4. Windows installation from sources¶
The instructions for installing both the Fast DDS library and the Fast DDS-Gen generation tool from sources are provided in this page. It is organized as follows:
4.1. Fast DDS library installation¶
This section provides the instructions for installing eProsima Fast DDS in a Windows environment from sources. The following packages will be installed:
foonathan_memory_vendor
, an STL compatible C++ memory allocator library.fastcdr
, a C++ library that serializes according to the standard CDR serialization mechanism.fastrtps
, the core library of eProsima Fast DDS library.
First of all, the Requirements and Dependencies detailed below need to be met. Afterwards, the user can choose whether to follow either the colcon or the CMake installation instructions.
4.1.1. Requirements¶
The installation of eProsima Fast DDS in a Windows environment from sources requires the following tools to be installed in the system:
Gtest [optional]
XML validation tool [optional]
4.1.1.1. Visual Studio¶
Visual Studio is required to have a C++ compiler in the system.
For this purpose, make sure to check the Desktop development with C++
option during the Visual Studio
installation process.
If Visual Studio is already installed but the Visual C++ Redistributable packages are not,
open Visual Studio and go to Tools
-> Get Tools and Features
and in the Workloads
tab enable
Desktop development with C++
.
Finally, click Modify
at the bottom right.
4.1.1.2. Chocolatey¶
Chocolatey is a Windows package manager. It is needed to install some of eProsima Fast DDS’s dependencies. Download and install it directly from the website.
4.1.1.3. CMake, pip3, wget and git¶
These packages provide the tools required to install eProsima Fast DDS and its dependencies from command line.
Download and install CMake, pip3, wget and git by following the instructions detailed in the respective
websites.
Once installed, add the path to the executables to the PATH
from the
Edit the system environment variables control panel.
4.1.1.4. Gtest¶
GTest is a unit testing library for C++. By default, eProsima Fast DDS does not compile tests. It is possible to activate them with the opportune CMake configuration options when calling colcon or CMake. For more details, please refer to the CMake options section. Also add the Gtest repository into the workspace directory.
git clone --branch release-1.11.0 https://github.com/google/googletest src/googletest-distribution
and add next argument to the colcon call
colcon build --cmake-args -Dgtest_force_shared_crt=ON
4.1.1.5. XML validation tool¶
XML validation is a new command introduced to validate the XML profiles against an XSD schema through Fast DDS CLI. That ensures the proper characterization of the entities using the xml profiles.
For more details, please refer to the xml section.
Install the xmlschema dependency to be able to use this optional tool.
4.1.2. Dependencies¶
eProsima Fast RTPS has the following dependencies, when installed from sources in a Windows environment:
4.1.2.1. Asio and TinyXML2 libraries¶
Asio is a cross-platform C++ library for network and low-level I/O programming, which provides a consistent asynchronous model. TinyXML2 is a simple, small and efficient C++ XML parser. They can be downloaded directly from the links below:
After downloading these packages, open an administrative shell with PowerShell and execute the following command:
choco install -y -s <PATH_TO_DOWNLOADS> asio tinyxml2
where <PATH_TO_DOWNLOADS>
is the folder into which the packages have been downloaded.
4.1.2.2. OpenSSL¶
OpenSSL is a robust toolkit for the TLS and SSL protocols and a general-purpose cryptography library.
Download and install the latest OpenSSL version for Windows at this
link.
After installing, add the environment variable OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR
pointing to the installation root directory.
For example:
OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=C:\Program Files\OpenSSL-Win64
4.1.2.3. Libp11 and SoftHSM libraries¶
Libp11 provides PKCS#11 support for OpenSSL. This is an optional dependency, that is needed only when eprosima Fast DDS is used with security and PKCS#11 URIs.
Download the latest libp11 version for Windows from this repository and follow the installation instructions
SoftHSM is a software implementation of an HSM (Hardware Security Module). If eProsima Fast DDS tests are activated and libp11 is installed on the system, SoftHSM is additionally required to run tests of PKCS#11 features.
Download the SoftHSM for Windows installer from this repository. Execute the installer and follow the installation instructions.
