camera.py

# camera.py (updated to use C++ shared library)
import ctypes

class Camera:
    def __init__(self):
        # Load the shared library for camera functions.
        self.lib = ctypes.CDLL("./libcamera.so")
        # Specify the return type and argument types for the functions.
        self.lib.capture_frame_cpp.restype = ctypes.c_char_p
        self.lib.free_frame_cpp.argtypes = [ctypes.c_char_p]
        self.lib.free_frame_cpp.restype = None

    def capture_frame(self):
        # Call the C++ function to capture a frame and get a Base64 encoded string.
        img_ptr = self.lib.capture_frame_cpp()
        if not img_ptr:
            raise Exception("Failed to capture image.")
        # Decode the returned bytes to a Python string.
        img_str = img_ptr.decode('utf-8')
        # Free the allocated memory in the C++ side.
        self.lib.free_frame_cpp(img_ptr)
        return img_str

    def close(self):
        # If the C++ camera library has a cleanup function, call it here.
        pass