Basic PDF Parsing with C++

This is is an example of PDF parsing using the Poppler library for C++.

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Explanation

File Setup

% tree
.
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── build.sh
├── include
│   └── pdf
│       └── PDF.h
└── src
    └── pdf
        ├── PDF.cc
        └── example.cc

 

Running the Example:

In the CMakeLists.txt, add the correct paths for the Poppler include & lib directories. This might look something like

31  /opt/homebrew/Cellar/poppler/23.05.0/lib

and

35  /opt/homebrew/Cellar/poppler/23.05.0/include

respectively, (note: the above example uses my Homebrew paths). Next, move a PDF file into the src/pdf directory and update example.cc with the filename. This should now look something like

9   Document doc("../src/pdf/FileName.pdf");

or a different file path of choice, relative to the build location of the executable. Next, run

% ./build.sh

from the project directory and a build directory will be created with the example executable inside. Run (still from the project directory)

% ./build/example

to print the chosen PDF in the terminal.

 

PDF Namespace & Document Class:

 This example uses a PDF namespace containing a Document class. PDF::Document objects represent a PDF file and include basic functionality, such as reading the entire file, reading individual pages, and creating Document::Page objects, which can also be read by Document objects. The PDF::operator << has been overloaded (for both PDF::Document and Document::Page) to allow for easier interactions with std::ostream objects.

New features can be added directly into these files, such as

• free functions within the namespace
• class methods
• overloaded operators
• an iterator & range-based for loop support

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Versions Used

C++:

• C++14 or higher to use Poppler
• C++17 to use std::filesystem (can be implemented without this)

Poppler:

• 23.05.0

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References & Further Reading

Poppler:

• Download

• Documentation

Homebrew:

• Website

CMake Help:

• Examples on GitHub

Style Guide:

• Pitchfork

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