automatic sync submodules

Author: anglesideangle

.github/workflows/makefile.yml

@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ jobs:
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-    - name: Update Submodules
-      run: make update-submodules
-
     - name: Workspace Build
       run: make build
 

Makefile

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.PHONY: all update-submodules dev build test final refresh clean
+.PHONY: all sync-submodules dev build test final refresh clean
 .DEFAULT_GOAL := all
 
 # TODO Configure these
@@ -29,11 +29,12 @@ FINAL_BUILT := $(MARKER_DIR)/final.built
 
 all: final
 
-update-submodules:
+sync-submodules:
+	@echo "==> Syncing submodules to .gitmodules..."
 	@git submodule sync
 	@git submodule update --init --recursive
 
-dev: $(DEV_BUILT)
+dev: $(DEV_BUILT) sync-submodules
 	@echo "==> Entering workspace..."
 	@$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) run \
 	  --rm \
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ dev: $(DEV_BUILT)
 	  $(DEV_IMAGE) \
 	  bash
 
-build: $(BASE_BUILT)
+build: $(BASE_BUILT) sync-submodules
 	@echo "==> Building colcon workspace..."
 	@$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) run \
 	  --rm \
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ build: $(BASE_BUILT)
 	  $(BASE_IMAGE) \
 	  colcon build --symlink-install
 
-test: $(BASE_BUILT)
+test: $(BASE_BUILT) sync-submodules
 	@echo "==> Testing colcon workspace..."
 	@$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) run \
 	  --rm \
@@ -71,9 +72,9 @@ test: $(BASE_BUILT)
 	  $(BASE_IMAGE) \
 	  colcon test --event-handlers console_cohesion+
 
-final: $(FINAL_BUILT)
+final: $(FINAL_BUILT) sync-submodules
 
-$(BASE_BUILT): $(CONTAINERFILE) $(MAKEFI)
+$(BASE_BUILT): $(CONTAINERFILE)
 	@echo "==> Building base image..."
 	@$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) build \
 		-t $(BASE_IMAGE) \

README.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ This repository is a template for a containerized [ROS 2](https://docs.ros.org/)
 | `make final`             | Builds the colcon workspace and copies the resulting artifacts into a minimal `ros-core` image tagged `{name}:{distro}-final`. |
 | `make refresh`           | Causes the previous set of commands to rebuild the image when run.                                                             |
 | `make clean`             | Untags and removes any installed images.                                                                                       |
-| `make update-submodules` | Recursively updates git submodules.                                                                                            |
+| `make sync-submodules`   | Manually syncs and recursively updates git submodules.                                                                         |
 
 ## Why?
 
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ To add source dependencies, use git submodules inside src. For example:
 git submodule add https://github.com/ros2/examples.git src/examples
 ```
 
-You can edit submodules in `.gitmodules` and pin them to specific commits or branches, and refresh them with `make update-submodules`.
+You can edit submodules in `.gitmodules` (full spec [here](https://git-scm.com/docs/gitmodules#_description)), and manually sync them with `make sync-submodules`. By default, all the build commands will ensure the workspace's submodules are synced to `.gitmodules` and updated. If you want to pin submodules to specific versions, you should run `git checkout <commit>` from their directories.
 
 ## Questions and Limitations