New users are typically introduced to linuxcnc by installing
from a CD (or USB) image and offered sample configurations to
try on their local machine. A user should be able to pick a
simulation configuration that will run and demonstrate basic
linuxcnc operation on a machine with no special hardware
requirements. Over time, the arrangement of the configurations
has grown and perhaps been confusing to new users.
In antcipation of the next release, the configs directory for
linuxcnc has been updated to rearrange and simplify the presentation
of sample configurations in a hierarchical order with the
following toplevels:
sim -- simulator configurations intended to startup as-is
on computers with no special hardware requirements
(e.g., no parport or interface cards)
by_interface -- configurations based on particular interface
hardware
by_machine -- configurations based on a particular machine
attic -- obsolete or non-working configurations which
may still be useful for study or revival
This structure is intended to present a simpler view of the
available configurations and provide more flexibility in arranging
configurations as they are added, modified, or relocated.
The configuration picker has been updated so that it places
user selected configurations in a flat structure, so that the
config offered in the hierarchy as:
sim/axis/gladevcp
is stored in the user home directory as:
~/linuxcnc/configs/sim.axis.gladevcp
When a config is reselected, it is placed with a modified
name, for example:
~/linuxcnc/configs/sim.axis.gladevcp-1
The configuration picker now supports copying a configuration
subdirectory subject to a few rules. Details are listed
in the file:
configs/maintainer.txt
Any config directory can include a README that provides
some help or information for all the configurations in
the directory and any specific config can include a text
file that documents the specific config. For example
the config:
configs/sim/low_graphics
has a README:
configs/sim/low_graphics/README
and its example config:
configs/sim/low_graphics/keystick.ini
has a text file:
configs/sim/low_graphics/keystick.txt
These text files are shown by the configuration picker when the
configuration tree is browsed by a user. Additions, clarifications,
and other improvements to these files are welcome.
When configs are moved to the attic, it is probably a good idea
to note the reason in one of these documenting files.
Both the configs directory structure and the configuration
picker have been designed with the intent that sim
configurations work in both RIP builds and deb installs.
There are a few sim configs that do not start up, but
they did not start before these changes. These are
candidates for fixup, removal, or transfer to the attic.
The design described above is live now on git master
and available in debs from the buildbot.
--
Dewey Garrett
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