Rolling median algorithm in C

Question

I am currently working on an algorithm to implement a rolling median filter (analogous to a rolling mean filter) in C. From my search of the literature, there appear to be t

Answer 1

Here's a simple algorithm for quantized data (months later):

""" median1.py: moving median 1d for quantized, e.g. 8-bit data

Method: cache the median, so that wider windows are faster.
    The code is simple -- no heaps, no trees.

Keywords: median filter, moving median, running median, numpy, scipy

See Perreault + Hebert, Median Filtering in Constant Time, 2007,
    http://nomis80.org/ctmf.html: nice 6-page paper and C code,
    mainly for 2d images

Example:
    y = medians( x, window=window, nlevel=nlevel )
    uses:
    med = Median1( nlevel, window, counts=np.bincount( x[0:window] ))
    med.addsub( +, - )  -- see the picture in Perreault
    m = med.median()  -- using cached m, summ

How it works:
    picture nlevel=8, window=3 -- 3 1s in an array of 8 counters:
        counts: . 1 . . 1 . 1 .
        sums:   0 1 1 1 2 2 3 3
                        ^ sums[3] < 2 <= sums[4] <=> median 4
        addsub( 0, 1 )  m, summ stay the same
        addsub( 5, 1 )  slide right
        addsub( 5, 6 )  slide left

Updating `counts` in an `addsub` is trivial, updating `sums` is not.
But we can cache the previous median `m` and the sum to m `summ`.
The less often the median changes, the faster;
so fewer levels or *wider* windows are faster.
(Like any cache, run time varies a lot, depending on the input.)

See also:
    scipy.signal.medfilt -- runtime roughly ~ window size
    http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1309263/rolling-median-algorithm-in-c

"""

from __future__ import division
import numpy as np  # bincount, pad0

__date__ = "2009-10-27 oct"
__author_email__ = "denis-bz-py at t-online dot de"


#...............................................................................
class Median1:
    """ moving median 1d for quantized, e.g. 8-bit data """

    def __init__( s, nlevel, window, counts ):
        s.nlevel = nlevel  # >= len(counts)
        s.window = window  # == sum(counts)
        s.half = (window // 2) + 1  # odd or even
        s.setcounts( counts )

    def median( s ):
        """ step up or down until sum cnt to m-1 < half <= sum to m """
        if s.summ - s.cnt[s.m] < s.half <= s.summ:
            return s.m
        j, sumj = s.m, s.summ
        if sumj <= s.half:
            while j < s.nlevel - 1:
                j += 1
                sumj += s.cnt[j]
                # print "j sumj:", j, sumj
                if sumj - s.cnt[j] < s.half <= sumj:  break
        else:
            while j > 0:
                sumj -= s.cnt[j]
                j -= 1
                # print "j sumj:", j, sumj
                if sumj - s.cnt[j] < s.half <= sumj:  break
        s.m, s.summ = j, sumj
        return s.m

    def addsub( s, add, sub ):
        s.cnt[add] += 1
        s.cnt[sub] -= 1
        assert s.cnt[sub] >= 0, (add, sub)
        if add <= s.m:
            s.summ += 1
        if sub <= s.m:
            s.summ -= 1

    def setcounts( s, counts ):
        assert len(counts) <= s.nlevel, (len(counts), s.nlevel)
        if len(counts) < s.nlevel:
            counts = pad0__( counts, s.nlevel )  # numpy array / list
        sumcounts = sum(counts)
        assert sumcounts == s.window, (sumcounts, s.window)
        s.cnt = counts
        s.slowmedian()

    def slowmedian( s ):
        j, sumj = -1, 0
        while sumj < s.half:
            j += 1
            sumj += s.cnt[j]
        s.m, s.summ = j, sumj

    def __str__( s ):
        return ("median %d: " % s.m) + \
            "".join([ (" ." if c == 0 else "%2d" % c) for c in s.cnt ])

#...............................................................................
def medianfilter( x, window, nlevel=256 ):
    """ moving medians, y[j] = median( x[j:j+window] )
        -> a shorter list, len(y) = len(x) - window + 1
    """
    assert len(x) >= window, (len(x), window)
    # np.clip( x, 0, nlevel-1, out=x )
        # cf http://scipy.org/Cookbook/Rebinning
    cnt = np.bincount( x[0:window] )
    med = Median1( nlevel=nlevel, window=window, counts=cnt )
    y = (len(x) - window + 1) * [0]
    y[0] = med.median()
    for j in xrange( len(x) - window ):
        med.addsub( x[j+window], x[j] )
        y[j+1] = med.median()
    return y  # list
    # return np.array( y )

def pad0__( x, tolen ):
    """ pad x with 0 s, numpy array or list """
    n = tolen - len(x)
    if n > 0:
        try:
            x = np.r_[ x, np.zeros( n, dtype=x[0].dtype )]
        except NameError:
            x += n * [0]
    return x

#...............................................................................
if __name__ == "__main__":
    Len = 10000
    window = 3
    nlevel = 256
    period = 100

    np.set_printoptions( 2, threshold=100, edgeitems=10 )
    # print medians( np.arange(3), 3 )

    sinwave = (np.sin( 2 * np.pi * np.arange(Len) / period )
        + 1) * (nlevel-1) / 2
    x = np.asarray( sinwave, int )
    print "x:", x
    for window in ( 3, 31, 63, 127, 255 ):
        if window > Len:  continue
        print "medianfilter: Len=%d window=%d nlevel=%d:" % (Len, window, nlevel)
            y = medianfilter( x, window=window, nlevel=nlevel )
        print np.array( y )

# end median1.py