A two-file, zero-dependency (except the STL) public domain implementation of the PLY mesh file format. The library is written in C++11 and requires a recent compiler (GCC 4.8+ / VS2013+ / Clang 2.9+). Tinyply supports exporting and importing PLY files in binary and ascii formats. The only unimplemented feature is reading/writing big-endian files.
An overview and definition of the format is available here.
The project comes with a simple example program demonstrating a circular write / read and all of the major API functionality.
This software is in the public domain. Where that dedication is not recognized, you are granted a perpetual, irrevocable license to copy, distribute, and modify this file as you see fit. If these terms are not suitable to your organization, you may choose to license it under the terms of the 2-clause simplified BSD.