Igraphs are perfect for prototyping new and efficient algorithms. But when you need to deploy an application or product, you probably don’t want your users to have to run WiT or even to see the igraphs. If your user can access the igraphs, they may accidentally change something that cause your algorithm to fail, or they may copy your ideas without your consent.
WiT can generate a non-displayable file, called a WiT Imaging Code (WIC) file, from an igraph. WiT Engine is an execution mechanism (more on that later) that can execute WICs exactly the same way as WiT executes the original igraph. You can create your application in VB or C/C++ and use WiT Engine to execute your WICs.
The functionality provided by WiT Engine is identical to WiT except that igraphs cannot be loaded or displayed by WiT Engine. WiT Engine can only load WIC files, not igraphs. On the other hand, WiT cannot load WIC files. So when you distribute WIC files together with your applications, there is no danger that an unauthorized person can view the algorithm. A WIC file is just binary data.
WiT Engine has all the power of WiT, including interfaces to frame grabbers and accelerators, the ability to run WIC files that contain hundreds or thousands of operators, and parallel processing on multi-processors or networked computers. It allows you to display data in pop-up windows or within your application, pass data to and from the WiT imaging engine, pause algorithm execution to wait for user input, etc. You can seamlessly integrate WiT and other ActiveX or .Net components from Microsoft or other suppliers, making it easy to add features to your application.
WiT Engine supports Microsoft Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual C# and any other programming tool that supports .Net, ActiveX, or can load Windows DLLs. WiT Engine provides two mechanisms for modern programming tools:
| Mechanism | Programming Tools |
| Namespace | Visual Basic, Visual C#, and any programming tools that work on .Net Framework 1.1 and 2.0. |
| DLL | C, C++ |
For older programming tools such as MFC and VB 6, you can still use the WiT Engine ActiveX control. Details and examples of using these older tools can be found in the References manual.
General Steps for Creating a WiT Engine Application
WiT Engine Services
C/C++
Visual Basic .Net and C#
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