Compiling C++ code samples

This section explains how to compile the C++ code samples provided with Metavision SDK.

As an example, we take the Metavision Filtering sample from SDK Core Module. However, all other SDK samples can be compiled in the same way.

Based on this tutorial, you can compile any C++ SDK’s code sample or your own software using Metavision SDK.

Compilation on Linux

Warning

If you built Metavision from the source code of OpenEB or SDK without the deployment step, the following steps won’t apply as the source code of the samples won’t be deployed in /usr/local/share. In that case, the binaries of the sample can be found in SOURCE_DIR/build/bin after the compilation of the SDK.

So, if you want to compile a single sample, add --target sample_name to the compilation command that you launch from the build folder:

cmake --build . --config Release --target <sample_name>

First, make sure you installed CMake and some required dependencies:

sudo apt -y install cmake libboost-program-options-dev libeigen3-dev libprotobuf-dev protobuf-compiler

Then, follow these steps:

  • make a working copy of the code sample, for example to your home directory:

    cp -r /usr/share/metavision/sdk/core/cpp_samples/metavision_filtering/ ~/        # If you installed Metavision with SDK packages
    cp -r /usr/local/share/metavision/sdk/core/cpp_samples/metavision_filtering/ ~/  # If you built OpenEB or SDK source code with the deployment step
    
  • go to the directory with the code sample:

    cd ~/metavision_filtering
    
  • compile the code:

    mkdir build && cd build
    cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
    cmake --build . --config Release
    
  • run the sample:

    ./metavision_filtering
    

Compilation on Windows

Setup

Warning

If you built Metavision from the source code without the deployment step, the following steps won’t apply as the source code of the samples won’t be deployed in C:\Program Files\Prophesee\share. In that case, the binaries of the samples can be found in SOURCE_DIR\build\release after the compilation of the SDK.

If you want to compile a single sample, add --target sample_name to the compilation command that you launch from the build folder:

cmake --build . --config Release --target <sample_name>

To compile the code sample, you will need to install some extra tools:

  • CMake 3.26

  • Microsoft Visual C++ compiler (MSVC, 64-bit version). You can choose one of the following solutions:

Then, follow these steps:

  • open a command prompt

  • make a working copy of the code sample, for example to your home directory:

    xcopy "C:\Program Files\Prophesee\share\metavision\sdk\core\samples\metavision_filtering" "%HOMEPATH%\metavision_filtering" /I
    
  • go to the directory with the code sample:

    cd %HOMEPATH%\metavision_filtering
    

From here you can either compile the code from the command line directly, or you can create a Visual Studio project.

Compile from the command line

  • compile the code:

    mkdir build && cd build
    cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
    cmake --build . --config Release
    
  • run the sample:

    cd %HOMEPATH%\metavision_filtering\build\release
    metavision_filtering.exe
    

Compile with Visual Studio

Follow these steps:

  • create a Visual Studio project (note, that this line works for Visual Studio 17 2022; change the command to match your installed version):

    mkdir build && cd build
    cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ..
    
  • This will create metavision_filtering.sln file in the build folder of your sample. Open this file with Visual Studio.

  • You can build the sample with Build -> Build Solution, or by pressing F7

    • Note that if you want to compile in debug mode, you must configure the lib path to C:\Program Files\Prophesee\lib\*_d.lib (see our page on Setting up IDE on Windows

  • You can then execute the software with Debug -> Start without debugging, or by pressing CTRL+F5

    • Ensure that Release and x64 are the selected solution configurations

    • Ensure that the selected sample is the startup project. You can do this by right-clicking on the project sample (metavision_filtering in this case, on the left under ALL_BUILD) and selecting Set as Startup Project