Java choice: Store images in JAR or as Base64 sequence?

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9359803

28-10-2019
|

Question

I wrote a poker simulator / odds calculator. On the GUI, there are some JComboBoxes from which the user can choose the cards.

Now, I have the images for those cards and I also have them in Base64 format. There are 3 different ways I tried to display them. I wrote a small program for each one for demonstration purposes.

Here are the 3 methods I have tried:

1). Store the images in the JAR file:

Pretty straightforward. The images go into the JAR and the Java code reads them from there. After that, it creates a JComboBox with all of them and displays it:

import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;

public class ImagesFromJAR
{
    private JFrame mainframe;

    public ImagesFromJAR ()
    {
        ImageIcon[] cardslist = new ImageIcon[52];

        for (int i = 0; i < 52; ++i)
        {
            cardslist[i] = new ImageIcon (getClass (). getResource ((this.getImagePath (i))));
        }

        JComboBox cardsbox = new JComboBox (cardslist);
        cardsbox.setSelectedIndex (0);
        cardsbox.setEditable (false);

        this.mainframe = new JFrame ();
        this.mainframe.setDefaultCloseOperation (JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
        this.mainframe.setSize (150, 150);
        this.mainframe.setLayout (null);

        cardsbox.setBounds (20, 20, 55, 45);
        this.mainframe.add (cardsbox);

        this.mainframe.setVisible (true);
    }

    private String getImagePath (int index)
    {
        switch (index)
        {
            case 0: return "images/2c.gif";
            case 1: return "images/3c.gif";
            case 2: return "images/4c.gif";
            case 3: return "images/5c.gif";
            case 4: return "images/6c.gif";
            case 5: return "images/7c.gif";
            case 6: return "images/8c.gif";
            case 7: return "images/9c.gif";
            case 8: return "images/Tc.gif";
            case 9: return "images/Jc.gif";
            case 10: return "images/Qc.gif";
            case 11: return "images/Kc.gif";
            case 12: return "images/Ac.gif";
            case 13: return "images/2d.gif";
            case 14: return "images/3d.gif";
            case 15: return "images/4d.gif";
            ......................................
            default: return null;
        }
    }

    public static void main (String[] args)
    {
        javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater (new Runnable ()
        {
            public void run ()
            {
                ImagesFromJAR t = new ImagesFromJAR ();
            }
        });
    }
}

2). Store the images in Base64 format in a text-file:

I converted each image in Base64 format and then stored in a text-file. The Java code reads that file and recreates the images by decoding the lines in the file. After that, a JComboBox is created and displayed:

import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.IOException;

public class CodeFromFile
{
    private JFrame mainframe;

    public CodeFromFile ()
    {
        ImageIcon[] cardslist = new ImageIcon[52];

        InputStreamReader in = null;
        BufferedReader buff;

        int index = -1;

        try
        {
            in = new InputStreamReader (new FileInputStream ("card.encodings.txt"));
            buff = new BufferedReader (in);

            String line;
            byte[] ba;

            while ((line = buff.readLine ()) != null)
            {
                if (line.length () < 10)
                {
                    continue;
                }

                index++;

                ba = Base64.decode (line);

                cardslist[index] = new ImageIcon (ba);
            }
        }
        catch (IOException e)
        {
            e.printStackTrace ();
        }
        finally
        {
            if (in != null)
            {
                try
                {
                    in.close ();
                }
                catch (IOException e2) {}
            }
        }

        JComboBox cardsbox = new JComboBox (cardslist);
        cardsbox.setSelectedIndex (0);
        cardsbox.setEditable (false);

        this.mainframe = new JFrame ();
        this.mainframe.setDefaultCloseOperation (JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
        this.mainframe.setSize (150, 150);
        this.mainframe.setLayout (null);

        cardsbox.setBounds (20, 20, 55, 45);
        this.mainframe.add (cardsbox);

        this.mainframe.setVisible (true);
    }

    public static void main (String[] args)
    {
        javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater (new Runnable ()
        {
            public void run ()
            {
                CodeFromFile t = new CodeFromFile ();
            }
        });
    }
}

