dragonrobotics.github.io

Operations Manual

Development Environment

Your development environment should have the following programs / packages installed:

• Atom, or an equivalent text editor or IDE.
• git

Most of these instructions assume you have ready access to a shell with git installed. If you’re using Windows, the Git Bash shell is good for general work, though cmd.exe is a workable alternative.

Git

Configuration

Before you commit anything, ensure Git is configured with your name and email address:

$ git config --global user.name "[real name]"
$ git config --global user.email "[email address associated with Github account]"

Committing code

To see what files are staged and modified:

$ git status

To add and remove files to your next commit:

$ git add path/to/file  # to add files to staging
$ git rm path/to/file  # to delete files in Git
$ git reset HEAD path/to/file  # to unstage files
$ git checkout -- path/to/file # to reset files to last commit

These commands are also listed when you run git status.

To actually make a commit:

$ git commit

This will (by default) drop you into the Vim editor to edit a commit message. Press i to start typing in your message, and hit ESC and then type :wq to save and exit.

You can also add the commit message to your commit all in one motion, like this:

$ git commit -m "insert your commit message here"

Branching

To create a new branch:

$ git branch <branchname>

To delete a branch:

$ git branch -d <branchname>

To switch branches:

$ git checkout <branchname>

To merge another branch into the current branch:

$ git merge <other-branch>

Remote Operations (Push / Pull)

In both of these commands, <remote> refers to a named remote repository: this is usually a repository on Github.

For example, origin refers to the repository you cloned from initially. This should be your fork on Github. You should also set up a remote pointing to the team’s main repository, using this command:

$ git remote add upstream <url>

url will be specific to the repository you are working on.

To get new commits from a remote repository:

$ git pull <remote> <branch>

To publish your commits to a remote repository:

$ git push <remote> <branch>

Robot Operations

In all RobotPy projects, the robot.py file serves as the main entry point.

Testing

To run automated tests for robot code:

$ python3 robot.py test

Deployment

To deploy code to the robot:

1. Ensure you are connected to the robot-internal network. This usually means you should be connected to the robot via Ethernet.
2. Run the following command:

   $ python3 robot.py deploy
   

Code deployment usually takes a few minutes to complete. Note that all tests are run before deployment; if any of these fail, you should NOT deploy the code to the robot.

Robot Preferences

Robot preferences and configuration can be set easily by using the SmartDashboard. You may need to add the ‘Robot Preferences’ widget to the dashboard; You can do this by selecting View > Add > Robot Preferences in the SmartDashboard toolbar.

Troubleshooting

Deployment: SSH fails to connect (connection refused)

Code deployment to the robot should be done over an Ethernet connection. For some reason, the deployment process may be blocked by the radio if done over Wi-Fi.

Deployment: my code doesn’t seem to be updating when I deploy it

The robot may be using stale .pyc files instead of the latest deployed code. Try sshing into the robot (ssh admin@roborio-5002-frc.local) and deleting the .pyc files manually.