Image Processing Plug-ins
The Image Processing Plug-in Interface is a standard programming interface that allow external code to perform image processing operations on displayed images. An Image Processing Plug-in receive image data from Mira, does something with the data, and then returns it to Mira. The plug-in might perform some simple or elaborate mathematical operation on the image data, change entries in the image header, make measurements, or list information derived from the image. Mira knows nothing about what happens inside the plug-in code.
The Image Processing Plug-in Interface is built into the basic Mira application. If you have a plug-in module written to the Mira standard, then to use it, all you need do is to copy it into the [MIRA]\Plugins\Process\ folder and run Mira.
The Image Processing Plug-inis a DLL (Dynamically Linkable Library) module that resides in the [MIRA]\Plugins\Process\folder. When MIRA starts, it searches this folder for suitable plug-ins and loads the code from those it finds. A valid plug-in specifies the caption for a menu item that will be used to call the plug-in. This is all transparent to the Mira user, since the plug-in appears in the User Interface as just another command. When the user clicks on the plug-in menu item, Mira passes to the plug-in the Image Set data for the active Image Window. In addition to doing something to the image or header data, the plug-in may open its own dialogs, use the Windows registry, or perform other operations as needed.
The following items are passed from Mira to the plug-in:
Pixel data and header data for each member of the Image Set.
The center coordinates of the Image Cursor.
The effective rectangle outline of the Image Cursor.
When the plug-in has finished its work, it returns the pixel data and the header data. Mira automatically handles undo and re-display of the image data returned by the plug-in.
An Image Processing Plug-inmay be obtained from the author of the plug-in. Or, if you write software for the Windows platform, you may wish to write one yourself. The plug-in is a DLL module that is easily written using Microsoft Visual C++. The programmer must develop a module known as a Regular DLL using the shared MFC DLL model. Mirametrics offers a simple software development kit that includes the wrapper code and a sample plug-in to help the programmer develop a plug-in.
Mirametrics created the Image Processing Plug-in Interface as an open standard. Mirametrics, Inc. makes no warranties whatsoever that any given 3rd party authored plug-in will work with Mira or that Mira will operate without interruption when using it.