Add in-app log console; stop launching a separate terminal window

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -215,14 +215,16 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -euxo pipefail
           APP_NAME="IR Tracking App"
+
+          # CMake now emits the .app bundle directly (Info.plist + icon already
+          # baked in). Self-contain it with dylibbundler and stamp the version.
+          BUILT_APP="build/ir-tracking-app.app"
+          test -d "$BUILT_APP" || { echo "Expected $BUILT_APP from the CMake build"; exit 1; }
+
           APP_DIR="$RUNNER_TEMP/$APP_NAME.app"
           rm -rf "$APP_DIR"
-          mkdir -p "$APP_DIR/Contents/MacOS" \
-                   "$APP_DIR/Contents/Resources" \
-                   "$APP_DIR/Contents/Frameworks"
-
-          cp build/ir-tracking-app "$APP_DIR/Contents/MacOS/"
-          cp resources/app_icon.icns "$APP_DIR/Contents/Resources/app_icon.icns"
+          cp -R "$BUILT_APP" "$APP_DIR"
+          mkdir -p "$APP_DIR/Contents/Frameworks"
 
           # Bundle dylibs into Contents/Frameworks/, with install names rewritten
           # to @executable_path/../Frameworks/ so the .app is self-contained.
@@ -232,25 +234,10 @@ jobs:
             -p "@executable_path/../Frameworks/" \
             || true
 
-          cat > "$APP_DIR/Contents/Info.plist" <<EOF
-          <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-          <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
-          <plist version="1.0">
-          <dict>
-              <key>CFBundleExecutable</key><string>ir-tracking-app</string>
-              <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key><string>com.medivis.ir-tracking-app</string>
-              <key>CFBundleName</key><string>$APP_NAME</string>
-              <key>CFBundleDisplayName</key><string>$APP_NAME</string>
-              <key>CFBundleVersion</key><string>$VERSION</string>
-              <key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key><string>$VERSION</string>
-              <key>CFBundlePackageType</key><string>APPL</string>
-              <key>CFBundleIconFile</key><string>app_icon.icns</string>
-              <key>LSMinimumSystemVersion</key><string>11.0</string>
-              <key>NSHighResolutionCapable</key><true/>
-              <key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key><string>Used to display the IR camera feed for tool tracking.</string>
-          </dict>
-          </plist>
-          EOF
+          # Stamp the release version into the CMake-generated Info.plist.
+          PLIST="$APP_DIR/Contents/Info.plist"
+          /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :CFBundleVersion $VERSION" "$PLIST"
+          /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :CFBundleShortVersionString $VERSION" "$PLIST"
 
           # Compose the DMG. UDZO = zlib-compressed read-only.
           DMG_NAME="ir-tracking-app-${VERSION}-${{ matrix.label }}.dmg"

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -85,7 +85,8 @@ target_link_libraries(IRToolTracking PUBLIC Eigen3 ${realsense2_LIBRARY} opencv_
 
 
 
-#set(MACOS_ICON "resources/app_icon.icns")
+set(MACOS_ICON_NAME "app_icon.icns")
+set(MACOS_ICON "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/resources/${MACOS_ICON_NAME}")
 
 
 find_package(OpenGL REQUIRED)
@@ -95,25 +96,56 @@ include_directories(
 )
 
 set(VIEWER_SOURCE_FILES
-    #${MACOS_ICON}
     win.rc
     include/ROMParser.h
     include/ViewerWindow.h
+    include/Log.h
     src/ViewerWindow.cpp
     src/viewer_main.cpp
+    src/Log.cpp
 )
 
+# On macOS the app icon is compiled into the .app bundle's Resources folder.
+if(APPLE)
+    list(APPEND VIEWER_SOURCE_FILES ${MACOS_ICON})
+endif()
+
 # Add the main application
 add_executable(ir-tracking-app  ${VIEWER_SOURCE_FILES})
 
