Skip to content
Daniel Stonier edited this page Feb 5, 2016 · 45 revisions

Overview

These tools are wrappers around wstool and catkin. Having a working knowledge of how these work is essential as the yujin tools do not replace these concepts but merely simplify and extend. These wrappers simplify the catkin build process for several use cases that the fundamental tools don't support very well. This includes:

  1. Multiple underlays
  2. Handling the increasing number of cmake variables (use cmake caches!)
  3. Cross compiling

Multiple underlays are at best an inconvenience with catkin_make (have to source multiple setup.bash's along the way to setting up) and at worst, limited in the sense that it is complicated to contrive nonlinear underlay patterns (e.g. consider two independent underlays).

Installation

# from deb on yujin's repository
> sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://packages.yujinrobot.com/yujin/ubuntu trusty main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yujin.list'
> wget http://packages.yujinrobot.com/yujin.key -O - | sudo apt-key add -
> sudo apt-get update
> sudo apt-get install python-yujin-tools
# alternatively get it from pip
> sudo pip install -U yujin_tools

Using the tools is a three step process, 1) init workspace, 2) init build, 3) make

Quick Start

A quick example of the usual steps for a source workspace on your pc:

> yujin_init_workspace ~/ecl_lite https://raw.github.com/stonier/ecl_core/groovy-devel/ecl_lite.rosinstall
> cd ~/ecl_lite
> yujin_init_build .
> yujin_make --install-rosdeps
> yujin_make
> yujin_make --install

Workspace Initialisation

Regular wstool style initialisation with url's:

> yujin_init_workspace ~/ecl_lite https://raw.github.com/stonier/ecl_core/groovy-devel/ecl_lite.rosinstall

You can also merge rosinstalls into an existing workspace. This can be down from the root (the directory below the src directory), or from anywhere if you've already sourced an already built yujin_make environment. Examples:

# directly
> yujin_init_workspace -j5 --merge foo.rosinstall
# from uri
> yujin_init_workspace -j5 --merge https://raw.githubusercontent.com/robotics-in-concert/rocon/indigo/rocon.rosinstall
# from rosinstall database
> yujin_init_workspace -j5 --merge ecl

The Rosinstall Database

The rosinstall database is just a centralised set of yaml's, one for each track (rosdistro) that serves as an index of all rosinstalls that you make use of. See yujin's database for an example.

By default, tools like yujin_init_workspace get their rosinstalls from the current default track setting. You can check and change to a different track by:

# what is the current default?
> yujin_tools_settings --get-default-track
indigo
# set a different track default
> yujin_tools_settings --set-default-track hydro

You can even point it to your own custom rosinstall database (by default is uses the yujin robot database).

# where is the current rosinstall database?
> yujin_tools_settings --get-rosinstall-database-uri  
https://raw.github.com/yujinrobot/yujin_tools/master/rosinstalls
# point at your own
> yujin_tools_settings --set-rosinstall-database-uri https://raw.github.com/foo/rosinstall_database/master
# Finally retrieve from your rosinstall database
> yujin_init_workspace ~/my_foo my_foo

Build Cases

Using a fairly standard concept here, that is the creation of build directories to house a build configuration - e.g. debug, release, arm cross-compiles or native builds. For the following, we assume an ecl_lite workspace initialisation as above:

Single Build Folder

The default ros style for 99% of people.

> yujin_init_workspace ~/ecl_lite ecl_lite
> cd ~/ecl_lite
> yujin_init_build .
# Edit your config.cmake
> yujin_make --install-rosdeps
> yujin_make
> yujin_make --tests
> yujin_make --run_tests
> yujin_make --install
> yujin_make --pre-clean

Note that you don't have to reset the configuration when pre-cleaning. It reuses the cache in config.cmake.

Parallel Build Folder

> yujin_init_workspace ~/ecl_lite ecl_lite
> cd ~/ecl_lite
> yujin_init_build native
> cd native; yujin_make --install-rosdeps; yujin_make

Cross Compiling

Toolchains and platform flags are selectable from a list (stored in the python module) or directories in ~/.yujin_tools/toolchains, ~/.yujin_tools/platforms. Here we truly make use of the parallel builds without alot of awkward sourcing as we jump from one build to another!

First off, let's download some cross compilers - cmake toolchain and platform modules are of no use unless you actually download those toolchains!

> sudo apt-get install g++-arm-linux-gnueabi g++-arm-linux-gnueabihf

Now the fun begins:

# Native build
> yujin_init_workspace ~/ecl_lite ecl_lite
> cd ~/ecl_lite
> yujin_init_build native
> cd native; yujin_make
# List the available cmake toolchain and platform modules
> yujin_init_build --list-toolchains
> yujin_init_build --list-platforms
> cd ~/ecl_lite
> yujin_init_build --toolchain=ubuntu/arm-linux-gnueabi --platform=arm/arm1176jzf-s arm
> cd arm; yujin_make

Note that you have to know which platform can be used by which toolchain. For example, the arm1176jzf-s settings we used above, don't work for the armhf compiler.

Underlays

If you want to modularise your workspaces you can set up underlays to the current workspace (note we don't do any setup.bash sourcing here, all the information necessary comes from the underlay list). Example below assumes I've got the usual rosinstalls floating around in ~, but url's could also be used.

> yujin_init_workspace ~/ecl ecl
> yujin_init_workspace ~/kobuki kobuki
> cd ~/ecl
> yujin_init_build .; yujin_make
> cd ~/kobuki
> yujin_init_build --underlays="~/ecl/devel" .; yujin_make
> yujin_make

When no catkin can be found in your sources or your underlays, then it will automatically try and add the underlay specified by the currently set default track (yujin_tools_settings), e.g. /opt/ros/groovy for track groovy.

You can also underlay to the individual or even a shared install space rather than the devel spaces.

> yujin_init_workspace ~/ecl ecl
> yujin_init_workspace ~/kobuki kobuki
> cd ~/ecl
> yujin_init_build --install=/opt/yujin/groovy .
> yujin_make --install
> cd ~/kobuki
> yujin_init_build --install=/opt/yujin/groovy --underlays="/opt/yujin/groovy;/opt/ros/groovy" .
> yujin_make --install
# Further workspaces can also use the shared /opt/yujin/groovy underlay as well.

Note the underlays should be directed so that priority is given to the first in the list.

Conveniences

The yujin init build function also sets up our usual gnome-terminal, konsole and eclipse launch scripts. These source the devel workspace's setup.bash if it is ready. Use them as launchers.

Clone this wiki locally