OpenSSL access HSM and other hardware devices through its engine functionality. In order to set up a new engine the OpenSSL configuration files must be updated specifying the libp11 and hardware module (here SoftHSM) dynamic libraries location.
OpenSSL on Windows references its default configuration file through the OPENSSL_CONF environment variable. By default OpenSSL installs two identical default configuration files:
C:\Program Files\OpenSSL-Win64\bin\cnf\openssl.cnf mimics the Linux distributions one.
C:\Program Files\OpenSSL-Win64\bin\openssl.cfg kept for backward compatibility.
Neither of them are loaded by default. In order to direct OpenSSL to load one of them or any other we must set the variable:
cmd> set OPENSSL_CONF=C:\Program Files\OpenSSL-Win64\bin\cnf\openssl.cnf
powershell> $Env:OPENSSL_CONF="C:\Program Files\OpenSSL-Win64\bin\cnf\openssl.cnf"
Once we have hinted OpenSSL the configuration file to use we must modify it to set up the new PKCS#11 engine following the OpenSSL guidelines replacing the binaries path with the proper ones. For example, before any section in the configuration file we introduce:
openssl_conf = openssl_init
at the end of the file we include the engine devoted sections. Note to use POSIX path separator instead of the windows one.
[openssl_init]
engines = engine_section
[engine_section]
pkcs11 = pkcs11_section
[pkcs11_section]
engine_id = pkcs11
dynamic_path = C:/Program Files/libp11/src/pkcs11.dll
MODULE_PATH = C:/Program Files (x86)/SoftHSM2/lib/softhsm2-x64.dll
init = 0
A proper set up can be verified using OpenSSL command line tool:
openssl engine pkcs11 -t
4.1.3. Colcon installation¶
colcon is a command line tool based on CMake aimed at building sets of software packages. This section explains how to use it to compile eProsima Fast DDS and its dependencies.
Important
Run colcon within a Visual Studio prompt. To do so, launch a Developer Command Prompt from the search engine.
Install the ROS 2 development tools (colcon and vcstool) by executing the following command:
pip3 install -U colcon-common-extensions vcstool
and add the path to the
vcs
executable to thePATH
from the Edit the system environment variables control panel.Note
If this fails due to an Environment Error, add the
--user
flag to thepip3
installation command.Create a
Fast-DDS
directory and download the repos file that will be used to install eProsima Fast DDS and its dependencies:mkdir ~\Fast-DDS cd ~\Fast-DDS wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eProsima/Fast-DDS/master/fastrtps.repos -output fastrtps.repos mkdir src vcs import src --input fastrtps.repos
Finally, use colcon to compile all software:
colcon build
Note
Being based on CMake, it is possible to pass the CMake configuration options to the colcon build
command.
For more information on the specific syntax, please refer to the
CMake specific arguments
page of the colcon manual.
4.1.3.1. Run an application¶
When running an instance of an application using eProsima Fast DDS, the colcon overlay built in the
dedicated Fast-DDS
directory must be sourced.
There are two possibilities:
Every time a new shell is opened, prepare the environment locally by typing the command:
setup.bat
Add the sourcing of the colcon overlay permanently, by opening the Edit the system environment variables control panel, and adding
~/Fast-DDS/install/setup.bat
to thePATH
.
4.1.4. CMake installation¶
This section explains how to compile eProsima Fast DDS with CMake, either locally or globally.
4.1.4.1. Local installation¶
Open a command prompt, and create a
Fast-DDS
directory where to download and build eProsima Fast DDS and its dependencies:mkdir %USERPROFILE%\Fast-DDS
Clone the following dependencies and compile them using CMake.
