Using PCL with Eclipse
This tutorial explains how to use Eclipse as an IDE to manage your PCL projects. It was tested under Ubuntu 14.04 with Eclipse Luna; do not hesitate to modify this tutorial by submitting a pull request on GitHub to add other configurations etc.
Prerequisites
We assume you have downloaded and extracted a PCL version (either PCL trunk or a stable version) on your machine. For the example, we will use the pcl visualizer code.
Creating the eclipse project files
The files are organized like the following tree:
.
├── build
└── src
├── CMakeLists.txt
└── pcl_visualizer_demo.cpp
Open a terminal, navigate to your project root folder and configure the project:
$ cd /path_to_my_project/build
$ cmake -G "Eclipse CDT4 - Unix Makefiles" ../src
You will see something that should look like:
-- The C compiler identification is GNU 4.8.2
-- The CXX compiler identification is GNU 4.8.2
-- Could not determine Eclipse version, assuming at least 3.6 (Helios). Adjust CMAKE_ECLIPSE_VERSION if this is wrong.
-- Check for working C compiler: /usr/lib/ccache/cc
-- Check for working C compiler: /usr/lib/ccache/cc -- works
-- Detecting C compiler ABI info
-- Detecting C compiler ABI info - done
-- Check for working CXX compiler: /usr/lib/ccache/c++
-- Check for working CXX compiler: /usr/lib/ccache/c++ -- works
-- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info
-- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info - done
-- checking for module 'eigen3'
-- found eigen3, version 3.2.0
-- Found eigen: /usr/include/eigen3
-- Boost version: 1.54.0
-- Found the following Boost libraries:
-- system
-- filesystem
-- thread
-- date_time
-- iostreams
-- mpi
-- serialization
-- chrono
-- checking for module 'openni-dev'
-- package 'openni-dev' not found
-- Found openni: /usr/lib/libOpenNI.so
-- checking for module 'openni2-dev'
-- package 'openni2-dev' not found
-- Found OpenNI2: /usr/lib/libOpenNI2.so
** WARNING ** io features related to pcap will be disabled
** WARNING ** io features related to png will be disabled
-- Found libusb-1.0: /usr/include
-- checking for module 'flann'
-- found flann, version 1.8.4
-- Found Flann: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libflann_cpp_s.a
-- Found qhull: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libqhull.so
-- checking for module 'openni-dev'
-- package 'openni-dev' not found
-- checking for module 'openni2-dev'
-- package 'openni2-dev' not found
-- looking for PCL_COMMON
-- Found PCL_COMMON: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_common.so
-- looking for PCL_OCTREE
-- Found PCL_OCTREE: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_octree.so
-- looking for PCL_IO
-- Found PCL_IO: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_io.so
-- looking for PCL_KDTREE
-- Found PCL_KDTREE: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_kdtree.so
-- looking for PCL_SEARCH
-- Found PCL_SEARCH: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_search.so
-- looking for PCL_SAMPLE_CONSENSUS
-- Found PCL_SAMPLE_CONSENSUS: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_sample_consensus.so
-- looking for PCL_FILTERS
-- Found PCL_FILTERS: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_filters.so
-- looking for PCL_2D
-- Found PCL_2D: /usr/local/include/pcl-1.7
-- looking for PCL_FEATURES
-- Found PCL_FEATURES: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_features.so
-- looking for PCL_GEOMETRY
-- Found PCL_GEOMETRY: /usr/local/include/pcl-1.7
-- looking for PCL_KEYPOINTS
-- Found PCL_KEYPOINTS: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_keypoints.so
-- looking for PCL_SURFACE
-- Found PCL_SURFACE: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_surface.so
-- looking for PCL_REGISTRATION
-- Found PCL_REGISTRATION: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_registration.so
-- looking for PCL_ML
-- Found PCL_ML: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_ml.so
-- looking for PCL_SEGMENTATION
-- Found PCL_SEGMENTATION: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_segmentation.so
-- looking for PCL_RECOGNITION
-- Found PCL_RECOGNITION: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_recognition.so
-- looking for PCL_VISUALIZATION
-- Found PCL_VISUALIZATION: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_visualization.so
-- looking for PCL_PEOPLE
-- Found PCL_PEOPLE: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_people.so
-- looking for PCL_OUTOFCORE
-- Found PCL_OUTOFCORE: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_outofcore.so
-- looking for PCL_TRACKING
-- Found PCL_TRACKING: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_tracking.so
-- looking for PCL_STEREO
-- Found PCL_STEREO: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_stereo.so
-- looking for PCL_GPU_CONTAINERS
-- Found PCL_GPU_CONTAINERS: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_containers.so
-- looking for PCL_GPU_UTILS
-- Found PCL_GPU_UTILS: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_utils.so
-- looking for PCL_GPU_OCTREE
-- Found PCL_GPU_OCTREE: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_octree.so
-- looking for PCL_GPU_FEATURES
-- Found PCL_GPU_FEATURES: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_features.so
-- looking for PCL_GPU_KINFU
-- Found PCL_GPU_KINFU: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_kinfu.so
-- looking for PCL_GPU_KINFU_LARGE_SCALE
-- Found PCL_GPU_KINFU_LARGE_SCALE: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_kinfu_large_scale.so
-- looking for PCL_GPU_SEGMENTATION
-- Found PCL_GPU_SEGMENTATION: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_segmentation.so
-- looking for PCL_CUDA_COMMON
-- Found PCL_CUDA_COMMON: /usr/local/include/pcl-1.7
-- looking for PCL_CUDA_FEATURES
-- Found PCL_CUDA_FEATURES: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_cuda_features.so
-- looking for PCL_CUDA_SEGMENTATION
-- Found PCL_CUDA_SEGMENTATION: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_cuda_segmentation.so
-- looking for PCL_CUDA_SAMPLE_CONSENSUS
-- Found PCL_CUDA_SAMPLE_CONSENSUS: /usr/local/lib/libpcl_cuda_sample_consensus.so
-- Found PCL: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_system.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_filesystem.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_thread.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_date_time.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_iostreams.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_mpi.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_serialization.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_chrono.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_common.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_common.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_octree.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_octree.so;/usr/lib/libOpenNI.so;/usr/lib/libOpenNI2.so;vtkCommon;vtkFiltering;vtkImaging;vtkGraphics;vtkGenericFiltering;vtkIO;vtkRendering;vtkVolumeRendering;vtkHybrid;vtkWidgets;vtkParallel;vtkInfovis;vtkGeovis;vtkViews;vtkCharts;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_io.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_io.so;optimized;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libflann_cpp_s.a;debug;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libflann_cpp_s.a;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_kdtree.