RoPod/Tutorials/Configuring GitHub
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RoPod Configuration
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In order to keep track of the changes made within the software of the entire project (so we know who screwed up :)) and have the ability to revert a the software to a previous revision, we are using version control. We will use GitHub for this. Every team member has the full history available, and can always stored his changes and go back to previous versions, even if he or she is off-line. However, note that we will use a central server every team member stores his or her changes to, and loads the changes others made from.
Get familiar first with Git repositories https://git-scm.com/doc, and the used concepts: i.e. branches, commits, push, etc.
Create an account in guthub https://github.com/, it will allow you to do changes to the repository
Install Git in your system: https://git-scm.com/downloads
sudo apt-get install git
At this point you might want to follow this tutorial to get hands on experience on how a repository works: https://git-scm.com/docs/gittutorial. For now you can also continue to get a quick example on how to commit files.
Example
Send the username of your github account to the administrator of the RoPod repository (Currently César López) so that you can be added as contributor of the ropod project, you will receive a link back in your email in which you can accept the invitation to the project. Next, configure git in your laptop
git config --global user.name "USERNAME used in GitHub" git config --global user.email "Mail_used_in_Git_Hub@domain.com"
We will create 2 folder in your home directory: ropod-project and ropod-project-software. Therefore, cd to your home directory first:
cd ~
git init
Add the ROPOD test branch repository to your GIT
git remote add origin https://github.com/tue-ropod/ropod-project.git
Then clone both repositories,
git clone https://github.com/tue-ropod/ropod-project.git git clone https://github.com/tue-ropod/ropod-project-software.git
The main software repository is ropod-project-software. For now, we will make a small demonstration on how to work with git in the ropod-project repository. Switch to the testbranch of the ropod-project directory
cd ropod-project git checkout InittestBranch
Check the online repository, for now mostly only readme files: https://github.com/tue-ropod/ropod-project/tree/InittestBranch
Now, suppose you want to add a file. You can make a test by creating a test file and add it, commit it and push it into the repository:
cd ropod-project/documentation/reports echo "My first test file to add, commit and push into the repository" > YOURNAME_testfile.txt
You have created the YOURNAME_testfile.txt, which you will add to version-control:
git add YOURNAME_testfile.txt
Now the file is added to version control but is not committed yet, run:
git status
and you will be able to see that the file was added and not committed yet. You can indeed add more files if desired. Next, commit the file:
git commit -m "Here you can add a comment to this commit, i.e. commit test "
Always try to put a meaningful comment in the message field of your commit. In this way other people know what is your commit for. By the way, after three months it could be really useful for yourself as well! Now run again:
git status
Notice that there is nothing to commit but you received the message that your branch is ahead of ‘origin/InittestBranch’, which is the branch we are using in the online repository.
git push -u origin InittestBranch
You will be prompted the username and password created in the github website. Now, if you check the online repository at https://github.com/tue-ropod/ropod-project/tree/InittestBranch you should see your file online.
Configure correct branch of ropod-project-software
Since the Software is in the ropod-project-software repository, we need to finish its local configuration. First, checkout the Development branch:
cd ~/ropod-project-software git checkout Developmet
In order to set some dependencies correctly, add the following line to your .bashrc file (which is executed each time you open a terminal):
source ~/ropod-project-software/catkin_workspace/src/platform/setup.bash
source ~/ropod-project-software/catkin_workspace/src/platform/devpc/setup.bash
You can open your .bashrc file with gedit, othe roptions are vim, nano.
gedit ~/.bashrc
Close all terminals and open a new one, only then your changes will have an effect.
Structure of Ropod-repository: software
All packages will be placed in the catkin_workspace/src. To add more structure between all the packages, this folder contains 3 other folders:
- functionalities: Here, all non-standard ros-packages are placed, such as ED, but also packages for localization, navigation, etc.
- platform: Files corresponding to specific platforms located in this folder, while general files for getting the communication with the sensors to work is placed in the robot_common sub-folder
- applications: In order to configure the robot for specific use-cases, all the relevant files are placed here.
As it is impossible to work without Matlab, lets install it now.