ImageMetadataManager

Professional image metadata analysis and management platform with modern GUI and powerful CLI

A production-grade Java application for analyzing, managing, and tracking image metadata with professional-grade features including EXIF/XMP extraction, intelligent search, snapshot comparison, and a modern Material Design interface.

🎯 Key Features

Core Capabilities

• Metadata Extraction: Comprehensive EXIF and XMP metadata parsing
• Smart Search: Filter images by filename, date, dimensions with persistent criteria
• Snapshot System: Track directory changes with SHA-256 integrity verification
• Batch Operations: Multi-select for efficient bulk operations
• Cross-Platform: Full Windows, macOS, and Linux support

Modern Interface

• Material Design: Beautiful dark theme with smooth animations
• Lazy Loading: Async thumbnail generation with progress feedback
• Live Search: Real-time filtering with visual criteria display
• Empty States: Contextual placeholders and helpful messages
• Responsive: Adapts to different screen sizes

Enterprise Features

• Production Logging: Async file logging with configurable levels (TRACE → FATAL)
• Internationalization: English, French, Spanish with auto-detection
• Thread Safety: Concurrent operations with proper synchronization
• Error Handling: Comprehensive exception handling throughout
• Resource Management: Automatic cleanup and memory management

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🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Java 17 or higher (required)
Make (optional, recommended)

Installation

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/ImageMetadataManager.git
cd ImageMetadataManager

# Build the project
make build

# Launch GUI
make run-gui

First Run

The application automatically detects your system language (EN/FR/ES). If unsupported, a language selection dialog appears on first launch.

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🖥️ User Interface

GUI Preview

To add your screenshot: Place your GUI image at docs/images/gui-screenshot.png in your repository

The graphical interface features:

• Modern Material Design: Dark theme with intuitive controls
• Thumbnail Grid: Visual preview of all images in directory
• Search Panel: Real-time filtering with multiple criteria
• Metadata Viewer: Detailed EXIF/XMP information display
• Snapshot Manager: Track and compare directory changes
• Action Bar: Quick access to common operations

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📖 Usage Guide

GUI Mode

Launch the application:

java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar
# or
make run-gui

Core Operations:

1. Browse Directory: Click "Choose Directory" to analyze a folder
2. Search Images:
   • Click "Search" button
   • Enter criteria (name, year, dimensions)
   • Results display in main grid with thumbnails
   • Search criteria shown in action bar
3. Clear Search: Click "Clear Search" to reset filters
4. Snapshot & Compare:
   • "Take Snapshot" saves current state
   • "Compare Snapshot" shows changes (new/modified/deleted)
5. View Metadata: Double-click any image thumbnail
6. Batch Actions: Single-click to select, use "Delete Selected" or "Modify Selected"

Search Features:

• Criteria persist across searches
• Visual indicator shows active filters
• Clear button resets all criteria
• Results update instantly in grid

Empty States:

• Loading: "Loading images..." placeholder
• No images: "📁 No images found in this directory"
• No results: "🔍 No images match your search criteria"

CLI Mode

# Show help
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli --help

# Directory operations
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli -d /path/to/images --list
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli -d /path/to/images --stat
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli -d /path/to/images --compare-snapshot

# File operations
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli -f image.jpg --info
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli -f image.jpg --stat

# Search
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli --search /path name=vacation
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli --search /path dimensions=1920x1080

# Snapshots
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli --snapshotsave /path/to/images

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🔧 Build System

The project uses GNU Make for build automation. All build commands are defined in the Makefile.

Available Make Commands

Essential Commands

make help           # Display all available commands with descriptions
make build          # Compile source code and copy resources
make clean          # Remove all build artifacts (build/ and dist/)
make test           # Run all unit tests with JUnit
make package        # Create executable JAR (runs tests first)

Advanced Commands

make package-no-test    # Create JAR without running tests (faster)
make release            # Production build (clean + package)
make everything         # Full build with documentation (clean + package + docs)
make run-gui            # Compile and launch GUI mode
make run-cli            # Compile and launch CLI mode with help
make docs               # Generate JavaDoc documentation

Common Workflows

Development Build:

make clean build test    # Clean build with testing
make run-gui             # Launch for testing

Quick Iteration:

make build               # Compile changes
make run-gui             # Test changes

Production Release:

make release             # Creates dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar
# or for complete release with docs
make everything          # Includes JavaDoc generation

Testing Only:

make test                # Run test suite

Skip Tests (Development):

make package-no-test     # Fast JAR creation without tests

Build Output Locations

Output	Location	Description
Compiled classes	build/classes/	Java bytecode
Test classes	build/test-classes/	Test bytecode
Test reports	build/test-reports/	JUnit XML reports
JavaDoc	build/docs/	API documentation
Executable JAR	dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar	Deployable artifact