The content of the card.encodings.txt is like this:

2c:
R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXKIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemqjeprDmaMQN9DEhgN5MBBA5OtzIHtgEGAJ9qpwLEvjsDAImtsTcIkMo3Ag4DmUAMztSbaajQMAmfCdig4aInDt3pfuyvQTXwMyt19ikiIQA7
3c:
R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXMIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemqjeprDmaMowMA5k7B2kEDg22OJ+DT62xNwtbYDsDC5C9OAYkD6Wgw7JFSMKnzp9qqg/aq8gAidc3BQB3j3/jNgINJA3e26+tNfIzK3X4KSIhADs=
4c:
R0lGODlhHgAmALMAAAAAAP///+7u7szMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///yH5BAEAAA8ALAAAAAAeACYAAATC8D1Aq734yhm6/2AIApxonh6FrqLKvp2LGg7ADKtsGpYjoDrR4nIAAlY1i8K4ahCZogSgobhUHYbWMYTIYAqhYCfprSTCWxC5MrycR+nP4YIwtCsEtGk+NQgWAXwMYHosVUU5cSIIdwqIJmIeXV6EhTAskZeWmieZnCmKJwkMmKEiBTalLAINDaSJLAkHDK9QJwWAtKonAgw/urAnCnkBwLYhBm/FtZ2mHQwZCMcoxs0w1ZDOIdhan0Al3iMbZeQZEhEAOw==
5c:
R0lGODlhHgAmALMAAAAAAP///+7u7szMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///yH5BAEAAA8ALAAAAAAeACYAAATA8D1Aq734yhm6/2AIApxonh6FrqLKvp2LGg7ADKtsGpYjoDrR4nIAAlY1i8K4ahCZogSgobhUHYbWMYTIYAqhYCfprSTCWxC5MrycR+nP4YIwtCsEtGk+NQgWAXwMYHosVUU5cSIIdwqIJmIeXV6EhTAskZeWmieZnCmKJgwVS52hIQQWWaaGj4krAwAOCD+vKFIUDpWQpyEHQz5QL12umywMpbyaCAjCLzfOizgBjrYnbQu7yp+dJdwjG2XiGRIRADs=

.. and it goes on for every image/card.

3). The third way is to store the images as Base64 Strings directly in the source code. Like this:

import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;

public class CodeFromSource
{
    private JFrame mainframe;

    public CodeFromSource ()
    {
        ImageIcon[] cardslist = new ImageIcon[52];

        byte[] ba;

        for (int i = 0; i < 52; ++i)
        {
            ba = Base64.decode (this.getImageCode (i));
            cardslist[i] = new ImageIcon (ba);
        }

        JComboBox cardsbox = new JComboBox (cardslist);
        cardsbox.setSelectedIndex (0);
        cardsbox.setEditable (false);

        this.mainframe = new JFrame ();
        this.mainframe.setDefaultCloseOperation (JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
        this.mainframe.setSize (150, 150);
        this.mainframe.setLayout (null);

        cardsbox.setBounds (20, 20, 55, 45);
        this.mainframe.add (cardsbox);

