How to build a minimal example

First of all make a backup of your current state or start a new project for the minimal example. Than there are basically two ways: strip down your program or start from scratch.

Method 1: Strip down your program

This method has the advantage that you start with your actual problem and you can test all the time if you are on the right track. First make sure that the program actually compiles without the problematic code by commenting it. Then start removing unneeded code until the bare minimum and make sure that it’s still showing the error by compiling it with and without the problematic line (make sure it still emits the same error message).

Method 2: Start from scratch

If your program is to big to strip it down, it’s maybe easier to start from scratch by building a small project that only includes the problematic code. Again make sure that it actually compiles without the erroneous code and emits the same error with it.

How to deal with input data (e.g. point clouds)

If you fear that your problem is connected to the input data (either if you have a problem with pcl/io or the error depends on the input data) you should include the input with your minimal example. If the file is to big and a stripped down version doesn’t work, you should upload it somewhere and only provide a link to the data. If you can’t include the data or don’t know a way to provide it, add a remark to your mail and we will contact you to find a solution.

If the input data is not so important it is best to generate fake data:

pcl::PointCloud<pcl::PointCloudXYZ> cloud;
cloud.insert (cloud.end (), PointXYZ (1, 1, 1));

I’m linking against other libraries, what to do?

Normally other libraries should not interfere, so try to build a minimal example using PCL (and it’s dependencies) first. If your problems is gone without the other library please make sure that it’s not actually a problem with one of the other libraries and add a comment in your minimal example.

Final Make

Please put only one error into the minimal example as well as include all necessary files to build it.