The document proposes a repository system for the Aerospace & Aeronautics Department at Cairo University to improve documentation and sharing of project information for iterative projects like cubesat and n-copter. It highlights the challenges faced due to lack of shared technical aspects and provides a solution that includes collaboration, organization, and sharing features through different online services such as Bitbucket and GitHub. The plan emphasizes the need for training and community involvement to ensure effective use of the repository system.

1. Proposal
for
Repository
System
Utilization
for
Iterative
Projects
Aerospace
&
Aeronau-cs
Department
Faculty
of
Engineering,
Cairo
University
13/7/2014

2. Problem
De:inition
• The
department
is
known
for
itera-ve
approach
to
projects:
CubeSat,
N-­‐Copter,
Auto-­‐Pilot…etc.
• Technical
aspects
(Codes
and
CAD
models)
are
not
usually
documented
or
shared.
• No
one
way
solu-on
to
obtain
aforemen-oned
informa-on,
unless
contac-ng
supervisor
and
previous
project
members.
• When
a
code
malfunc-ons,
not
easy
to
retrieve
old
versions
13/7/2014

3. Actual
Case
• 3rd
Itera-on
CubeSat
project
faced
a
technical
difficulty
in
the
communica-ons
subsystem,
leading
to
resort
to
old
methods.
• How-­‐to’s
and
codes
were
available
only
with
last
year’s
members.
• Previous
year
members
were
called
to
advise,
assist
in
implementa-on
and
troubleshoot.
Observa-ons:
• Crucial
informa-on
was
not
fully
documented/previously
shared
in
an
itera-ve
project,
thus
causing
delays.
• Members
with
the
right
informa-on
might
not
have
been
free
to
provide
more
than
consulta-on.
13/7/2014

4. Proposed
Solution:
Repository
Systems
An
IT
solu-on
to
store,
collaborate,
track
progress,
and
share
all
project
informa-on:
Codes,
models,
documenta-on…etc.
Not
to
be
confused
with
online
storage.
(i.e.
Dropbox,
Google
Drive)
Repository
Documenta-on
Codes
Structure
Models
References
Professors
Thesis
&
Papers
Gradua-ng
Students
Undergraduate
Students
Other
Departments
Visitors
13/7/2014

5. Features:
Collaboration
• Collaborators
(Users)
upload
and
download
files
from
the
same
shared
space.
(Known
as
commit
and
check-­‐out).
• All
files
have
revisions
to
track
changes,
merge
progress,
and
avoid
overwri-ng
issues.
Repository
Documenta-on
Codes
Structure
Models
References
Collaborator
Workspace
1
Thesis
&
Papers
.
.
.
Check
in
Check
out
Check
in
Check
out
Check
in
Check
out
AutoPilot.c
:
#19
AutoPilot.c
:
#20
AutoPilot.c
:
#21
Collaborator
Workspace
2
Collaborator
Workspace
3
.
.
.
13/7/2014

6. Example
13/7/2014

7. Features:
Organization
• Access
control
on
allowed
collaborators.
• Access
control
on
file
edits
(Freeze
locks).
• Tes-ng
new
code
on
a
separate
loca-on
(Branch)
• Versioning
of
the
repository
itself
(Tags).
Current
Itera-on
Repo
Documenta-on
Codes
Structure
Models
References
Thesis
&
Papers
Repository
of
1st
Itera-on
Repository
of
2nd
Itera-on
Repository
of
3rd
Itera-on
Trunk
Tags
Tag
out
Prototype
Repository
Branch
out
Merge
13/7/2014

8. Features:
Sharing
Repositories
can
be
kept
private,
or
shared
globally
to
other
developers
to
view
and/or
collaborate
(Open-­‐source).
Repository
#1
Authorized
Collaborator
.
.
.
Authorized
Collaborator
Authorized
Collaborator
Repository
#2
Repository
#3
.
.
.
Private
Or
Public
External
Viewer
External
Collaborator
View/Edit
View
only
.
.
.
13/7/2014

9. Use
Cases
• Shared
workspace
for
collabora-ve
work
by
students.
• Historical
review
of
past
itera-ons.
• Progress
tracking
for
professors
and
supervisors.
• Publishing
data
for
public
visitors
and/or
collaborators.
• Collabora-on
area
for
different
departments/universi-es.
13/7/2014

