C++ Tips and tricks


bind: Forbidden methods names

You cannot bind method with name already bound by ALModule.

Look at ALModule API for a list of ALModule bound methods.

Synchronization and real-time

NAOqi provides two local synchronization methods. Synchronization is not compatible with remote modules.

Synchronization

Callback synchronization

All modules have onPreProcess and onPostProcess methods. Modules are free to call it and users are free to define it. Refer to modules documentation to know if callback are used. In v1.2.0 only device communication manager use callbacks.

Callbacks are blocking for Aldebaran modules. Be careful to module cycle time. If callback execution is too long, robot can fall for example.

Synchronization with condition

Synchronization with condition is asynchronous. User thread waits on a condition, Aldebaran module sends a signal to condition.

Conditions can also help to synchronize C++ and Python.

Thread

NAOqi and NAOqi modules are thread safe. All modules created with module generator are not thread safe. User functions, such as callback functions on an event can be called in parallel but they have to be thread safe.

Aldebaran provides tools to protect functions. You can use critical section to protect your functions. A critical section prevents a function to be run simultaneously in separate threads. For example, this can avoid a first thread to modify a variable while a second thread is trying to read it, which could cause at best aberrations.

Such protection can also be obtained using boost or pthread for example. Only DCM has a real-time thread in NAOqi.

scheduling policy: SCHED_FIFO
scheduling priority: 90

All others thread from threadpool give priority to DCM.