OpenCV Setup

Now that we have established all of our software and sorted out the version compatibility issues, we have settled on using OpenCV-3.1.0-dev. All the image processing code henceforth would be done in accordance to this version, and may or may not be back-compatible with older versions.

Through some research, I have found that there have been many changes to functions and classes in OpenCV which have not been documented in a centralised location. The errors thrown upon compilation also may not be very obvious in suggesting solutions or the possible causes for compilation errors.

The binaries can be downloaded from the official OpenCV website here. Ideally, Python 2.7 should be installed from here. Together with this a text editor of your choice. If you would like an integrated Python IDE, Anaconda is worth exploring as it allows you to execute your Python scripts with the simple press of a button. However, my personal preference is to avoid IDEs and go with a less cluttered approach. For all my programming needs, I have used Vim (Vi Improved). It is merely a text editor, but suited for programming. There are many plugins available online and methods of configuring the UI to suit your needs.

I personally have configured it to have a dark theme and syntax highlighting for almost all programming languages. However, I have not configured it to auto-correct or auto-fill things like parentheses and curly braces. If this method is preferred, do note that any code compilation and execution has to be done via Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Unix). It is highly recommended to be well-versed in using the Terminal and navigating the filesystem purely via command line, at the bare minimum. It is a massive boost to productivity and efficiency. Programming in this method would train you to be more vigilant and aware when programming, as you would be much more aware of what you are typing and you would not have to worry about the "frills" - autocorrection, autofilling, warnings, etc, which can be very "in your face".

Upon setup, you should create a Python script and attempt to import the module cv2. If this works and the script can execute, it means you have successfully installed Python and OpenCV in your environment and are ready to move forward with your programming. If the module is not found for whatever reason, the likely reason is that installation was not done properly. Do try reinstalling it. If this problem persists, do consult StackOverflow.