Document interactive development of mavproxy

[Ryanf55]

Purpose

• Use a venv and develop mode from setup.py

• Relates to https://github.com/ArduPilot/MAVProxy/issues/1215#issuecomment-2453643372

• Depends on https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot_wiki/pull/6372

Existing Workflow

New Workflow

Now, when you change code, it updates when you just kill mavproxy and run it again.

[Ryanf55]

Wouldn't a user ordinarily be in the ArduPilot venv here? It seems you're creating a new venv as part of these instructions...

These instructions are for an isolated env. If the instructions are making an assumption you use the ardupilot rep's venv, then maybe it's worth adding that as a prerequisite. I've found it's not required to share the same environment for both repos.

Also, I saw that MAVProxy would be installed twice. https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/blob/c0ee3b22163da1b77fcc7362aa6e0e3a8c6a9f8d/Tools/environment_install/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh#L166

[Ryanf55]

How are we supposed to install the wsproto dependency of pymavlink?

https://github.com/ArduPilot/pymavlink/pull/967/files#diff-4d7c51b1efe9043e44439a949dfd92e5827321b34082903477fd04876edb7552R10

• ardupilot/ools/scripts/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh doesn't have it
• The setup.py file of pymavlink doesn't have it, only the requirements.txt
• We don't ever tell devs to install pymavlink's requirements.txt

[Ryanf55]

@peterbarker Can you explain why the ardupilot virtual environment is necessary? The docs don't seem to agree. Here's why:

The ardupilot setup is explained as the setup for building the Ardupilot code with waf:

Which prompts you on adding the venv to your bashrc: https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/blob/4d75b4477550e3fccb6a1917dd8a49594d3d2c9b/Tools/environment_install/install-prereqs-ubuntu.sh#L394 And is not recommended in the wiki which option to chose

If you just start with MAVProxy, which does not even reference the Ardupilot environment install

Then, why would a developer know that the have to install MAVProxy INSIDE of the ardupilot repo's virtual environment?

If this is actually true, then shouldn't it be documented that this is the only supported workflow ?

[peterbarker]

OK, sorry, I wasn't away you'd linked the MAVProxy Wiki there.

So someone wants to develop ArduPilot will get MAVProxy as part of the environment install script - but not give them a development environment.

You're trying to add words around developing MAVProxy inside the ArduPilot Wiki here - and they are conflicting with words over in the ArduPilot docco.... perhaps the MAVProxy Wiki should acknowledge you may want to work within the ArduPilot venv. The MAVProxy docs you link to need updating anyway - they won't work well without a venv now, and that's not called out.

[Hwurzburg]

@Ryanf55 @peterbarker still awaiting you and PeterB to resolve and he approve...