Alternatives to Matlab's Image Processing Toolkit

Question

Are there any comprehensive open-source alternatives to Matlab\'s Image Processing Toolkit?

Answer 1

I assume the reason you want an open source option is to have a free option or some other open-source license related reason.

However, if it's just so you can actually see the source to understand how algorithms are implemented in a particular package (something I often am curious about), bear in mind you can see the source for MATLAB functions by entering edit followed by the function name in the command window. E.g., if I wanted to know how the MATLAB implementation of the function label2rgb works, you can type "edit label2rgb" into the command window and it will open that m file.

Furthermore, if you find you just wish you could modify the behaviour of certain functions slightly, you can always get their source as I described, then modify. However, make sure to always save the results in a seperate m-file, ideally with a different name and in a different location so you don't end up breaking a MATLAB function and having to reinstall to get it back.

In Windows 7 at least, the folder "C:\Users\%your_username%\Documents\MATLAB" is included in the MATLAB search path for functions, so if you wanted to tweak label2rgb, you might copy it into that folder, rename it label2rgb_custom.m, and make your mods. You could then run it from anywhere in MATLAB by calling label2rgb_custom().