code one? PLenty of packages out there...GL has a their own function and I'm pretty sure .net has an embedded function also. Search the Help option in .net
You're trying to use Visual C++ as a graphics editor? I don't know if that's possible. neurocomp is suggesting ways to write programs which read and write bitmaps.
You can do it.
Lots of calls to kernal and user dll.
Search the C help file for bitmap functions.
Don't know if I'd want to do that much work now that you can find an editor to open almost anything.
What I am really interested in is using VC++ to do the projects in a image processing textbook. Nothing practical, just a learning exercise. I have to be able to open and manipulate a bitmap though to get to square one...
You should be able to find 100,000 different libraries and snippets of code for opening and reading bitmaps. In fact, the bitmap is so simple that you might even just consider writing your own implementation.