The Eigen library can map existing memory into Eigen matrices.
float array[3];
Map<Vector3f>(array, 3).fill(10);
int data[4] = 1, 2, 3, 4;
Matrix2i mat2x2(data);
MatrixXi mat2x2 = Map<Matrix2i>(data);
MatrixXi mat2x2 = Map<MatrixXi>(data, 2, 2);
My question is, how can we get c array (e.g. float[] a) from eigen matrix (e.g. Matrix3f m)? What it the real layout of eigen matrix? Is the real data stored as in normal c array?
You can use the data() member function of the Eigen Matrix class. The layout by default is column-major, not row-major as a multidimensional C array (the layout can be chosen when creating a Matrix object). For sparse matrices the preceding sentence obviously doesn't apply.
Example:
You need to use the Map function again. Please see the example here: http://forum.kde.org/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=95457
The solution with Map above segfaults when I try it (see comment above).
Instead, here's a solution that works for me, copying the data into a std::vector from an Eigen::Matrix. I pre-allocate space in the vector to store the result of the Map/copy.
To convert normal data type to eigen matrix type
You can create an nRows x nCols size double matrix using the Map functionality like this:
To convert eigen matrix type into normal data type
In this way you can get in and out from eigen matrix. Full credits goes to http://dovgalecs.com/blog/eigen-how-to-get-in-and-out-data-from-eigen-matrix/
If the array is two-dimensional, one needs to pay attention to the storage order. By default, Eigen stores matrices in column-major order. However, a row-major order is needed for the direct conversion of an array into an Eigen matrix. If such conversions are performed frequently in the code, it might be helpful to use a corresponding
typedef
.With such a definition one can obtain an Eigen matrix from an array in a simple and compact way, while preserving the order of the original array.
From C array to Eigen::Matrix
In the opposite direction, the elements of an Eigen matrix can be transferred directly to a C-style array by using
Map
.From Eigen::Matrix to C array
Note that in this case the original matrix
eig
does not need to be stored in row-major layout. It is sufficient to specify the row-major order inMap
.