Fast DDS depends on Foonathan memory. To ease the dependency management, eProsima provides a vendor package Foonathan memory vendor, which downloads and builds a specific revision of Foonathan memory if the library is not found in the system.
cd %USERPROFILE%\Fast-DDS git clone https://github.com/eProsima/foonathan_memory_vendor.git cd foonathan_memory_vendor mkdir build && cd build cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%USERPROFILE%/Fast-DDS/install .. cmake --build . --target install
-
cd %USERPROFILE%\Fast-DDS git clone https://github.com/eProsima/Fast-CDR.git cd Fast-CDR mkdir build && cd build cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%USERPROFILE%/Fast-DDS/install .. cmake --build . --target install
Once all dependencies are installed, install eProsima Fast DDS:
cd %USERPROFILE%\Fast-DDS git clone https://github.com/eProsima/Fast-DDS.git cd Fast-DDS mkdir build && cd build cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%USERPROFILE%/Fast-DDS/install .. cmake --build . --target install
4.1.4.2. Global installation¶
To install eProsima Fast DDS system-wide instead of locally, remove the CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX
flags that
appear in the configuration steps of Fast-CDR
and Fast-DDS
.
Note
By default, eProsima Fast DDS does not compile tests. However, they can be activated by downloading and installing Gtest.
4.1.4.3. Run an application¶
When running an instance of an application using eProsima Fast DDS, it must be linked with the library where the
packages have been installed.
This can be done by opening the Edit system environment variables control panel and adding to the PATH
the
Fast DDS and Fast CDR installation directories:
Fast DDS: C:\Program Files\fastrtps
Fast CDR: C:\Program Files\fastcdr
4.2. Fast DDS Python bindings installation¶
This section provides the instructions for installing Fast DDS Python bindings in a Windows environment from sources. Fast DDS Python bindings is an extension of Fast DDS which provides access to the Fast DDS API through Python. Therefore, its installation is an extension of the installation of Fast DDS.
Fast DDS Python bindings source code consists on several .i files which will be processed by SWIG. Then C++ files (for connecting C++ and Python) and Python files (Python module for Fast DDS) will be generated.
First of all, the Requirements and Dependencies detailed below need to be met. Afterwards, the user can choose whether to follow either the colcon or the CMake installation instructions.
4.2.1. Requirements¶
The installation of Fast DDS Python bindings in a Windows environment from sources requires the following tools to be installed in the system:
4.2.1.1. SWIG¶
SWIG is a development tool that allows connecting programs written in C/C++ with a variety of other programming languages, among them Python. SWIG 4.0 is required in order to build Fast DDS Python bindings.
Note
More recent SWIG releases are not yet supported. Please, ensure to be using SWIG 4.0.
4.2.2. Dependencies¶
Fast DDS Python bindings has the following dependencies, when installed from sources in a Windows environment:
4.2.3. Colcon installation¶
colcon is a command line tool based on CMake aimed at building sets of software packages. This section explains how to use it to compile Fast DDS Python bindings and its dependencies.
Important
Run colcon within a Visual Studio prompt. To do so, launch a Developer Command Prompt from the search engine.
Install the ROS 2 development tools (colcon and vcstool) by executing the following command:
pip3 install -U colcon-common-extensions vcstool
and add the path to the
vcs
executable to thePATH
from the Edit the system environment variables control panel.Note
If this fails due to an Environment Error, add the
--user
flag to thepip3
installation command.Create a
Fast-DDS-python
directory and download the repos file that will be used to install Fast DDS Python bindings and its dependencies:mkdir ~\Fast-DDS-python cd ~\Fast-DDS-python wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eProsima/Fast-DDS-python/main/fastdds_python.repos mkdir src vcs import src --input fastdds_python.repos
Build the packages:
colcon build
Note
Being based on CMake, it is possible to pass CMake configuration options to the colcon build
command.
For more information on the specific syntax, please refer to the
CMake specific arguments
page of the colcon manual.
4.2.3.1. Run an application¶
When running an instance of an application using Fast DDS Python bindings, the colcon overlay built in the
dedicated Fast-DDS-python
directory must be sourced.
There are two possibilities:
Every time a new shell is opened, prepare the environment locally by typing the command:
setup.bat
Add the sourcing of the colcon overlay permanently, by opening the Edit the system environment variables control panel, and adding
~/Fast-DDS/install/setup.bat
to thePATH
.
4.2.4. CMake installation¶
This section explains how to compile Fast DDS Python bindings with CMake, either locally or globally.
4.2.4.1. Local installation¶
Open a command prompt, and create a
Fast-DDS-python
directory where to download and build Fast DDS Python bindings and its dependencies:mkdir %USERPROFILE%\Fast-DDS-python
Clone the following dependencies and compile them using CMake.
