ActivityBot Library Sanity Check - missing library parts?

mindrobots

Hi!

I just assembled my ActivityBot (GREAT JOB on the kit!!) and was updating my software.

I grabbed the latest ActivityBot library as instructed on this page. When I unzipped the file, there were 2 directories: libabcalibrate and libabdrive but not ActivityBot library directory as indicated on the page.

Should I be finding that "ActivitytBot" library someplace else or is it still a work in progress?

I've just cleared my Mac of all old SimpleIDE packages and freshly installed the latest 0-9-43 version before starting on my ActivityBot adventure.

Thanks!

Rsadeika

You got everything, libabcalibrate and libabdrive is what you will need for now. I do not think that there is a specific lib called ActivbityBot. I did the exact instructions as provided in the Learn lesson, and everything works as expected. Make sure you do the abcalibrate instruction, my ActivityBot runs straight as an arrow, even on the longer runs.

Ray

mindrobots

Thanks, Ray.

It may just be a documentation issue. The page I linked to in my original post shows the ActivityBot directory under "learn\simple libraries" ans it's circled in RED like it should be there but it isn't.

I pulled all the pieces together and am ready to rock and roll....as soon as my 5 AA batteries are charged! :frown:

Calibration is first on my list - I AM following the instructions this time!

Rsadeika

as soon as my 5 AA batteries are charged!

You sure you will have enough power? At some point I will be exchanging out the battery pack for a Li-ion pack, which I will remove from my PropBOE bot.

Ray

Courtney Jacobs

mindrobots,

Thank you for pointing out that the image on the Software and Programming page doesn't exactly match what you see once you've extracted the libraries. This is because the downloadable zip file has a version date in the name in order to make updating old library versions easier, and that image was taken to show where the folder containing the new libraries should be placed.

This means that when you unzip directly into the Simple Libraries section of your Learn folder it should give you a folder named "ActivityBot 2013-09-03b" (to use the version current with this post), rather than the folder named "ActivityBot" that is circled in red on the Learn website. Both of the new libraries you'll need for the ActivityBot (libabcalibrate and libabdrive) are in there; don't worry, you aren't missing anything!

Have fun with your new robot! The whiskers are my favorite.


Regards,
Courtney Jacobs

mindrobots

Hi Courtney,

Thank you for your reply.

I realize we aren't at 1.0 yet but in preparation for that, I guess I had 2 concerns:

1) Should the ActivityBot folder be created as the part of the Simple Libraries folder structure with the final release (like Audio, Convert, Display, etc.)? Then the user could unzip the updates and copy the contents of the zip file into the existing ActivityBot folder? (there could/should also be a note in the documentation stating you may need to create the ActivityBot folder, that would be ok) ....because

2) Will there be issues with SimpleIDE resolving libraries if someone has 'ActivityBot 2013-09-03b' and 'ActivityBot 2013-09-21' and 'ActivityBot 2013-10-04' containing bits and possibly overlapping pieces of the ActivityBot libraries because they followed these instructions once for each update - unzipping the new folder and adding it to Simple Libraries folder?

The steps for Updating the Learn Folder have this step:

Replace the Learn folder in My Documents\SimpleIDE with the one you just downloaded and unzipped.

Updating the ActivityBot folder should take the same care in noting that you may need to REPLACE an existing folder.

Just trying to help reduce support issues and user frustration with libraries.

Courtney Jacobs

Hi again,

We can definitely look into the idea of allowing the user to create and name a new folder, or to including a place for the ActivityBot libraries within the Simple Libraries section of the Learn folder download. One thing to keep in mind about that idea of including a folder in Simple Libraries is that not every SimpleIDE user has an ActivityBot (yet!) which would require those libraries, and we do not want to create confusion by providing them a named, empty folder.

As for your second point I will have to confer with the experts about how SimpleIDE deals with those situations, though old versions of libraries should always be fully replaced by the newest ones available to avoid such potential issues. I have modified the Software and Programming page to (hopefully) be a bit more clear about what to do when replacing old library versions.

Your feedback is what helps us make changes that reduce, and hopefully eliminate, user frustrations; please keep it coming!


Regards,
Courtney Jacobs

Courtney Jacobs

I mentioned in my previous post yesterday that I would confer on the second point brought up by mindrobots, and I'd like to give a big thank you to Andy Lindsay for providing the answer. It turns out that if there's more than one of the same library in the Simple Libraries folder, SimpleIDE won't necessarily pick the newest version. This means that removing old library copies is going to be an important part of updating the ActivityBot folder any time there is a new version release.

Again, we appreciate your help in drawing our focus to this; it is something that definitely needed closer attention.


Courtney Jacobs