Add colcon arguments for selecting packages to build

[rafal-gorecki]

Hello,

1. I'm looking for some solutions: to add option --packages-up-to <package_name> during the colcon build and test phase. How can be it done on Github Actions?
2. I'd like to also add global environment variable, how can I add it? I try following solutions, but it didn't work:

      - uses: ros-industrial/industrial_ci@master
        env:
          ROS_DISTRO: ${{matrix.ROS_DISTRO}}
          global:
            - BEFORE_INIT='export HUSARION_ROS_BUILD_TYPE=simulation'

Regards

[CihatAltiparmak]

Hello,

1. I'm looking for some solutions: to add option --packages-up-to <package_name> during the colcon build and test phase. How can be it done on Github Actions?

Hello,

I solved the first one by giving colcon relavant arguments after cmake arguments. You can use this trick like below.

https://github.com/CihatAltiparmak/moveit_middleware_benchmark/blob/efc00b8968db64879e2c355c23ed3f43ca5600ae/.github/workflows/industrial_ci.yml#L13

When you ran this CI, you will see this command.

https://github.com/CihatAltiparmak/moveit_middleware_benchmark/actions/runs/9604667418/job/26490644523#step:3:1492

[mathias-luedtke]

Another options it to remove the additional packages (actually directories) after cloning, see https://github.com/ros-industrial/industrial_ci/blob/master/doc/index.rst#workspace-management

[Ryanf55]

This would be very handy to be automatic. For grid_map, on rolling, which relies on a small number of packages from nav2, it ends up building much more than necessary:

Finished <<< nav2_mppi_controller [8min 22s]
Finished <<< nav2_smac_planner [6min 8s]
Finished <<< nav2_collision_monitor [6min 52s]
Finished <<< nav2_behavior_tree [16min 13s]

Rather than manually keeping a skip list or a include list for upstream packages (which can change), I would prefer something like what like ChatGTP hallucinated, which is ironically a good idea:

UPSTREAM_PACKAGES: deps

Given that rosdep has an understanding of the ros2 graph, it seems that it would be feasible to only build packages UPSTREAM if they are dependend on in the target workspace.

Without this, when nav2 keeps adding more packages that take a long time to build and aren't necessary, I will have to keep increasing the skip list.