Building a C++ Application on Windows

This section explains how to build an application with the ZED SDK on Windows platforms.

Setting Up a Project #

We will build a simple tutorial application Hello ZED using the ZED SDK and CMake. CMake is a cross-platform project generation tool. It provides an easy way to build project files that can be used in the compiler environment of your choice. For example, a CMake script can produce Visual Studio projects and solution files.

  • Download and install the latest ZED SDK.
  • Download the ZED SDK sample code available on our GitHub page. You can also browse our GitHub for additional plugins and sample codes.
  • Open the Tutorials/Tutorial - Hello ZED folder to find the code we will build. The following files should be in the directory:
    • CMakeLists.txt
    • main.cpp
    • README.md

Building on Windows #

On Windows, building an application with the ZED SDK requires CMake (3.5.0+) or higher and Visual Studio 2015 or higher. Applications must be compiled for 64-bit.

📌 Note: When installing Visual Studio, make sure to select Visual C++ option.

  • Open cmake-gui.
  • In “Where is the source code“, enter the path of the project folder where the CMakeLists.txt is located. Here we created a project folder “ZED_Tutorial_1” in Documents.
  • In “Where to build the binaries“, enter the previous path and add: /build.
  • Click on [Configure].

  • A dialog window asks you if CMake can create the “build” folder. Say yes.
  • Another dialog window will ask you to specify a generator for your project. Choose Visual Studio in Win64 and click on [Finish].

📌 Note: CMake needs to define the target platform as x64, on new version it is set by default, if not you can set it.

  • CMake may take a few seconds to configure the project.
  • Click on [Generate] to build the Visual Studio project files.

  • CMake has now generated your project in the build directory. You can directly open the solution by clicking on [Open Project] or by closing the cmake-gui window and opening the build folder.

  • A Visual Studio solution has been generated. Open Project.sln and set it in Release mode.

  • To run the builds from the Build menu or from keyboard shortcuts, set the ZED_Tutorial_1 target as the startup project.

  • You can now edit and compile your program in the Visual Studio IDE. Hit the Ctrl+F5 key to launch the program.