Convert PPM to PFM

The Portable Pixmap (PPM) file extension, an image format within the Netpbm family, stores simple, uncompressed images. Introduced in the late 1980s, PPM supports RGB color and grayscale images, making it suitable for basic image processing and conversion tasks. Its plain text encoding simplifies debugging and data manipulation, although its lack of compression results in larger file sizes compared to modern formats. As such, PPM finds limited use in contemporary applications, mainly in educational and experimental settings where ease of implementation and readability are prioritized.

The Portable Floatmap (PFM) file format, also known as Portable FloatMap, is an image file format designed to store High Dynamic Range (HDR) images using floating-point values. Developed in the spirit of the Portable Pixmap format, PFM files contain image data with resolutions and byte order specified in the header. This format is particularly useful for applications requiring precise image data, such as computer graphics and image processing. PFM has been widely adopted in the IT industry for its ability to handle a wide range of pixel values beyond the standard 0-255 range, making it ideal for HDR imaging and other advanced visualizations.