Setting up OpenCV in Eclipse on Windows (OpenCV2.2)

The latest release of OpenCV (version 2.2) has undergone dramatic changes to the library. Because of these changes, my older guide is now outdated. For OpenCV version 2.2, please use this guide.

First download and setup the basics:

• Get MinGW
• Download Eclipse C/C++ IDE

Note: I have a tutorial on these two steps already so just head over HERE for more info.

• Next download/install OpenCV 2.2
• Now launch Eclipse and start a new project by going to:

1. File->New->C++ Project (or File->New->C Project)
2. Give your project a name in the "Project name" box
3. Select the "Hello World" option under the "Project Type" section under the"Executable" folder. I recommend this over the "Empty Project" as it creates the c/c++ file for you instead of having to do it manually (it also creates a "src" folder and a"Debug" folder which helps keep things a little more organized)
4. Make sure the "MinGW" Toolchain is selected in the "Toolchains" section
5. Hit NEXT
6. Fill in your Author and other file information, then hit NEXT
7. In the next window select "Advanced settings...". This will bring you to the "Project Settings" which can always be accessed later by going to Project->Properties
8. Under the "C/C++ Build" Section go to the "Settings" and select the "Tool Settings"Tab. Then select the "Includes" folder (on older versions of eclipse it is the "Directories" folder) in the GCC Compiler branch and add the opencv include directory to Include paths (-I): "C:\OpenCV2.2\include\". Of course, change C:\OpenCV2.2 to match the installed path that you used.
9. Now, under the MinGW Linker select the "Libraries" folder and add the following to the Libraries (-l) section (note not all of these are necessarily needed for your project but these are all the libraries available in opencv version 2.2):

• opencv_calib3d220
• opencv_contrib220
• opencv_core220
• opencv_features2d220
• opencv_ffmpeg220
• opencv_flann220
• opencv_gpu220
• opencv_highgui220
• opencv_imgproc220
• opencv_legacy220
• opencv_ml220
• opencv_objdetect220
• opencv_ts220
• opencv_video220

In most cases you will only need opencv_core220 and opencv_highgui220 to get started

NOTE: Versions 2.2 and later postfix the libraries names with a three digit number that corresponds to the version of OpenCV that you are linking to.

FINALLY, under the "Library search path (-L)" section add:

• "C:\OpenCV2.2\lib"

1. Hit OK when done
2. Hit Finish to create and start the Project

Write up a simple program to test if opencv works properly. You can use this EXAMPLE CODE I made to test if your video camera and environment are working properly.

NOTE: The way this guide was written will require you to use a relative path to specify the header files you wish to include. OpenCV breaks up the library into two sections, "legacy libraries" and "new libraries".

If you wish to specify one of the new opencv libraries use the following format:

#include "opencv2\[subfolder]\[library.hpp]"

ADDITIONALLY, if you wish to include all of the primary opencv2 header files in a project you can use:

#include "opencv2\opencv.hpp"

Note: opencv.hpp does not include every library in OpenCV2.2. It may be helpful for you to view the "opencv.hpp" library (located by default in: C:\OpenCV2.2\include\opencv2\opencv.hpp) to see what is included and how you can reference the new libraries in your code. To see the complete list of libraries available, go to "C:\OpenCV2.2\include\" and browse around the directory.

Legacy libraries can be defined by: #include "opencv\[library.hpp]"

If you get an error, during compile time, pertaining to:

__exchange_and_add
Then visit this page and follow the instructions under:
Building on Windows using MinGW 3.4.5

Hope this helps!

Setting up OpenCV in Eclipse on Windows

IF YOU ARE INSTALLING OPENCV VERSION 2.2 OR LATER PLEASE GO HERE INSTEAD: OpenCV 2.2 GUIDE.

Recently OpenCV 2.0 was officially released. For those looking to do an upgrade to 2.0 (OR LATER) or installing OpenCV for the first time, there are some discrepancies with how older sites say you should setup your environment. I did some file digging and this is what I found works:

First download and setup the basics:

• Get MinGW
• Download Eclipse C/C++ IDE

Note: I have a tutorial on these two steps already so just head over HERE for more info.

