Is OpenCV C API outdated?

Question

I am trying to use OpenCV in Raspberry Pi (embedded system) so I need the OpenCV C API source code so that I can compile it and use it.

After some search I found that C API was designed in OpenCV 1.x. Now it is supported for backward compatibility only. It is deprecated and may be removed in the future.

OpenCV has C documentation but I failed to get the source code.

So is OpenCV C API outdated or I can download the older version's source code ?

Answer 1

OpenCV C API is part of newer OpenCV releases as well.

However OpenCV internals are C++ in OpenCV 2.0 and later. So you cannot compile newer OpenCV without C++ support.

Answer 2

Check out the installation guide here: http://opencv.willowgarage.com/wiki/InstallGuide

There is just one package for OpenCV, which does include bindings for C. However, I don't think C++ speed versus C speed should be a problem on the Raspberry Pi, so just use C++.