        this.mainframe.setVisible (true);
    }

    private String getImageCode (int index)
    {
        switch (index)
        {
            case 0: return "R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXKIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemqjeprDmaMQN9DEhgN5MBBA5OtzIHtgEGAJ9qpwLEvjsDAImtsTcIkMo3Ag4DmUAMztSbaajQMAmfCdig4aInDt3pfuyvQTXwMyt19ikiIQA7";
            case 1: return "R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXMIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemqjeprDmaMowMA5k7B2kEDg22OJ+DT62xNwtbYDsDC5C9OAYkD6Wgw7JFSMKnzp9qqg/aq8gAidc3BQB3j3/jNgINJA3e26+tNfIzK3X4KSIhADs=";
            case 2: return "R0lGODlhHgAmALMAAAAAAP///+7u7szMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///yH5BAEAAA8ALAAAAAAeACYAAATC8D1Aq734yhm6/2AIApxonh6FrqLKvp2LGg7ADKtsGpYjoDrR4nIAAlY1i8K4ahCZogSgobhUHYbWMYTIYAqhYCfprSTCWxC5MrycR+nP4YIwtCsEtGk+NQgWAXwMYHosVUU5cSIIdwqIJmIeXV6EhTAskZeWmieZnCmKJwkMmKEiBTalLAINDaSJLAkHDK9QJwWAtKonAgw/urAnCnkBwLYhBm/FtZ2mHQwZCMcoxs0w1ZDOIdhan0Al3iMbZeQZEhEAOw==";
            case 3: return "R0lGODlhHgAmALMAAAAAAP///+7u7szMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///yH5BAEAAA8ALAAAAAAeACYAAATA8D1Aq734yhm6/2AIApxonh6FrqLKvp2LGg7ADKtsGpYjoDrR4nIAAlY1i8K4ahCZogSgobhUHYbWMYTIYAqhYCfprSTCWxC5MrycR+nP4YIwtCsEtGk+NQgWAXwMYHosVUU5cSIIdwqIJmIeXV6EhTAskZeWmieZnCmKJgwVS52hIQQWWaaGj4krAwAOCD+vKFIUDpWQpyEHQz5QL12umywMpbyaCAjCLzfOizgBjrYnbQu7yp+dJdwjG2XiGRIRADs=";
            case 4: return "R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXZIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemqjeprDmaNwNiAE+gsTJMDKW3PExpqLgvAw+fmTsLD6MMtr04DwxITA1gNgQAn2KJztbYLky8gDgD3i0GANtqOw0O3w/VNgUAdwQOwNw3Bl5ox6+tNf5mrKhDMIWIEAA7";
            case 5: return "R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXGIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemqjeprDmaMUwniaCxMIckD2A2j08tCX+2OAO/LQ61w0AFDpmnCgnOQA5IvDsGDai3YZ+t2zEPA9o/hj+uLwtp46+tNewzK3XyKSIhADs=";
            case 6: return "R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXYIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemqjeprDmaMowPn6CxMG1wBLRgNw4NLguQrbcvDE4tDAm9S0YDCMPEPIxbmTwGC161ajsGDskA24BdfwHHzDECAOUID+gxCw9wAg3l3DtiJOLjr601/TNW1BmYQkQIADs=";
            case 7: return "R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXZIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemqjeprDmaMghFk5k7CA4DAWJIrbF6aS0OkL44BQClbbqgvy4GyC6DvWrGAH+RANOrMg3QBAwPYDePJLhbxUAGD8vMQAQOn+07A23B4jICJArs969xNf5mrKhDMIWIEAA7";
            case 8: return "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";
            case 9: return "R0lGODlhHgAmALMAAAAAAP///+7u7szMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///yH5BAEAAA8ALAAAAAAeACYAAAS38D1Aq734yhm6/2AIApxonh6FrqLKvp2LGg7ADKtsGpYjoDrR4nIAAlY1i8K4ahCZogSgobhUHYbWMYTIYAqhYCfprSTCWxC5MrycR+nP4YIwtCsEtGk+NQgWAXwMYHosVUU5cSIIdwqIJmIeXV6EhTAskZeWmieZnCmKIQM9iS9deaUsczipK6uYoSKvrSizUK4ArLe1ubAvtp2xIQcOL54BVQQIb7TDFEvGwp8xJdMjG2XZGRIRADs=";
            case 10: return "R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXvIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemNgRlJAtIN6ktg38Cl7KaL0wJMGWlgDcOTjAEY6C6LQVGMl6Jq4IAWzENAMA5yZHSMtXXQdkGzDHOajdFAzADx+WLAH8uYmnsNmXTtwC9yDsHXiQN8vp4MPoUkAeBKQwAQttBIIEXbwFoZFMVZEWdiylEhAAAOw==";
            case 11: return "R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP///+7u7t3d3czMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABAALAAAAAAeACYAAAXgIAQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss7/LR/u8AA0CDuh7WB6CHBKGeOEgAJ2RdPCunNQuTIFwLE4lR+H3jWWSKEMsWgr6y4p4msYvTQ93Wd5LwgnCQd9JQV4NoNjBwIMAYwNcIo8ZVVJgTIJhwuYNnIubW6UlUA8oaemqjeprDmaLmUlcA0lDaCxLgMAkC4Nk626LQIAWy0IvsI3xccKCajDAc2PadHMRmRArsUMU8pgMs0BUw0DmdjHgw5IyzbjLUwA7Wo3vOBl4IA2syRwoyQe1HvVqgbBGSvqKEwhIgQAOw==";
            case 12: return "R0lGODlhHgAmALMAAAAAAP///+7u7szMzLu7u6qqqpmZmYiIiHd3d2ZmZlVVVURERDMzMyIiIhEREf///yH5BAEAAA8ALAAAAAAeACYAAATR8D1Aq734yhm6/2AIApxonh6FrqLKvp2LGg7ADKtsGpYjoDrR4nIAAlY1i8K4ahCZogSgobhUHYbWMYTIYAqhYCfprSTCWxC5MrycR+nP4YIwtCsEtGk+NQgWAXwMYHosVUU5cSIIdwqIJmIeXV6EhTAskZeWmieZnCmKJgMAeYkvVW9QKAIODD6mKwcIc4+QoSENA6wMsCcFgAFVOJ23H4MdBQAIqiKjFw3MIQm1XZWbIKw/HqNLticL3cYAtR+ZSQ4fZLzXnyMl7e4SZfMZEhEAOw==";
            case 13: return "R0lGODlhHgAmAMQAAAAAAP////8AAP8REf8iIv8zM/9ERP9VVf9mZv93d/+IiP+Zmf+qqv+7u//MzP/d3f/u7v///wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAEAABEALAAAAAAeACYAAAW/YBQBZGme6CmOQeu+cAwDrGzfLonvss4HiJ9vtxAkeMMbhCAQNHZJm6EpIEBw0ZiC2gzesq8Gl7r4ApTMcfPZO9sOairBBm4t40662yZWK8w7W1wGWHs3U01WhTx3eYs8DAJejzwJV1CGP5iamnWcM5kxD4gGDps4BQwBDgQDl3o4C6YtkX+AmhACtrCaD468PwqElDtLD6c8BmzENwllSKExCbsJx8A2CWNzt9hqk22f0OFQNeMxNCIp6uskIiEAOw==";
            .........
            default: return null;
        }
    }

