FUNCTIONAL INTERPOLATING TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM FOR IMAGE PROCESSING

An image processing system and a concomitant method for rapid image processing. The system generates special image format containing a plurality of subimages. When an image is edited, the system uses the information in the subimages to calculate a depiction of the image on the display appropriate to display resolution, given the current pan and zoom. Image alterations are stored within a computer file as an expression tree. Each node in the expression tree defines a particular editing operation that resulted in modifications to the image. To display the image upon a computer monitor display, the expression tree defining the alterations is evaluated to form a composite output image having a resolution appropriate to display an accurate rendition of the edited image. Once edited, the output image can be printed on a high resolution printer by combining the expression tree with a full resolution image to produce a high resolution output image.