[ros-users] [Discourse.ros.org] [Next Generation ROS] Colcon / amend_tools /?

[Dirk Thomas]

The referenced PR to the design article updates the "top" existing article to update it to reflect the current state (see https://github.com/ros2/design/pull/168/files#diff-361c5cb5b98ec5e7f690f2dbce2cd7fdL22).

We are currently rolling out the new build tool but the PR hasn't been merged yet and the wiki instructions haven't been updated yet. We are using the tool on ci.ros2.org as well as locally to polish things before recommending it to be used by everyone. So for now you can use `ament_tools` as before. Within a week or so we will hopefully move forward with these and recommend using `colcon` to build ROS 2. At that time we plan to also post the information on discourse.

> the separation between build tool and build system argued in the colcon page seems to be one of the features of amend_tool

The separation is not only about having two separate packages / repositories. But also about the naming as well as the ability to not be limited to a single project. The name `ament_tools` suggests that it only works with `ament(_cmake)` which is mostly also the case. The goal of `colcon` is not be tied to `ament(_cmake)` or ROS 2. Instead it can be used to build ROS 1 as well as e.g. Gazebo including the ignition packages which don't even have `package.xml` files. Integration of any external tooling or build system should be easier with `colcon` as it offers many more extension points.





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