-# if(APPLE)
-#     set_target_properties(ir-tracking-app PROPERTIES
-#                             MACOSX_BUNDLE TRUE
-#                             MACOSX_BUNDLE_ICON_FILE app_icon.icns
-#                             RESOURCE "${MACOS_ICON}"
-#                             )
-#     set_source_files_properties(${MACOS_ICON} PROPERTIES MACOSX_PACKAGE_LOCATION "Resources")
-# endif()
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Windowing / launch behavior: don't pop a separate console (CMD / Terminal)
+# window when the app is launched from a GUI.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+if(WIN32)
+    # Build as a GUI-subsystem (/SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS) executable so launching from
+    # Explorer or a Start-menu shortcut no longer spawns a CMD window. Keep the
+    # standard int main(...) entry point instead of WinMain by pointing the
+    # linker at the console CRT startup, which calls main(). The app still
+    # AttachConsole()s to a parent terminal at runtime so `ir-tracking-app.exe`
+    # launched from cmd/PowerShell keeps printing logs.
+    set_target_properties(ir-tracking-app PROPERTIES WIN32_EXECUTABLE TRUE)
+    if(MSVC)
+        target_link_options(ir-tracking-app PRIVATE /ENTRY:mainCRTStartup)
+    endif()
+endif()
+
+if(APPLE)
+    # Build a .app bundle so double-clicking it in Finder does not open a
+    # Terminal window (a bare Unix executable would). Logs still go to the
+    # terminal when the inner binary is run from a shell, and always to the
+    # in-app log console.
+    set_source_files_properties(${MACOS_ICON} PROPERTIES MACOSX_PACKAGE_LOCATION "Resources")
+    set_target_properties(ir-tracking-app PROPERTIES
+        MACOSX_BUNDLE TRUE
+        MACOSX_BUNDLE_INFO_PLIST "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/resources/Info.plist.in"
+        MACOSX_BUNDLE_BUNDLE_NAME "IR Tracking App"
+        MACOSX_BUNDLE_GUI_IDENTIFIER "com.medivis.ir-tracking-app"
+        MACOSX_BUNDLE_ICON_FILE "${MACOS_ICON_NAME}"
+        MACOSX_BUNDLE_BUNDLE_VERSION "0.0.0"
+        MACOSX_BUNDLE_SHORT_VERSION_STRING "0.0.0"
+    )
+endif()
 
 include_directories( ${IMGUI_DIR} )
 include_directories( ${IMGUI_DIR}/backends)

README.md

@@ -45,15 +45,36 @@ Note: I have only tested this build process with Visual Studio 2022.
 
 ## Running
 
+The application no longer opens a separate console window when launched from a
+GUI (a CMD window on Windows or a Terminal window on macOS). Instead, all log
+output is shown in a **Log console docked along the bottom of the app window**.
+When you launch the app from a terminal, the same logs are also printed to that
+terminal.
+
 ### For Linux and Windows:
 ```bash
 ./ir-tracking-app
 ```
+On Windows the app is now a GUI-subsystem executable, so double-clicking it (or
+its Start-menu shortcut) does not spawn a CMD window. Run it from `cmd` /
+PowerShell if you want the logs in your terminal as well.
+
 ### For MacOS
-Due to certain permissions and security features in MacOS, you might need to run the application with elevated privileges.
+The build now produces an `ir-tracking-app.app` bundle, so you can launch it
+from Finder without a Terminal window appearing:
+```bash
+open build/ir-tracking-app.app
+```
+To see the logs in your terminal as well (and to run with elevated privileges
+for camera/USB access), run the binary inside the bundle directly:
 ```bash
-sudo ./ir-tracking-app
+sudo ./build/ir-tracking-app.app/Contents/MacOS/ir-tracking-app
 ```
+> Note: on macOS, tool definitions (`Tools/`) and recorded CSV files are stored
+> under `~/Library/Application Support/IR Tracking App/` regardless of how the
+> app is launched (the data directory is also printed to the log console at
+> startup). On Windows and Linux these are read/written relative to the current
+> working directory, as before.
 ## RealSense Camera Modification: Adding a Light Diffuser
 
 The laser projector of the RealSense camera emits a sharp, focused IR dot pattern. While this is generally beneficial for depth sensing, it is not ideal for doing thresholding on IR stream to find retroreflective surfaces.

