[Insight-users] Simple ITK vs Scripted ITK vs full ITK

[Dan Mueller]

Hi Michel,

Your email seems to have posed the question as SimpleITK xor WrapITK
xor ITK. Have you considered SimpleITK _and_ WrapITK _and_ ITK? IMHO
the tools make a nice progression: simple/less features to more
complex/fully featured. Concepts learnt in SimpleITK are transferable
to WrapITK, and concepts learnt in WrapITK are transferable to pure
C++ ITK.

For example:

SimpleITK could be used to introduced the notion of an n-D image with
configurable pixel type, file types supported by ITK, common filters,
etc.
WrapITK could introduce pipeline execution, events/progress reporting,
additional functionality not available (yet) in SimpleITK (e.g.
registration).
Finally ITK topics could include CMake/building, generic
programming/templates, writing custom filters, etc.
(Of course these topics are on top of the general medical image
analysis topics.)

Anyhow, just an idea that perhaps you hadn't considered...

To answer some of your more specific questions:
SimpleITK currently supports the following first tier languages:
Python, Tcl, Java. Other "second" tier languages include R, Lua, C#.
WrapITK also supports a number of different languages, including:
Python, Tcl, Java, Perl, Ruby. I don't know the exact figure, but
WrapITK would cover roughly 70% of available ITK filters.
Also, AFAIK SimpleITK can be integrated with both WrapITK and classic
ITK (depending on the wrapping language i.e. Python).

HTH

Cheers, Dan

On 13 January 2012 15:13, Matt McCormick <matt.mccormick at kitware.com> wrote:
> Hi Michel,
>
> Another ITK based course would be great!
>
> SimpleITK is probably your best bet at this point.  It will remove
> language hurtles that may cloud the learning process, and it still
> provides a basis for what can easily be a full course.  The most
> notable drawback right now with SimpleITK is a lack of registration
> interfaces.  There is good Doxygen documentation, and the SimpleITK
> developers are working on a user's guide and better in-language help.
>
> The script-based ITK (WrapITK) is available, and it would not be a bad
> choice either.  It removes the high programming bar for understanding
> C++, templates, writing typedefs, ...  You can build the python
> interface by setting ITK_WRAP_PYTHON to ON in the CMake configuration.
>
> Of course, there is nothing wrong with ITK classic, either.  However,
> the other interfaces may be more effective as a gateway drug other
> than direct access to "the good stuff".
>
> Best regards,
> Matt
>
> On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 4:41 PM, Audette, Michel A. <maudette at odu.edu> wrote:
>> Dear ITK users and developers,
>>
>> I'm giving thought to producing a course similar to John Galeotti's at CMU, i.e. medical image analysis based on ITK, but I'm also considering whether to use Simple ITK, or scripted ITK (you guys are working on that, right?), vs ITK Classic.
>>
>> I want to give the students the full breadth of possibilities, but at the same time, if I can attract biology students to the class on the basis of a script-based course, that might a justification for opting for the scripting-based version.
>>
>> Can anyone give me a sense of how much ITK functionality I would be sacrificing if I opt for script-based ITK (what is it: python?) vs what will be available via C++-based ITK, Simple or otherwise?
>>
>> Thanks for your kind consideration.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Michel
>>
>> Michel Audette, Ph.D.
>> Assistant Professor,
>> Department of Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Engineering,
>> Old Dominion University,
>> Norfolk, VA.
>> _____________________________________
>> Powered by www.kitware.com
>>
>> Visit other Kitware open-source projects at
>> http://www.kitware.com/opensource/opensource.html
>>
>> Kitware offers ITK Training Courses, for more information visit:
>> http://www.kitware.com/products/protraining.html
>>
>> Please keep messages on-topic and check the ITK FAQ at:
>> http://www.itk.org/Wiki/ITK_FAQ
>>
>> Follow this link to subscribe/unsubscribe:
>> http://www.itk.org/mailman/listinfo/insight-users
> _____________________________________
> Powered by www.kitware.com
>
> Visit other Kitware open-source projects at
> http://www.kitware.com/opensource/opensource.html
>
> Kitware offers ITK Training Courses, for more information visit:
> http://www.kitware.com/products/protraining.html
>
> Please keep messages on-topic and check the ITK FAQ at:
> http://www.itk.org/Wiki/ITK_FAQ
>
> Follow this link to subscribe/unsubscribe:
> http://www.itk.org/mailman/listinfo/insight-users