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All nodes must exist within a package. A node is basically just an executable that when called with rosrun or through roslaunch will begin running. A package is typically a collection of things like nodes, configuration files, launch files, etc.

So if you want to write a node that uses OpenCV, PCL, etc., you should create a package that properly lists those packages/libraries your node depends on in the package.xml file.

I recommend working through the beginner level tutorials on the ROS tutorial page. They should give you a much better feeling of how the pieces of ROS fit together. Also note that none of these tutorials require an IDE. Once you get through them, then maybe worry about getting packages incorporated into Qt Creator.

All nodes must exist within a package. A node is basically just an executable that when called with rosrun or through roslaunch will begin running. A package is typically a collection of things like nodes, configuration files, launch files, etc.

So if you want to write a node that uses OpenCV, PCL, etc., you should create a package that properly lists those packages/libraries your node depends on in the package.xml file.file. The CMakeLists.txt file in your package tells catkin_make how to build all of the messages, services, nodes, etc. that belong to the package.

I recommend working through the beginner level tutorials on the ROS tutorial page. They should give you a much better feeling of how the pieces of ROS fit together. Also note that none of these tutorials require an IDE. Once you get through them, then maybe worry about getting packages incorporated into Qt Creator.