Build a C++ “Zivid Hello World” Application in Visual Studio on Windows

This tutorial shows how to create and develop a C++ application with Zivid in Visual Studio 2022.

Requirements

• Zivid Software

• Visual Studio

• CMake

Note

The CMake version tested is 3.24.0.

Instructions

Create ZividHelloWorld.cpp and CMakeLists.txt

First, we must create a CMakeLists.txt file and a main cpp file for the project. Open Visual Studio 2022, then click Open a folder. This is where we will create the project. In this tutorial, we will use the following file names and source path:

Source path	C:/work/ZividHelloWorld
Cpp file name	ZividHelloWorld.cpp
CMake file name	CMakeLists.txt

Second, copy and paste the following code into ZividHelloWorld.cpp and CMakeLists.txt;

C++

#include <Zivid/Zivid.h>
#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    try
    {
        Zivid::Application zivid;
        std::cout << "Hello Zivid World!" << std::endl;
    }
    catch(const std::exception &e)
    {
        std::cerr << "Error: " << Zivid::toString(e) << std::endl;
        return EXIT_FAILURE;
    }
}

CMake

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.24.0 FATAL_ERROR)

project(ZividHelloWorld)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)

find_package(Zivid COMPONENTS Core REQUIRED)

add_executable(${PROJECT_NAME} ${PROJECT_NAME}.cpp)

target_link_libraries(
    ${PROJECT_NAME}
    Zivid::Core
    Zivid::Visualization
)

Tip

Visual Studio 2019 and newer can automatically configure CMakeLists and build the solution. You don’t have to configure it through CMake, and can thus skip the next section and go directly to Run the program.

Configure the solution with CMake

Run CMake either through the Command Prompt or CMake GUI.

Command Prompt

Create a build directory in the directory of ZividHelloWorld and configure the solution by running:

cmake  -B build

Tip

Make sure cmake is in your system PATH to use the above command. See the below dropdown for how to add CMake to your system PATH.

Add CMake to the system PATH

On your PC, navigate to Control Panel → System and Security → System → Advanced System Settings → Environment Variables. Under System variables, select the Path variable and click Edit.

In the Edit environment variable window, click New and add the path to CMake binaries, e.g.

C:\Program Files\CMake\bin

if you have installed CMake in Program Files.

Warning

You may have to sign out of your Windows account and in again for the changes to take place.

Open the generated Visual Studio solution ZividCppSamples.sln in File Explorer or through the prompt to further build the samples.

cmake --open build

CMake GUI

Open CMake GUI and select the source folder and destination for the build folder.

Source folder	C:/work/ZividHelloWorld
destination folder	C:/work/ZividHelloWorld/build

Click Configure. When prompted, click Yes to create a new build directory.

Specify your generator for the project and make sure the (optional) platform is x64.

Click Finish. If the value Zivid_DIR is empty, add C:/ProgramFiles/Zivid/CMake/Zivid to it.

Click Configure again, then click Generate. Press Open Project to open the Visual Studio solution.

Build the solution

In Visual Studio, change the build configuration from Debug to Release. Build the solution by pressing Ctrl + Shift + B.

Run the program

On the right side, right click on ZividHelloWorld, then click Set as StartUp project. Run the program by pressing F5 key.

The sample program can be located in the build directory under ZividHelloWorld/build/Release. You can also run the sample either by double clicking the exe in File Explorer or using the Command Prompt, e.g.,

.\ZividHelloWorld.exe

To continue developing with Zivid and C++, check out Zivid C++ API reference and the tutorial to Configure C++ Samples With CMake and Build Them in Visual Studio in Windows on the next page.

Version History

SDK	Changes
2.12.0	Remove support for Visual Studio 2017.