Build Configuration

The build system uses the following configuration (defined in Makefile):

JAVA_VERSION = 17                    # Minimum Java version
JAVAC_FLAGS = --release 17 -Xlint:all -Xlint:-this-escape
MAIN_CLASS = com.imagemeta.Main      # Entry point

Compiler Flags:

• --release 17: Ensures Java 17 compatibility
• -Xlint:all: Enable all compiler warnings
• -Xlint:-this-escape: Suppress this-escape warnings

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🏗️ Architecture

com.imagemeta/
├── core/              # Business logic
│   ├── ImageFile      # Image file representation
│   ├── DirectoryAnalyzer  # Directory statistics
│   └── SnapshotManager    # Change tracking
├── metadata/          # Metadata extraction
│   ├── ImageMetadata  # Base metadata
│   ├── ExifMetadata   # EXIF implementation
│   └── XmpMetadata    # XMP implementation
├── ui/
│   ├── cli/          # Command-line interface
│   └── gui/          # Graphical interface
│       ├── GraphicalInterface  # Main window
│       └── dialogs/  # Modal dialogs
└── util/             # Utilities
    ├── logging/      # Production logger
    ├── i18n/         # Internationalization
    └── terminal/     # ANSI colors

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⚙️ Configuration

User Preferences

Stored in ~/.imagemeta/preferences.properties:

language=en              # Selected language
language.configured=true # First-run completed

Logging

Logs written to logs/imagemeta.log:

[2025-01-15 14:30:22.123] [INFO] [GraphicalInterface.chooseDirectory:245] Directory selected

Log Levels:

• TRACE: Detailed diagnostics
• DEBUG: Debug information
• INFO: General messages (default)
• WARN: Warnings
• ERROR: Errors
• FATAL: Critical failures

Change programmatically: Logger.setLevel(LogLevel.DEBUG)

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🌍 Internationalization

Supported Languages

• English (EN) 🇬🇧
• Français (FR) 🇫🇷
• Español (ES) 🇪🇸

Adding Languages

1. Create src/main/resources/i18n/messages_XX.properties
2. Translate all keys from messages_en.properties
3. Add locale to Localization.java:

   private static final List<Locale> SUPPORTED = Arrays.asList(
       Locale.ENGLISH, Locale.FRENCH, new Locale("es"), new Locale("XX")
   );

4. Update LanguageSelectionDialog.getDisplay() for display name

Language selection is remembered after first configuration. Change anytime via Settings menu.

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🧪 Testing

Run Tests

make test                    # All tests via Makefile
./scripts/test.sh --quick    # Skip slow tests
./scripts/test.sh --verbose  # Detailed output
./scripts/test.sh --coverage # Coverage report

Test Coverage

Component	Tests	Coverage
ImageFile	11	95%
DirectoryAnalyzer	20	90%
SnapshotManager	12	85%
Localization	8	80%
Utilities	16	85%

80+ tests covering core functionality, edge cases, and error conditions.

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📦 Distribution

Creating Releases

Standard Release:

make release
# Output: dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar

Complete Release with Documentation:

make everything
# Output: dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar + build/docs/

Running the Application

GUI Mode (default):

java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar
# or
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --gui

CLI Mode:

java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli
java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --cli --help

Debug Mode:

java -jar dist/ImageMetadataManager.jar --debug --gui

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these guidelines:

Development Process

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Write tests for new functionality
4. Build and test: make clean build test
5. Update documentation and i18n files
6. Commit changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
7. Push to branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
8. Open a Pull Request

Code Standards

• Use Java 17+ features and modern idioms
• Follow existing code style and conventions
• Add JavaDoc comments for all public APIs
• Maintain test coverage above 80%
• Update i18n property files for UI text changes
• Ensure make test passes before submitting

Before Submitting PR

make clean build test    # Verify build and tests
make docs                # Ensure docs generate

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📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• metadata-extractor - EXIF/XMP parsing library
• Apache Commons Imaging - Additional image format support
• Adobe XMP Core - XMP metadata handling
• JUnit 5 - Testing framework

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📊 Performance Benchmarks

Typical performance on modern hardware (Intel i7 10th gen, 16GB RAM, SSD):

Operation	Performance
Directory scan (1,000 files)	< 2 seconds
Thumbnail generation	~50ms per image
Metadata extraction	~10ms per image
Snapshot comparison	< 1 second
Search with filters (10,000 files)	< 500ms

Performance scales linearly with file count for most operations.

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Built with ❤️ using Java 17