• Next download/install OpenCV 2.0 (OR download a more recent version)
• Now launch Eclipse and start a new project by going to:

1. File->New->C++ Project (or File->New->C Project)
2. Give your project a name in the "Project name" box
3. Select the "Hello World" option under the "Project Type" section under the "Executable" folder. I recommend this over the "Empty Project" as it creates the c/c++ file for you instead of having to do it manually (it also creates a "src" folder and a "Debug" folder which helps keep things a little more organized)
4. Make sure the "MinGW" Toolchain is selected in the "Toolchains" section
5. Hit NEXT
6. Fill in your Author and other file information, then hit NEXT
7. In the next window select "Advanced settings...". This will bring you to the "Project Settings" which can always be accessed later by going to Project->Properties
8. Under the "C/C++ Build" Section go to the "Settings" and select the "Tool Settings" Tab. Then select the "Includes" folder (on older versions of eclipse it is the "Directories" folder) in the GCC Compiler branch and add the opencv include directory to Include paths (-I): "C:\OpenCV2.0\include\opencv\". Of course, change C:\OpenCV2.0 to match the installed path that you used.
9. Now, under the MinGW Linker select the "Libraries" folder and add the following to the Libraries (-l) section (note not all of these are necessarily needed for your project but these are all the libraries available in opencv):

• cv200
• cvaux200
• cxcore200
• cxts200
• highgui200
• ml200

In most cases you will only need cv200 and highgui200 to get started

ALSO NOTE: Versions 2.0 and later postfix the libraries names with a three digit number that corresponds to the version of OpenCV that you are linking to. Example: OpenCV2.1's highgui library must be linked using the name highgui210.

FINALLY, under the "Library search path (-L)" section add:

• "C:\OpenCV2.0\lib"

1. Hit OK when done
2. Hit Finish to create and start the Project

Write up a simple program to test if opencv works properly. You can use this snippet of code I made to test if your video camera and environment are working properly. I would have posted the code here, but blogger is being very difficult with the c++ syntax (i.e. it is trying to read a lot of things as html tags).

If you get an error, during compile time, pertaining to:
__exchange_and_add
Then visit this page and follow the instructions under:
Building on Windows using MinGW 3.4.5

Hope this helps!

Setup a C/C++ Environment in Windows

Unix operating systems have been around for a long time, and one great feature they have had for years, was the ease of setting up a programming environment. However, Windows has pretty much caught up with the recent addition of Eclipse C/C++ IDE. All it takes now is the installation of 2 or 3 programs.

How to setup a C/C++ programming environment in Windows

First download and install the latest version of MinGW

I suggest taking the easy route and download the "Automated MinGW Installer" it is just a .exe that does everything for you. This link should bring you to the correct place, you just need to search in the long list of downloads for "Automated MinGW Installer" and get the latest version (i.e. MinGW-5.1.4.exe).

https://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw/files/

By installing this package you will now have the essential compiling commands that most Unix developers/programmers know and love (i.e. gcc and g++). MinGW will also provide their implementation of "make" called mingw32-make.exe. Also MinGW will provide you with essential library/header files and others that you probably have never heard of.


The Second and last step to setting up your environment is to download and install Eclipse C/C++ IDE and/or MSYS.

MSYS can be found in the same link above. Look for "MSYS Base System" and download the most recent version (there should be an exe that you can download). After specifying the install location and finishing the primary installation, the installer will bring up a cmd prompt window and will ask you some questions. It will want to know if you have MinGW installed and what path it was installed at (by default it should be in c:/MinGW, but just double check that is where the folder resides). The installer will update some path variables and will link the evironment to your MinGW install. After it has finished you will have a perfectly healthy MSYS install that works just like a basic unix environment.

Some notes about MSYS unix environment. You will notice that if you issue the command "pwd" after launch the program, it will output /home/, where is your username in windows. The root path "/" is really a folder in the MSYS install directory. For example if my user is "Administrator", pwd would output /home/Administrator which in the windows environment means C:\msys\1.0\home\Administrator. As a result you cannot access your windows filesystem by ordinary means. If you want to access code that is somewhere else on your windows partition you will need to place it in this folder.

Another note, all commands in MSYS will show up as .exe files however you can omit the .exe file extention in the command and MSYS will automatically translate it.

If you prefer a more graphic programming environment you can install Eclipse IDE. Just head over to:

http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

And download an install the "Eclipse IDE for C/C++ Developers". There isn't really an installation to this program, just run the .jar in the folder and start your project. If everything was installed properly Eclipse should automatically select MinGW in your project options, giving your complete C/C++ programming environment.

Enjoy.