10. Server
Usage
#1:
Bitbucket
An
online
repository
service
for
private
and
public
hos-ng.
Provides
free
and
paid
services.
Advantages
• Has
a
free
online
service
plan
for
private
hos-ng
• 2
GB
Storage
/
Repository
(Unlimited
repositories)
Disadvantages
• Free
service
offers
only
up
to
5
collaborators
maximum.
Upgrades
require
paid
service
Scenario
A
project
desired
to
be
private
and
has
5
or
less
collaborators.
Refer
to
hgps://bitbucket.org/plans
for
pricing
13/7/2014

11. Server
Usage
#2:
Github
Also
an
online
repository
service,
with
private
and
public
offerings.
Advantages
• Has
a
free
online
service
plan
• Unlimited
collaborators
• 1
Gb
/
Repository
(Unlimited
repositories)
Disadvantages
• Free
service
offers
only
public
hos-ng.
Upgrades
require
paid
service
Scenario
Best
for
projects
that
are
planned
to
be
open-­‐source
and
require
a
lot
of
collaborators.
Refer
to
hgps://github.com/pricing
for
pricing
13/7/2014

12. Server
Usage
#3:
Local
Server
Deploy
a
repository
service
(i.e.
svn
or
git)
on
a
local
networked
machine
on
campus.
Advantages
• Free
usage
• Virtually
unlimited
collaborators
• No
storage
quota
(Unless
governed
by
admin)
Disadvantages
• Installa-on
and
maintenance
• Troubleshoo-ng
client-­‐side
issues
• Demands
server
up-me
Scenario
If
a
server
machine
and
maintenance
are
provided,
this
is
very
well
suited
for
an
unrestricted
use
with
open
sharing
op-ons.
Refer
to
the
following
for
installa-ons
and
guides:
hgp://rogerdudler.github.io/git-­‐guide/
hgp://subversion.apache.org/
13/7/2014

13. Client-­‐side
Usage
• Use
Eclipse
IDE
with
plugins
• Repository
clients
• Scripts
that
communicate
with
servers
(Using
svn,
git…
etc)
Script
command
to
checkout
a
directory
13/7/2014

14. Implementation
Plan
Phase
Involved
Peers
(Not
limited
to)
Agreement
on
repository
hos-ng
(Online
services
or
local
hos-ng)
and
usage
plans
• Department
Members
• Faculty
Administra-on
• IT
Administrators
Training
and
ini-a-on
of
a
local
team
dedicated
for
teaching
usage,
tracking,
and
maintenance.
• Department
Members
• Students
• IT
Administrators
Crea-ng
repository
infrastructures
for
usage
• Specialized
Team
• Collaborators
Ini-a-ve
for
past
itera-ons
to
upload
work
• Department
Members
• Past
Itera-ons
13/7/2014

15. Key
Performance
Parameters
• Dedica-on
from
professors
and
students
alike
towards
the
ac-ve
and
good
use
of
a
repository.
• To
save
-me,
collaborators
must
be
fully
aware
of
how
the
system
works
and
how
to
use
it.
• Forma-on
of
an
ac-ve
community
that
handles
users
training,
troubleshoo-ng
issues,
and
researching
newer
and
beger
methods.
• The
department
should
keep
track
on
ac-ve
repositories,
especially
for
publica-ons.
13/7/2014

16. Proposed
Good
Practices
• Always
check
out
(download)
the
files
at
least
once
every
week
to
stay
up-­‐to-­‐date.
• Checking
in
files
(upload)
allows
you
to
add
a
comment
for
what
changes
were
made.
Make
construc-ve
comments.
• For
CAD
models
of
big
size,
resort
to
use
pictures
instead.
Keep
also
a
note
on
where
the
actual
file
can
be
found.
13/7/2014

17. Conclusion
The
proposed
system
shows
its
compa-bility
to
provide:
• Easy
method
to
obtain
previous
itera-ons
work
• Collabora-ve
working
environment
• Progress
tracking
and
revisions
• Capacity
building
in
usage
of
popular
development
systems
13/7/2014

18. Thank
you.
Presenta4on
by
Ahmed
Farid
CDH
Engineer
in
2nd
Itera-on
Cube-­‐Satellite
Project
ahmed@farid-­‐dev.net
13/7/2014