Jesse Casman

This article actually expands my understanding of the potential of Model–View–Controller (MVC). You argue that MVC is a practical “separation of concerns” backbone for modern software, not just classic web apps. Interesting. I've used MVC with Flutter and Python and like the simple structure that is clear but also professional. I guess I've always been a little surprised that MVC is (mostly) just by convention. I'm surprised it's not somehow created or enforced programatically.

Small detail but I believe the psycopg2 driver was intended to be named "psychopg2," a jab at a “psychotic” Postgres driver, and mistyped psycho.

Now that you've spent time working with the FastOpp project and have worked with FastAPI, has your goal shifted any? I'm referring to this section from the article: "My goal is to provide a more Django-like experience for FastAPI and provide the opportunity in the future to use the built-in API and auto-documentation of FastAPI instead of implementing something like Django REST framework, which I've found difficult to set up for automatic documentation of the API endpoints."

Thanks for the Win ROS link. Great information.

I'm guessing most of the small board computers that would connect to the camera to get the live stream are Linux-based. That provides advantages for stability and performance, common tools, and more. I'm curious how many robotics prototypes run on Windows or Mac and what the advantages might be?

I agree, there is no shortage of skill, will, or creativity. I am interested to see how Japanese corporations further integrate open source as a critical component of their strategies to expand beyond the Japanese market.

I agree with the points you highlight here. I use Django currently to build websites and web apps that significantly help with workflow and output. I like the community which includes good documentation, the "built-in" SQL database, and quite a few other features like templates and dashboards that make setting up internal admin panels easy. I would like the web apps that I build to feel smoother. Do you have a preferred front-end architecture (like maybe React Native) that looks more modern?

One area that works well with ChatGPT and Node-RED that Yokoi-san mentions specifically is with calculating location. It requires some level of math that ChatGPT can handle quickly. Yokoi-san says, "I used ChatGPT to generate code to calculate location data. Calculating direction and distance from two points, including latitude and longitude, is difficult because it requires trigonometric functions. But ChatGPT can automatically generate the source code from the prompt text. In particular, the function-gpt node, developed by FlowFuse, can generate JavaScript code in the Node-RED-specific format within a few seconds. Users just type the prompt text on the Node-RED screen."

I'm not sure about Hitachi's strategy for selling full services that include not just hardware but also software solutions. But they're clearly using it internally as a way to bridge communication gaps within the company. In the interview, Hitachi's Kazuhito Yokoi describes how Hitachi has two very different sides of the company: IT and OT (Operational Technology). Node-RED is helping to address barriers (technical and interpersonal) between the two sides. Yokoi-san says, "Hitachi decided to adopt Node-RED as a primary communication tool in programming. Node-RED’s intuitive interface allows for the entire flow to be visible on the screen, facilitating discussions and collaborative efforts seamlessly."

I disagree that Flutter is the best choice for web development. I have been using Flutter for a couple of years. We mostly use it to work with clients by building Flutter mobile apps, often for testing APIs or other functionality of their software. Flutter is fast and great to build lots of simple apps with. We have also used Flutter to build multiple websites. The idea that development is easily cross-platform is attractive. However, I have found that the performance for Flutter web sites is poor. Also, tracking page views is not easy. We have largely abandoned building web sites with Flutter. Flutter is improving quickly, so I'm willing to try web dev again in the future, but currently I think it's not a solid choice.

I think an immediate solution is the manager (person reviewing and accepting/rejecting the PRs) needs to be actively involved. Relatively easy for small teams. I expect harder with more contributors. I think a manager is able to make a judgement on the level of effort and risk of the PRs. They should be on the lookout for this. This is not built in to GitHub. Beyond that, yes, very much agree, cutting up problems into small solvable problems is key.

This makes me think about the possibility of lowered risk-taking by the person creating a PR. I like to have my PR just work, have it be accepted, and move forward. I know that not all PRs are created equal. So I'm more likely to submit a simple, easy PR to make some forward progress rather than trying something bigger and failing.

Thanks for this explanation of streaming Motion JPEG. You send a GET HTTP request to an IP address (the camera). The response is a stream and you must listen to the stream. In this article, you save the stream to a file and then inspect it afterwards. Are there tools for inspecting the stream without saving it locally first?

Mentioning Medium at #10 on your list seems to be a bit of a throwaway. Which blogs, which individuals? This is so general that it is not particularly useful.

The OpenJS Foundation has good information here on Node.js 16: https://openjsf.org/blog/2021/04/23/nodejsv16/ And Bethany Griggs, interviewed here, has a key blog post on Node.js 16 here: https://medium.com/the-node-js-collection/node-js-16-available-now-7f5099a97e70

I think there are multiple packages available for state management. How do you decide which is best? Why did you decide on Provider?

Thank you! The hint for memory allocation for graphics after disabling X seems super useful.

It looks like I have a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B with 1GB RAM, and I also have a Raspberry Pi Zero W with 512MB RAM. I'm going to try installing the binary on both and see how it goes. Thanks for the link.

I see the underlined text in your reply but it does not appear to be a link. Are you linking to something?

It looks like you're using the Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB of RAM. If I'm prototyping, not looking to do a production deployment, can I test with 2GB?

I have been working on Flutter development recently and this kind of information is a big help. Nice focus on some specific details with the THETA 360 degree camera. I can see multiple industrial uses for the camera, like used car auto sales which is booming during the pandemic. Thank you for this information.

Thank you. I will post any progress updates here.

Thanks for the warning that "the difficulty is in installing libptp, not actually using ptpcam or accessing the PTP API." Are there any obvious alternatives to using libptp? Alternatively, do you have documentation for installing libptp that you would recommend? This would be for Raspian on a Raspberry Pi.