_GDIPlus_ImageLoadFromFile or _GDIPlus_BitmapCreateFromFile ?

[SimTheNo1]

I am busy with building a solution for change monitoring of VOIP call program and to be properly automated means among others need for some limited OCR functionality. Current works of others are way too much overkill for this case what makes the need to build it myself. But to do it properly I significantly have to increase my knowledge about digital graphics management.

For now I already have discovered here and there some mind blowing  Autoit miracles what can be achieved with Windows own possibilities to manipulate that what is output to the monitor. And as far I can judge there are 2 options to process graphics without use of any external libraries like ImageMagick, FreeImage and so on. These are:

1.  WinAPI
2.  GDIPlus

It is for me quite obvious to have various holes in general understanding of graphics and it is once more very clear what advantages gives consistent general study in 1 or another official institutions like University.  Cause there you are introduced into certain domain of knowledge in a way which usually has been perfected over long period of time. So you are not overloaded by stuff which requires a certain amount of information to be initially clear for you. For example, before starting to solve physics you first learn to read, count and so on and then move to subjects like physics.

Though in my case opportunity to study in such educational system I had only for 8 years, from my 7th to 15th year of age in the country that was falling apart now Ukraine but used to be USSR, was all what it was. After have immigrated to Netherlands possibilities to study further haven't occur. And this therefor causes often various implications when going deep in that or another field of practical knowledge acquiring for any needed physical result, like programming to perform enormous amount of tasks. In this particular case automating VOIP call program.

Anyway, right now I think the best direction to move is to concentrate on as basic as possible image management and if someone would maybe explain in general what is a pixel will definitely help. Particularly I am very curious about how to do picture manipulations in Autoit. Especially would help a lot to produce eventually following functions:

• createImage($imageFileName, $width, $height, $color)
• readImagePixel($imageFileName, $x, $y) 
• writeImagePixel($imageFileName, $x, $y)

I do not know exactly how image is handled in computer but preferably above mentioned functions should deal with so far possible origin of graphics creation on computer. But nevertheless I definitely would love to hear any proposition for solution.

The problem with explaining screenshots:

1.  VOIPConnect full Window 
2. Part of Window with control to monitor for changes 
3. Exact location of area where actual changes occur and have to be processed 

It comes down to a rectangle of approximately 51 pixel wide and 7 pixel high. In fact if I get to learn as far as to be able exactly read, write and compare 2 images consistently across different computers I could narrow down then even further the area to watch as little as a square of 2-5 pixels wide. 

To finish here is last detail about particularly no need for ultra fast solution at all. This because it is needed only once when it is first run on a new computer and to have to wait few minutes while it is being set instead of just a few seconds make no sence.

This is it and what I too think to do beside this very particular case is to purify out beautiful generic Autoit functions for core image manipulation by using WinAPI or/and GDIPlus.