MARIE

Lots of changes were made in this release. A build
system based on Scons is used. Component creation
was simplified. User-defined plugins were added
for CFB, CS, and Data Factory (SerDes). Project
file description is used instead of start scripts.
Socket port number is now automatically managed. A
new console and GUI Application Manager were
added. A toolbox for RobotFlow was added. Unit
tests were introduced. New documentation was
written. A new wiki-based Web site used. Code bugs
and issues were corrected.

The core architecture was refactored. Converters were renamed to CascadingFunctionalBlocks, AdapterHandlers and AdapterHandlerTasks were refactored, potential multi-thread problems were corrected, and Application Adapters were added for Pmap from PlayerStage, for emulating charging stations, for the Festival speech synthesis tool, for emulating robot power systems, and for ARNL. New data types were added along with unit tests for the data library. GCC 4.0.1 is now supported.

Major refactoring was done to MARIE's core
architecture. The communication protocol and data
representation are now independent. Reusable
Converters are used in Ports. The configuration
for Adapters was enhanced. The architecture was
simplified. The names of classes now better fit
MARIE's terminology. Class duplication was
removed. The same framework is used for
Application Adapters and Communication Adapters.
Known design patterns are used for the
implementation. ACE's logging features are
supported.

Global design and implementation, data types, and the installation procedure have been enhanced. A "Shared Memory" communication strategy has been added. XML handling has been refactored. An adapter for the Aria API from ActivMedia has been added. An application adapter for the Expression Toolkit project has been added. SharedMap communication adapters have been added. The Teleop project has been enhanced.