Makefile to build and launch

[matteovidali]

Hey, I have made a Makefile for this project that will handle the dependencies required as well as the build process. This is the first version of the Makefile, and it works on a fresh install of Ubuntu 20.04.5, Kernel: 5.15.0-67-generic.

To use this file, first download the gist, and place it the directory where you would like your catkin_ws to be made. Then run make deps to install dependencies required. This will only work on distros and versions that support ROS1, and I have only tested it on 1 machine, so it will be updated as required.

Next, run make build to build the multi_uav_simulator. Finally, run make launch to launch the simulation, and an Rviz window should open.

Included is a make clean command, to remove the entire catkin_ws.

Please leave comments either here and mention me (@matteovidali) with updates, or place requests on the gist itself.

[malintha]

Hi @matteovidali,

Kudos on the script for managing the dependencies. I think we can bundle this with the repository eventually. I have a few comments however, especially on reinstalling those dependencies that comes standard to ros.

• Lets get rid of the ros-noetic installation at https://gist.github.com/matteovidali/caab443e66425e260b6a1c1bd842d28c#file-makefile-L6. We can safely assume that the users have ros noetic or melodic installed already. In that case, this could potentially cause conflicts.
• I'm not sure why we need python3-catkin-lint here. I don't think it'd cause any harm either, just curious.
• There is an additional python3-pip argument.
• This shouldn't depend on python3-rosdep2, since we are already using wstool. In my experience, it caused to reinstall packages like ros-noetic-tf which typically comes standard with the ros full desktop installation (https://github.com/malintha/multi_uav_simulator/issues/14#issuecomment-1318971613).
• The dependencies at https://gist.github.com/matteovidali/caab443e66425e260b6a1c1bd842d28c#file-makefile-L25 come standard with the ros-desktop-full installation. We don't have to install them again.

[malintha]

@matteovidali The clean command shouldn't erase the whole catkin_ws. At best it should only erase the devel, build and logs directories inside the catkin_ws. Automating this can cause the false implication that it would only "clean" mavswarm, when erasing all the built packages inside the workspace (many people use one big catkin_ws for running multiple packages for planning, mapping etc.). So, I think it's best to remove the clean command.

[matteovidali]

@malintha, thank you for the review! I am working on implementing these changes, but I have a few questions.

• Is it necessary to do a full install of ROS-noetic-desktop? I was working with just the base install, and adding packages as necessary to avoid the bloat, but I am unsure that that is the correct move.
• The python3-catkin-lint package is indeed not necessary, and was just a typo as it was part of a seperate dependacy install that I used in the intermediate process. (it has been removed)
• Extra python3-pip install has been removed
• The python3-rosdep2 requirement was added to solve the error recorded in #14, I managed to do Only 1 install and build that succeeded without this package, and did not manage to rebuild without it, but I will do some digging to see if it can be removed. Perhaps if I do a full install of the ros-noetic-desktop would fix this?
• The clean command will be updated, the reason it was fully removing the catking ws was for testing this makefile and confirming that it allowed for hassle free building! It will be adjusted in version 2! - if you think it best to completely remove it, I will do so!

I'm glad I could assist, and I look forward to more exploration!

[malintha]

@matteovidali For development and simulation I would totally recommend ros desktop full installation. The base (or bare bone) installation is mostly targeted for running inside the robot computing boards; some of them are in fact incompatible for full desktop installation.

Yes, I think a full installation might solve this issue. Let's give it a try. Please make a PR when you are done with the changes. :)