Conclusions - Boost.GIL documentation

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# Conclusions

The Generic Image Library is designed with the following five goals in mind:

## Generality

Abstracts image representations from algorithms on images. It allows for writing code once and have it work for any image type.

## Performance

Speed has been instrumental to the design of the library. The generic algorithms provided in the library are in many cases comparable in speed to hand-coding the algorithm for a specific image type.

## Flexibility

Compile-type parameter resolution results in faster code, but severely limits code flexibility. The library allows for any image parameter to be specified at run time, at a minor performance cost.

## Extensibility

Virtually every construct in GIL can be extended - new channel types, color spaces, layouts, iterators, locators, image views and images can be provided by modeling the corresponding GIL concepts.

## Compatibility

The library is designed as an STL complement. Generic STL algorithms can be used for pixel manipulation, and they are specifically targeted for optimization. The library works with existing raw pixel data from another image library.