google-cloud-vision overview (3.40.0)

Cloud Vision Description: Allows developers to easily integrate vision detection features within applications, including image labeling, face and landmark detection, optical character recognition (OCR), and tagging of explicit content.

Cloud Vision Product Reference GitHub Repository (includes samples) Maven artifact

Getting Started

In order to use this library, you first need to go through the following steps:

Use the Cloud Vision for Java

To ensure that your project uses compatible versions of the libraries and their component artifacts, import com.google.cloud:libraries-bom and use the BOM to specify dependency versions. Be sure to remove any versions that you set previously. For more information about BOMs, see Google Cloud Platform Libraries BOM.

Maven

Import the BOM in the dependencyManagement section of your pom.xml file. Include specific artifacts you depend on in the dependencies section, but don't specify the artifacts' versions in the dependencies section.

The example below demonstrates how you would import the BOM and include the google-cloud-vision artifact.

<dependencyManagement>
 <dependencies>
   <dependency>
      <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
      <artifactId>libraries-bom</artifactId>
      <version>  26.38.0</version>
      <type>pom</type>
      <scope>import</scope>
   </dependency>
 </dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>

<dependencies>
 <dependency>
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-vision</artifactId>
 </dependency>
</dependencies>

Gradle

BOMs are supported by default in Gradle 5.x or later. Add a platform dependency on com.google.cloud:libraries-bom and remove the version from the dependency declarations in the artifact's build.gradle file.

The example below demonstrates how you would import the BOM and include the google-cloud-vision artifact.

implementation platform('com.google.cloud:libraries-bom:  26.38.0')
implementation 'com.google.cloud:google-cloud-vision'

The platform and enforcedPlatform keywords supply dependency versions declared in a BOM. The enforcedPlatform keyword enforces the dependency versions declared in the BOM and thus overrides what you specified.

For more details of the platform and enforcedPlatform keywords Gradle 5.x or higher, see Gradle: Importing Maven BOMs.

If you're using Gradle 4.6 or later, add enableFeaturePreview('IMPROVED_POM_SUPPORT') to your settings.gradle file. For details, see Gradle 4.6 Release Notes: BOM import. Versions of Gradle earlier than 4.6 don't support BOMs.

SBT

SBT doesn't support BOMs. You can find recommended versions of libraries from a particular BOM version on the dashboard and set the versions manually. To use the latest version of this library, add this to your dependencies:

libraryDependencies += "com.google.cloud" % "google-cloud-vision" % "3.40.0"

Which version ID should I get started with?

For this library, we recommend using com.google.cloud.vision.v1 for new applications.

Understanding Version ID and Library Versions

When using a Cloud client library, it's important to distinguish between two types of versions:

  • Library Version: The version of the software package (the client library) that helps you interact with the Cloud service. These libraries are released and updated frequently with bug fixes, improvements, and support for new service features and versions. The version selector at the top of this page represents the client library version.
  • Version ID: The version of the Cloud service itself (e.g. Cloud Vision). New Version IDs are introduced infrequently, and often involve changes to the core functionality and structure of the Cloud service itself. The packages in the lefthand navigation represent packages tied to a specific Version ID of the Cloud service.

Managing Library Versions

We recommend using the com.google.cloud:libraries-bom installation method detailed above to streamline dependency management across multiple Cloud Java client libraries. This ensures compatibility and simplifies updates.

Choosing the Right Version ID

Each Cloud Java client library may contain packages tied to specific Version IDs (e.g., v1, v2alpha). For new production applications, use the latest stable Version ID. This is identified by the highest version number without a suffix (like "alpha" or "beta"). You can read more about Cloud API versioning strategy here.

Important: Unstable Version ID releases (those with suffixes) are subject to breaking changes when upgrading. Use them only for testing or if you specifically need their experimental features.