[Robotics] Code repository?

[Herman Bruyninckx]

On Fri, 17 Apr 2009, Séverin Lemaignan wrote:

> Some "brain food" for the weekend:
>
> Following Damien's offer, and after some chat (and code sharing) with
> Paul, I think we really need to set up some sort of code repository.
>
> It's not yet clear for me how to structure it. Either one of you have a
> precise enough idea and we start with it, or we set up a "temporary"
> repo until we can figure out the best solution.
>
> Quick structure proposal:
>
> root\
>     |-scripts\  <- Python modules + packages
>     |        |-middleware\
>     |        |           |-...
>     |        |           |-...
>     |        |-...
>     |-scenes  <- complete scenes (.blend files)
>     |-models  <- single, reusable objects (models of arms, platforms...
>     |-patches <- like TUIO
>
Maybe we should put a bit more effort in "design" before such a repository
is created. My personal suggestion is to think about where we want to go
with this repository in the medium and long term, and structure the
repository accordingly. I think that the "long term" goal is a complete
vertical robotic software stack, comparable to the ones that exist for
mobile telephony (Limo, Moblin, Android, ...) or for web services (the
Apache ecosystem being a major representative). "ROS" from Willow Garage
_is_ such a vision, LAAS' "OpenRobots robotics framework" is another one,
so maybe we should see how the repository that we think of would fit in
their code tree structures and policies, such that later integration will
become easier...

> Hosting:
>
> Public forges:
> - SourceForge
> - LaunchPad
> - Google Code
> - ...
>
> "Private" hosting
> - at Blender?
> - in one of our lab?
>   - at LAAS, we already have a functional GIT-based infrastructure
> called OpenRobot, where we can host whatever we want
>   - in your teams?
In correspondence with my suggestions above, sharing the hosting with LAAS
(or Willow Garage) would be optimal, provided that:
- these hosters _believe_ in the potential of this "Blender for robotics"
   initiative;
- they are willing to support this initiative by providing access to
   contributors.

> I let you think about it :-)
>
> Séverin

Herman