Windows Imaging Component

Purpose

The Windows Imaging Component (WIC) is an extensible platform that provides low-level API for digital images.  WIC supports the standard web image formats, high dynamic range images, and raw camera data.  WIC also supports additional features such as:

• Built-in support for standard metadata formats
• Extensible framework for image codecs, pixel formats, and metadata formats.
• Wide range of pixel format support.
• High-color support; including 30-bit extended range, 30-bit high precision, and 48-bit high precision and wide gamut pixel formats.
• Progressive image decoding.

Developer Audience

WIC is designed to meet the needs of the following classes of developers:

• Developers who read and write image data in an application.
• Developers who read and write image metadata in an application.
• Developers who want run-time codec discovery for newly designed or implemented image codecs.
• Developers designing or implementing new image codecs and metadata formats.

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