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getting values from an xml file
Hello everyone!
I'm a programmer on my high schools FIRST Robotics team. to give a bit of backstory if you don't know, we use C++ to program a 120 lb robot to compete in a competition released every year.
NOW - why I want to mess with an xml file. When we're messing with variable values to make sure everything moves at the right speed, stops at the right place, etc., we have to:
1. Change the file
2. Build code
3. Deploy code to the robot
4. Reboot the computer on the robot (FRC uses a 4 port cRIO by NI, takes ~ 50s to reboot)
5. Reconnect.
All in all, its about a 3-3.5 minute process to change values. Because of this, I would love to be able to store all my motor speeds, stopping positions, etc., in an xml file then simply ftp to the robot, mess with the xml, save it, and re-run the program.
SO! How would I even begin this process? I'm not asking for someone to baby me through it, and I'll even upload my code if you guys want, but I just don't want to spend a couple days learning how to use one of those parsers like xerces to end up realizing that I can't use it in an application such as this.
Thank you all very much in advance!
I'm a programmer on my high schools FIRST Robotics team. to give a bit of backstory if you don't know, we use C++ to program a 120 lb robot to compete in a competition released every year.
NOW - why I want to mess with an xml file. When we're messing with variable values to make sure everything moves at the right speed, stops at the right place, etc., we have to:
1. Change the file
2. Build code
3. Deploy code to the robot
4. Reboot the computer on the robot (FRC uses a 4 port cRIO by NI, takes ~ 50s to reboot)
5. Reconnect.
All in all, its about a 3-3.5 minute process to change values. Because of this, I would love to be able to store all my motor speeds, stopping positions, etc., in an xml file then simply ftp to the robot, mess with the xml, save it, and re-run the program.
SO! How would I even begin this process? I'm not asking for someone to baby me through it, and I'll even upload my code if you guys want, but I just don't want to spend a couple days learning how to use one of those parsers like xerces to end up realizing that I can't use it in an application such as this.
Thank you all very much in advance!
Use a library, like RapidXml ( http://rapidxml.sourceforge.net/ ). There's little point reinventing the wheel for these sort of things (unless it's for learning) and the Rapid parsers (there's a JSON one too, if that's preferable) are easy to install and use as everything is in a single header.
Alternatively, if your data isn't too hefty you could make your own format/parser using file streams.
Alternatively, if your data isn't too hefty you could make your own format/parser using file streams.
XML is quickly being replaced by JSON, so you may want to consider switching to JSON if possible.
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