exif_read_data - PHP code example

PHP Function Exif_Read_Data

The php function exif_read_data reads the EXIF headers present in JPEG or TIFF images. These contain a wealth of meta data on the image which can be useful for your application. This includes information like the date that the picture was taken, the camera model and the GPS coordinates of the location that it was shot at.

The function returns an associative array where the indexes are the header names and the values are the associated values. It will raise errors of type E_WARNING and/or E_NOTICE if some headers cannot be read. The function will try to read all comprehensible EXIF data and return it even if it cannot find all requested sections.

Note that you need to enable the exif extension for this function to work. To do this you need to download the php source code from the exif website and run phpize. Then compile and install it where you need it.

Exif is a set of standards that allow you to get metadata from digital photos and other media files. This metadata can include information like file size, creation time and even copy right notices. Exif is a powerful tool for developers working with image-heavy applications, allowing them to extract and manipulate the data in an efficient way. This article will explore the php function exif_read_data, and show you how to use it to retrieve and modify this valuable metadata from your images. This will be particularly useful if you want to display images on a map, organize them by the date they were taken or sort them according to the camera model used to shoot them.

exif_read_data example

if (\function_exists('exif_read_data')) {
            /** @var resource $stream */
            $stream = fopen('php://memory', 'r+b');

            try {
                // use in-memory stream to read the EXIF-metadata,                 // to avoid downloading the image twice from a remote filesystem                 fwrite($stream, $file);
                rewind($stream);

                $exif = @exif_read_data($stream);

                if ($exif !== false) {
                    if (!empty($exif['Orientation']) && $exif['Orientation'] === 8) {
                        $image = imagerotate($image, 90, 0);
                    } elseif (!empty($exif['Orientation']) && $exif['Orientation'] === 3) {
                        $image = imagerotate($image, 180, 0);
                    } elseif (!empty($exif['Orientation']) && $exif['Orientation'] === 6) {
                        $image = imagerotate($image, -90, 0);
                    }
                }
            } catch (\Exception) {

    $exif_image_types = apply_filters( 'wp_read_image_metadata_types', array( IMAGETYPE_JPEG, IMAGETYPE_TIFF_II, IMAGETYPE_TIFF_MM ) );

    if ( is_callable( 'exif_read_data' ) && in_array( $image_type, $exif_image_types, true ) ) {
        // Don't silence errors when in debug mode, unless running unit tests.         if ( defined( 'WP_DEBUG' ) && WP_DEBUG
            && ! defined( 'WP_RUN_CORE_TESTS' )
        ) {
            $exif = exif_read_data( $file );
        } else {
            // phpcs:ignore WordPress.PHP.NoSilencedErrors -- Silencing notice and warning is intentional. See https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/42480             $exif = @exif_read_data( $file );
        }

        if ( ! is_array( $exif ) ) {
            $exif = array();
        }

        if ( ! empty( $exif['ImageDescription'] ) ) {
            mbstring_binary_safe_encoding();

return null;
            }

            throw ImageException::forEXIFUnsupported(); // @codeCoverageIgnore         }

        $exif = null; // default
        switch ($this->image()->imageType) {
            case IMAGETYPE_JPEG:
            case IMAGETYPE_TIFF_II:
                $exif = @exif_read_data($this->image()->getPathname());
                if ($key !== null && is_array($exif)) {
                    $exif = $exif[$key] ?? false;
                }
        }

        return $exif;
    }

    /** * Combine cropping and resizing into a single command. * * Supported positions: * - top-left * - top * - top-right * - left * - center * - right * - bottom-left * - bottom * - bottom-right * * @return BaseHandler */

    public function maybe_exif_rotate() {
        $orientation = null;

        if ( is_callable( 'exif_read_data' ) && 'image/jpeg' === $this->mime_type ) {
            $exif_data = @exif_read_data( $this->file );

            if ( ! empty( $exif_data['Orientation'] ) ) {
                $orientation = (int) $exif_data['Orientation'];
            }
        }

        /** * Filters the `$orientation` value to correct it before rotating or to prevent rotating the image. * * @since 5.3.0 * * @param int $orientation EXIF Orientation value as retrieved from the image file. * @param string $file Path to the image file. */