Update Windows build instructions for PyCOLMAP #3746
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These are intended to clarify multiple snags that I hit while building on Windows.
Warning box markdown isn't rendering properly for READMEs right now.
| python -m pip install . | ||
| ``` | ||
| - On Windows, after installing COLMAP [via VCPKG](https://colmap.github.io/install.html#id3), run in powershell: | ||
| - On Windows, after installing COLMAP [via VCPKG](https://colmap.github.io/install.html#id3): |
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nit: not your fault but this link is actually not persistent, and we should link using a markdown reference?
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It looks like the Windows source-build section anchor is named that way because the section header is a duplicate? Maybe it would be reasonable to add an explicitly named anchor.
Or the link could be removed entirely, maybe? Maybe change this to:
| - On Windows, after installing COLMAP [via VCPKG](https://colmap.github.io/install.html#id3): | |
| - On Windows, after installing COLMAP via VCPKG per the installation instructions above: |
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Created a PR to add a permanent section anchor: colmap/colmap.github.io#19
Accidentally updated the mirror of the site instead of the actual docs. I'll add the anchor to this PR shortly.
| ``` | ||
| - On Windows, after installing COLMAP [via VCPKG](https://colmap.github.io/install.html#id3), run in powershell: | ||
| - On Windows, after installing COLMAP [via VCPKG](https://colmap.github.io/install.html#id3): | ||
| 1. Determine the installed COLMAP version via: `<VCPKG-ROOT>\packages\colmap_<TRIPLET>\tools\colmap\colmap.exe help` |
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nit: The easier path would be to just run vcpkg install from the root of the colmap repo. Then the version is guaranteed to be consistent.
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Ah, noted. That does seem much easier. :)
I'll go verify, then make the edit.
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@ahojnnes So I tried vcpkg install from the root of the repo and all it did was install the dependencies. Is there another command I should try?
I also tried doing a cmake build using the vcpkg toolchain file, then the pip command in the install docs + some changes to resolve pybind11. That built successfully, but was pretty convoluted and I ultimately can't get the resulting package to load because it fails to resolve DLL dependencies in the vcpkg_installed folder.
For what it's worth, I also couldn't load the resulting package when building the python bindings against the vcpkg install colmap:x64-windows version. It's the same DLL resolution issue caused by vcpkg-built shared libraries living in their own prefix.
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Looks like there are 3 issues causing the loading problem:
- vcpkg shared libraries can't be found
- CUDA libraries can't be found
- OpenEXR 3.4 is crashing during initialization (something about a null pointer dereference while locking a critical section)
I'll update the build instructions based on the method I originally proposed in my PR, then open a separate issue to track this loading issue.
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Please also update the instructions at https://github.com/colmap/colmap/blob/main/doc/pycolmap/index.rst |
The current build instructions for PyCOLMAP don't work on Windows. This PR adds some additional steps and context that should resolve the problem.