Getting ready

The ROS community-level concepts are the ROS resources that enable separate communities to exchange software and knowledge. These resources include the following:

• ROS distributions: ROS distributions are collections of versioned metapackages that can be installed. ROS distributions play a similar role to Linux distributions. They enable easier installation and collection of the ROS software. ROS distributions maintain consistent versions across a set of software.
• ROS repositories: ROS relies on a federated network of code repositories, where different institutions can develop and release their own robot software components.
• The ROS wiki: The ROS community wiki is the main forum for documenting information about ROS. Anyone can sign up for an account and contribute their own documentation, provide corrections or updates, write tutorials, and more.
• ROS bug ticket system: If we find a bug in the existing software or need to add a new feature, we can use this resource.
• ROS mailing lists: The ROS user-mailing list is the primary communication channel about new updates to ROS, as well as a forum for asking questions about the ROS software.
• ROS answers: This website resource helps to ask questions related to ROS. If we post our doubts on this site, other ROS users can see this and suggest solutions.
• ROS blog: The ROS blog updates with news, photos, and videos related to the ROS community (http://www.ros.org/news).