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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.

In this section

Topic Description
What's New in WIC
Programming Guide
Describes how to use the WIC APIs.
Reference
Contains the reference for the WIC APIs.
WIC Samples
Provides samples for WIC.
Glossary
Defines terms that are used in WIC.