c++ fast screenshots in linux for use with opencv

Question

I\'m trying to find a fast way to take screenshots (as in 30 fps or over) for use with opencv in c++

All the information I\'ve found online either involved windows.h or

Answer 1

Based on @abc's answer I came up with the following, using MIT's shared memory extension for X.

@abc's example runs at 120-180 fps and uses ~40% of a Titan X (Maxwell). The following runs at 15000 fps and uses 80% of a Titan X. (Assuming you don't sync. If you do sync, then the framerate drops to @abc's framerate!)

Comment out the break; statement inside the inner loop too run it nonstop.

Version using @abc's class:

// g++ screena.cpp -o screena -lX11 -lXext -Ofast -mfpmath=both -march=native -m64 -funroll-loops -mavx2 `pkg-config opencv --cflags --libs` && ./screena

#include 
#include 

#include 
#include 
#include 

#include   // This includes most headers!

#include 
#define FPS(start) (CLOCKS_PER_SEC / (clock()-start))


struct ScreenShot{
    ScreenShot(uint x, uint y, uint width, uint height):
               x(x), y(y), width(width), height(height){

        display = XOpenDisplay(nullptr);
        root = DefaultRootWindow(display);

        XGetWindowAttributes(display, root, &window_attributes);
        screen = window_attributes.screen;
        ximg = XShmCreateImage(display, DefaultVisualOfScreen(screen), DefaultDepthOfScreen(screen), ZPixmap, NULL, &shminfo, width, height);

        shminfo.shmid = shmget(IPC_PRIVATE, ximg->bytes_per_line * ximg->height, IPC_CREAT|0777);
        shminfo.shmaddr = ximg->data = (char*)shmat(shminfo.shmid, 0, 0);
        shminfo.readOnly = False;
        if(shminfo.shmid < 0)
            puts("Fatal shminfo error!");;
        Status s1 = XShmAttach(display, &shminfo);
        printf("XShmAttach() %s\n", s1 ? "success!" : "failure!");

        init = true;
    }

    void operator() (cv::Mat& cv_img){
        if(init)
            init = false;

        XShmGetImage(display, root, ximg, 0, 0, 0x00ffffff);
        cv_img = cv::Mat(height, width, CV_8UC4, ximg->data);
    }

    ~ScreenShot(){
        if(!init)
            XDestroyImage(ximg);

        XShmDetach(display, &shminfo);
        shmdt(shminfo.shmaddr);
        XCloseDisplay(display);
    }

    Display* display;
    Window root;
    XWindowAttributes window_attributes;
    Screen* screen;
    XImage* ximg;
    XShmSegmentInfo shminfo;

    int x, y, width, height;

    bool init;
};


int main(){
    ScreenShot screen(0, 0, 1920, 1080);
    cv::Mat img;

    for(uint i;; ++i){
        double start = clock();

        screen(img);

        if(!(i & 0b111111))
            printf("fps %4.f  spf %.4f\n", FPS(start), 1 / FPS(start));
            break;

    }

    cv::imshow("img", img);
    cv::waitKey(0);
}

"Naked" version:

// g++ xshm2.c -o xshm2 -lX11 -lXext `$cv`-Ofast -mfpmath=both -march=native -m64 -funroll-loops -mavx2 && ./xshm2

#include 
#include 

#include 
#include 
#include 

#include   // This includes most headers!

#include 
#define FPS(start) (CLOCKS_PER_SEC / (clock()-start))

// Using one monitor DOESN'T improve performance! Querying a smaller subset of the screen DOES
const uint WIDTH  = 1920>>0;
const uint HEIGHT = 1080>>0;

// -------------------------------------------------------
int main(){
    Display* display = XOpenDisplay(NULL);
    Window root = DefaultRootWindow(display);  // Macro to return the root window! It's a simple uint32
    XWindowAttributes window_attributes;
    XGetWindowAttributes(display, root, &window_attributes);
    Screen* screen = window_attributes.screen;
    XShmSegmentInfo shminfo;
    XImage* ximg = XShmCreateImage(display, DefaultVisualOfScreen(screen), DefaultDepthOfScreen(screen), ZPixmap, NULL, &shminfo, WIDTH, HEIGHT);

    shminfo.shmid = shmget(IPC_PRIVATE, ximg->bytes_per_line * ximg->height, IPC_CREAT|0777);
    shminfo.shmaddr = ximg->data = (char*)shmat(shminfo.shmid, 0, 0);
    shminfo.readOnly = False;
    if(shminfo.shmid < 0)
        puts("Fatal shminfo error!");;
    Status s1 = XShmAttach(display, &shminfo);
    printf("XShmAttach() %s\n", s1 ? "success!" : "failure!");

    cv::Mat img;

    for(int i; ; i++){
        double start = clock();

        XShmGetImage(display, root, ximg, 0, 0, 0x00ffffff);
        img = cv::Mat(HEIGHT, WIDTH, CV_8UC4, ximg->data);

        if(!(i & 0b111111))
            printf("fps %4.f  spf %.4f\n", FPS(start), 1 / FPS(start));
        break;
    }

    cv::imshow("img", img);
    cv::waitKey(0);

    XShmDetach(display, &shminfo);
    XDestroyImage(ximg);
    shmdt(shminfo.shmaddr);
    XCloseDisplay(display);
    puts("Exit success!");
}