WEB CAM APP: XCAM

I had fun piecing this together over the years.  Have fun with it!

Progress Log for Webcam Application Development

• 2010-11: Initial development begins; basic webcam image display, scaling, and averaging implemented. Early prototypes include pixel-by-pixel comparison and XOR-based outline highlighting for motion detection.
• 2011-04-24: Improvements include making the main camera window impervious to other windows through transparency. Transition to using DIBs (Device Independent Bitmaps) for faster pixel access, enhancing processing speed.
• 2012-02 to 2012-03: Addressed memory leaks and stability issues. Implemented enumeration of multiple capture devices and retrieval of driver descriptions. Enhanced video preview controls, connection/disconnection of capture drivers, and user interface adjustments.
• 2012-04: Added GUI enhancements such as toolbars, status bars, and more responsive controls. Began experimenting with filter effects like contrast, brightness, color adjustments, and raster operations for image processing.
• 2015-10: Refined form transparency routines and better control over form resizing and positioning. Improved handling of multiple forms and cleaning up resources during shutdown.
• 2018-01-16: Major code comment and documentation update, indicating ongoing refinement and a focus on speed optimization using DIBs and direct pixel access.
• 2019-02: Prepared for release; tweaked transparency handling, added additional UI controls, and improved robustness. Noted lessons learned from earlier development hurdles.
• 2021-11-04: Further refinements in user interface, form management, and processing speed. Enhanced features for color detection, gamma correction, and hue/saturation adjustments.
• 2025-09-23: Updated form transparency routines for better performance and compatibility. Continued optimization of image processing routines, including advanced color manipulations and blending functions.