Hello Ken,

>   * released stacks: may not do an SCM checking *during* build
>   * unreleased stacks: may do whatever they want
>
> Your technique follows either of these rules.  That said, the git
> submodule has its own pros and cons.

Does it means that you find my technique acceptable?

For the the released stacks, there is a SCM checkout for the stack 
itself, so submodules are not fundamentally different, are they? This is 
especially true if you have submodules pointing to the same location as 
the stack itself, for instance github.

> In Fuerte, we are deploying infrastructure to make it easier to
> package thirdparty libraries sans-wrapping (e.g. opencv, pcl,
> octomap); this mechanism should be more widely available in Groovy.

Good news !

All the best,

Stéphane

-- 
Dr Stéphane Magnenat
http://stephane.magnenat.net