include/Log.h

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#ifndef LOG_CONSOLE_H
+#define LOG_CONSOLE_H
+
+#include <deque>
+#include <memory>
+#include <mutex>
+#include <streambuf>
+#include <string>
+
+// In-app log console.
+//
+// Install() tees std::cout / std::cerr so every line written through them is
+// BOTH forwarded to the original stream (so a launch from a terminal keeps
+// printing logs as before) AND captured into a bounded ring buffer that the GUI
+// renders as a docked panel at the bottom of the window. This means the 50-odd
+// existing std::cout/std::cerr call sites need no changes — they light up the
+// in-app console automatically.
+//
+// Thread-safe: AddLine() may be called concurrently from worker threads (the
+// UDP / CSV / tracking threads all log), while DrawContents() reads on the GUI
+// thread.
+class LogConsole
+{
+public:
+    enum class Level
+    {
+        Info,    // captured from std::cout
+        Error    // captured from std::cerr
+    };
+
+    struct Entry
+    {
+        Level level;
+        std::string text; // includes a leading "HH:MM:SS " timestamp
+    };
+
+    static LogConsole& Get();
+
+    // Redirect std::cout / std::cerr through the tee. Idempotent.
+    void Install();
+    // Restore the original stream buffers. Idempotent; safe to call at shutdown.
+    void Restore();
+
+    // Append a fully-formed log line (no trailing newline). Thread-safe.
+    void AddLine(Level level, const std::string& text);
+
+    void Clear();
+
+    // Render the console body (toolbar + scrolling region) into the *current*
+    // ImGui window. The caller owns the window (position / size / Begin/End).
+    void DrawContents();
+
+    LogConsole(const LogConsole&) = delete;
+    LogConsole& operator=(const LogConsole&) = delete;
+
+private:
+    LogConsole() = default;
+    ~LogConsole();
+
+    std::mutex mutex_;
+    std::deque<Entry> entries_;
+    std::size_t maxEntries_ = 2000;
+
+    bool installed_ = false;
+    bool autoScroll_ = true;
+
+    // Saved originals so Restore() can put them back.
+    std::streambuf* originalCout_ = nullptr;
+    std::streambuf* originalCerr_ = nullptr;
+    // Tee buffers that wrap the originals; owned here.
+    std::unique_ptr<std::streambuf> coutTee_;
+    std::unique_ptr<std::streambuf> cerrTee_;
+};
+
+#endif // LOG_CONSOLE_H

include/ViewerWindow.h

@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class ViewerWindow {
 
     // Validation bounds.
     static constexpr int MAX_TOOLS = 32;          // upper bound for "Number of Tools"
-    static constexpr int MIN_SPHERES = 4;         // lower bound for spheres per tool
+    static constexpr int MIN_SPHERES = 3;         // lower bound for spheres per tool (matches the tracker's 3-sphere minimum)
     static constexpr int MAX_SPHERES = 20;        // safety cap for manual entry / ROM
     static constexpr int MAX_CALIB_SPHERES = 6;   // a calibration must not exceed this
 

resources/Info.plist.in

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+<dict>
+    <key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
+    <string>${MACOSX_BUNDLE_EXECUTABLE_NAME}</string>
+    <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
+    <string>${MACOSX_BUNDLE_GUI_IDENTIFIER}</string>
+    <key>CFBundleName</key>
+    <string>${MACOSX_BUNDLE_BUNDLE_NAME}</string>
+    <key>CFBundleDisplayName</key>
+    <string>${MACOSX_BUNDLE_BUNDLE_NAME}</string>
+    <key>CFBundleIconFile</key>
+    <string>${MACOSX_BUNDLE_ICON_FILE}</string>
+    <key>CFBundleVersion</key>
+    <string>${MACOSX_BUNDLE_BUNDLE_VERSION}</string>
+    <key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key>
+    <string>${MACOSX_BUNDLE_SHORT_VERSION_STRING}</string>
+    <key>CFBundlePackageType</key>
+    <string>APPL</string>
+    <key>LSMinimumSystemVersion</key>
+    <string>11.0</string>
+    <key>NSHighResolutionCapable</key>
+    <true/>
+    <key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
+    <string>Used to display the IR camera feed for tool tracking.</string>
+</dict>
+</plist>