Simplify repository structure

[traversaro]

Hi everyone, one of the source of confusion related to this repository is that it contains mex/functions/scripts fulfilling two different purposes:

• C++ code and matlab code in matlab-src/whole_body_model_functions : Provide a matlab interface to the yarpWholeBodyModel C++ class (original purpose of the repo, mex-wholebodymodel properly said)
• All the other matlab code: implement simulation and control code in matlab, using the above mentioned interface

To clarify this I propose to move all the code in two directories :

• mex-wholebodymodel (like the repo itself) for all the interface code.
• simulation for all the simulation & control related code.

With respect to https://github.com/robotology/mex-wholebodymodel/issues/20 , I think it then make sense to properly install all the interface-related mex / code . It could make sense instead to avoid installation of simulation code, so that it can be directly edited and used from the repo.

It could make also sense to move all the functions in proper MATLAB packages, but I guess it would be a big step and I would then prefer to defer it.

[traversaro]

Feedback request: @francesco-romano @DanielePucci @gabrielenava @naveenoid @Ganimed

[traversaro]

@Ganimed I think it would make sense for your class to be in the mex-wholebodymodel directory.

[naveenoid]

Agreed very strongly. I am not at all happy to mix matlab and C++ directly and talked about this in the original design a year ago.

[DanielePucci]

I would separate the controllers anyway. Since we already have a WBI-Toolboxcontrollers repository, why don't we put the controllers there?

[traversaro]

It make sense to move the controllers to be shared among this repo and the WBIToolbox-Controllers, but I consider it to be an issue orthogonal to this one.

[DanielePucci]

Ok, it seemed to me that when you wrote

simulation for all the simulation & control related code.

you were referring to the controllers also.

[traversaro]

Yes, until they are properly moved.

[francesco-romano]

A first attempt has been done in https://github.com/robotology/mex-wholebodymodel/pull/53

The only thing left is to properly change name to the directories (if it make sense). Otherwise @traversaro if you think it is enough for now we can close this issue.

[traversaro]

Ok for me, cleaning the matlab-src directory is an important but separate job.

[Ganimed]

@traversaro: Yes I will do that, when the class is finished. The last two weeks before I was in Austria and in this meantime the amount of discussions was exploding here. So I lost the oversight what is going on. But I will get a briefing from naveenoid when he has time. I will move the WBM-Class to the mex-wholebodymodel directory when it is finished. Else it does not make sense. Since yesterday the initialization methods has been changed, I have to make a changes to the constructor of the class.

I have seen that the mex-wholebodymodel directory is well structured. I like the utilities folder! :) (Why not so from begin on? But I do not know the complete history of the development process.) A few weeks ago I made also an +utilities folder in my class directory which Matlab will recognize it as a sub-namespace. This is maybe better than a normal folder, to prevent loading same function-names of different repositories (e.g. skew). But this are details and can be changed.

What I have seen in last weeks here, especially when I was in Vienna, it looked from outside that the discussions were bit chaotic. What we need, I guess, is a "project management". Let us sit together and talk about how are the future plans (methods, structures, changes, etc.) for the mex-WBM. Lets draw it down on the blackboard (e.g. folder structure, folder names, position of the folders, names of the methods, etc.). Mind mapping would be helpful for that which we can store, share and extend our ideas. I'm using for that Freemind.