Fast DDS depends on Foonathan memory. To ease the dependency management, eProsima provides a vendor package Foonathan memory vendor, which downloads and builds a specific revision of Foonathan memory if the library is not found in the system.
cd %USERPROFILE%\Fast-DDS-python git clone https://github.com/eProsima/foonathan_memory_vendor.git cd foonathan_memory_vendor mkdir build && cd build cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%USERPROFILE%/Fast-DDS-python/install .. cmake --build . --target install
-
cd %USERPROFILE%\Fast-DDS-python git clone https://github.com/eProsima/Fast-CDR.git cd Fast-CDR mkdir build && cd build cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%USERPROFILE%/Fast-DDS-python/install .. cmake --build . --target install
-
cd %USERPROFILE%\Fast-DDS-python git clone https://github.com/eProsima/Fast-DDS.git cd Fast-DDS mkdir build && cd build cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%USERPROFILE%/Fast-DDS-python/install .. cmake --build . --target install
Once all dependencies are installed, install Fast DDS Python bindings:
cd ~/Fast-DDS-python git clone https://github.com/eProsima/Fast-DDS-python.git cd Fast-DDS-python mkdir build && cd build cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%USERPROFILE%/Fast-DDS-python/install .. cmake --build . --target install
4.2.4.2. Global installation¶
To install Fast DDS Python bindings system-wide instead of locally, remove all the flags that
appear in the configuration steps of Fast-CDR
, Fast-DDS
and Fast-DDS-python
, and change the
first in the configuration step of foonathan_memory_vendor
to the following:
-DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/ -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON
Note
Installation on system directories may need of permissions.
Maybe permissions have to be granted through sudo
.
sudo cmake --build . --target install
4.2.4.3. Run an application¶
When running an instance of an application using Fast DDS Python bindings, it must be linked with the library where
the packages have been installed.
This can be done by opening the Edit system environment variables control panel and adding to the PATH
the
Fast DDS python, Fast CDR and Fast DDS installation directories:
Fast DDS python: C:\Program Files\fastdds_python
Fast DDS: C:\Program Files\fastrtps
Fast CDR: C:\Program Files\fastcdr
4.3. Fast DDS-Gen installation¶
This section outlines the instructions for installing Fast DDS-Gen in a Windows environment from sources. Fast DDS-Gen is a Java application that generates source code using the data types defined in an IDL file. Please refer to Introduction for more information.
4.3.1. Requirements¶
Fast DDS-Gen is built using Gradle. Gradle is an open-source build automation tool which requires a Java version to be executed (see Gradle-Java compatibility matrix).
Important
Even though earlier versions of Gradle support Java 8, Fast DDS-Gen stopped supporting Java versions previous to Java 11 since release v2.4.0.
Important
Fast DDS-Gen introduced support for Gradle 7 in release v2.2.0. Gradle 8 is not yet supported.
4.3.1.1. Java JDK¶
The JDK is a development environment for building applications and components using the Java language. Download and install it following the steps given in the Oracle website.
Note
Fast DDS-Gen supports Java versions from 11 to 19.
4.3.2. Compiling Fast DDS-Gen¶
In order to compile Fast DDS-Gen, an executable script is included in the repository which will download Gradle temporarily for the compilation step. Please, follow the steps below to build Fast DDS-Gen:
Note
If Fast DDS has already been installed following Colcon installation, skip cloning Fast DDS-Gen’s
repository, as it can already be found under the src
directory within the colcon workspace.
cd ~
git clone --recursive https://github.com/eProsima/Fast-DDS-Gen.git
cd Fast-DDS-Gen
gradlew.bat assemble
Note
In case that a supported Gradle version is already installed in the system, Fast DDS-Gen can also be built running directly:
gradle assemble
4.3.2.1. Contents¶
The Fast-DDS-Gen
folder contains the following packages:
share/fastddsgen
, where the generated Java application is.scripts
, containing some user friendly scripts.Note
To make these scripts accessible from any directory, add the
scripts
folder path to thePATH
environment variable.