($im->getImageWidth(), $im->getImageHeight(), 0, 0);

header("Content-Type: image/" . $im->getImageFormat());
echo $im->getImageBlob();

$im->clear();
$im->destroy();
?>