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_kdtree.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_search.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_search.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_sample_consensus.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_sample_consensus.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_filters.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_filters.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_features.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_features.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_keypoints.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_keypoints.so;optimized;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libqhull.so;debug;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libqhull.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_surface.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_surface.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_registration.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_registration.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_ml.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_ml.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_segmentation.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_segmentation.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_recognition.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_recognition.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_visualization.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_visualization.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_people.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_people.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_outofcore.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_outofcore.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_tracking.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_tracking.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_stereo.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_stereo.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_containers.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_containers.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_utils.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_utils.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_octree.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_octree.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_features.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_features.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_kinfu.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_kinfu.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_kinfu_large_scale.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_kinfu_large_scale.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_segmentation.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_gpu_segmentation.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_cuda_features.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_cuda_features.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_cuda_segmentation.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_cuda_segmentation.so;optimized;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_cuda_sample_consensus.so;debug;/usr/local/lib/libpcl_cuda_sample_consensus.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_system.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_filesystem.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_thread.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_date_time.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_iostreams.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_mpi.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_serialization.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libboost_chrono.so;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread.so;optimized;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libqhull.so;debug;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libqhull.so;/usr/lib/libOpenNI.so;/usr/lib/libOpenNI2.so;optimized;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libflann_cpp_s.a;debug;/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libflann_cpp_s.a;vtkCommon;vtkFiltering;vtkImaging;vtkGraphics;vtkGenericFiltering;vtkIO;vtkRendering;vtkVolumeRendering;vtkHybrid;vtkWidgets;vtkParallel;vtkInfovis;vtkGeovis;vtkViews;vtkCharts (Required is at least version "1.7")
-- Configuring done
-- Generating done
-- Build files have been written to: /home/dell/visualizer/build
Importing into Eclipse
Launch Eclipse CDT and select
File > Import
.In the list select
General > Existing Projects into Workspace
and then next.Browse (
Select root directory
) to the root folder of the project and select thebuild
folder (in the example case,/home/dell/visualizer/build
).Click
Finish
.
Warning
The Eclipse indexer is going to parse the files in the project (and all the includes), this can take a lot of time and might crash Eclipse if it’s not configured for big projects. Take a look at the bottom right of Eclipse’s window to see the indexer status; it is advised not to do anything until the indexer has finished it’s job.
Configuring Eclipse
If Eclipse fails to open your PCL project you might need to change Eclipse configuration; here are some values that should solve all problems (but might not work on light hardware configurations):
$ sudo gedit /usr/lib/eclipse/eclipse.ini
Change the values in the last lines:
org.eclipse.platform
--launcher.XXMaxPermSize
1024m
--launcher.defaultAction
openFile
--launcher.appendVmargs
-vmargs
-Dosgi.requiredJavaVersion=1.7
-XX:MaxPermSize=512m
-Xms1024m
-Xmx1024m
Restart Eclipse and go to Windows > Preferences
, then C/C++ > Indexer > Cache Limits
. Set the limits to [50% | 512 | 512].
Setting the PCL code style in Eclipse
You can find a PCL code style file for Eclipse in PCL GitHub trunk
Global
If you want to apply the PCL style guide to all projects:
Windows > Preferences > C/C++ > Code Style > Formatter
Project specific
If you want to apply the style guide only to one project:
Go to Project > Properties
, then select Code Style
in the left field and Enable project specific settings
, then Import
and select where you profile file (.xml) is.
How to format the code
If you want to format the whole project use Source > Format
. If you want to format only your selection use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + F
Launching the program
To build the project, click on the build icon
Create a launch configuration, select the project on the left panel (left click on the project name);
Run > Run Configurations..
.Create a new
C/C++ Application
click onSearch Project
and choose the executable to be launched.Go the second tab (
Arguments
) and enter your arguments; remember this is not a terminal and~
won’t work to get to your home folder for example !
Run the program by clicking on the run icon
The Eclipse console doesn’t manage ANSI colours, you could use an ANSI console plugin to get rid of the “[0m” characters in the output.
Where to get more information
You can get more information about the Eclipse CDT4 Generator here.