In this latest update, ORNIS now supports element selection! This required a bit of re-thinking of how messages are handled in the front-end, but I’m quite happy with how it turned out. One of the downsides to working intermittently on a project is that one tends to run into a lot of “Wait, I’ve already solved this!”, and this update has a few of these instances. The big one was almost re-inventing “msg_tree”, essentially a nested tree data structure I created for the service interactions.
One of the earliest requirements I laid out for ORNIS was the ability to send/recieve service calls. While the ‘ros2 service’ interface may be convenient, it is cumbersome to say the least. I have had countless issues with attempting to fill out larger service requests via the CLI, only to accidently mess up the indentation. The resulting failure to request always strikes a nerve.
Ironically, my initial implementation of the service interaction had the exact same issue.
TUI’s have been around for years (Understatement). There is a strong precedent for them, with plenty of examples showcasing what makes for a great piece of software. I’ve always admired how much `prettiness' a developer can achieve using simple symbols and glyphs. I really do feel that the limitations and constraints really force one to be creative and mindful of the medium in order to get something that is enjoyable to look at.
Presenting ANOTHER entry in the “Definitely not a Backronym” series! This one is a bit different, being a project that is entirely software based.
TL:DR I made a Terminal User Interface for ROS2. Is it good? No. Should you use it? No. Go use Foxglove Studio, it’s an open source WebApp, made by people mature enough to know that Terminal User Interfaces are limiting and dumb. If you’re still interested, you can check out the GitLab here.