    public static void main (String[] args)
    {
        javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater (new Runnable ()
        {
            public void run ()
            {
                CodeFromSource t = new CodeFromSource ();
            }
        });
    }
}

(I had to delete some switch cases because there is a 30 K characters limit on StackOverflow)

Each of these methods produce the same result, which is this:

Result

PS: The Base64 class is just some utility class that encodes/decodes Base64 information (you can find it in the link below).

If you want all the resources for this (images, source code etc.), you can get them from here: Resources

Now that we cleared that up... what I want is to know which of these 3 methods is better. What are the upsides and downsides of each of them ? Which one should I use ? Why ? I'm also talking about the possibility of JAR file corruption.

The only thing I don't care about is performance.

Solution

is preferable as there is no conversion involved, and your code can read them from classpath. This makes your appliction self contained. Corruption is not an issue, as this would render whole application useless - not only image files
Will involve runtime penalty for conversion ( startup time and memory ), and alsop introduces configuration files.
Is as bad as 2, but is also less flexible ( you can not change images without recompiling)

OTHER TIPS

Putting the images in the Jar is most common, and therefore easiest for others to work with or answer questions on (which might or might not be important).

I doubt that 2 or 3 would produce a smaller end distributable. As to the possibility of corruption. That would seem to apply to either classes or resource in Jars, or to plain text files. The issue then becomes "how likely is each to be corrupted?" to which I think the answer is "the more bytes, the greater the chance".

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