ProposedChangesV3 8

High Level Release Goals

• Code maintenance
  • Update library dependencies to modern, stable versions
  • Deprecate old and redundant modules
  • Move projects to OOT modules
• Improve and mainstream QT Gui
• Improve message passing API

Namespace hygiene ideas

• hier_block2: rename to hier_block
• eradicate the remaining non-basic type classes that exhibit a gr_ prefix
• getting rid of the blks2 hierarchy

Changes likely to come with 3.8

In particular, API-breaking stuff.

General dependencies

• Require Doxygen >= 1.7
• Require CMake >= 2.8.10
  • String FIND command added in 2.8.5
  • enable_language (used for VOLK ASM files) bug fixed in 2.8.10
  • Ubuntu 12.04 comes with v2.8.7
• Require Boost >= 1.53
• Require GCC >= 4.7
• Require QWT >= 6.0 (maybe)
• Require ICE >= 3.5.0 (maybe 3.5.1)
• Require Python >= 2.7
• Require QT4 >= 4.8.0 (maybe 4.7.0 if a given a compelling reason)
• Require UHD >= 3.6.0

By component

gnuradio-runtime GNU Radio runtime scheduler

• Possibly API breaking changes needed to fix #528
• Maybe change the TSB implementation (wouldn't affect TSBs themselves, but blocks that would re-implement them)
• Formally deprecate old message queues/sources/sinks in favor of new async message passing
• Formally deprecate Single Threaded Scheduler (STS)

grc GNU Radio Companion

• Switch default window system for new flowgraphs to gr-qtgui
• Remove all grc-specific blocks that may be replaced with other blocks (ex. tcp.py)
• Introduce QT version of GRC

gr-atsc ATSC Digital Television demodulator

• Remove old version to be replaced by new implementation from xxx

gr-fcd Hardware support for original FunCUBE dongle

• Remove, to be supported by 3rd party through PyBOMBS

gr-noaa NOAA Weather Satellite HRPT telemetry decoder

• Remove, re-implement as OOT project installed through PyBOMBS

gr-pager FLEX Pager protocol decoder

• Remove, re-implement as OOT project installed through PyBOMBS

gr-qtgui Graphics widgets for QT window system

• Switch examples to use gr-qtgui instead of gr-wxgui

gr-uhd Ettus Research UHD driver wrapper

• Require UHD 3.6

gr-vocoder Audio CODECs of various standards

• Remove internal versions of codec2, gsm, g.72x code in lieu of system packaged binaries
• Add support for the Opus Interactive Audio Codec

gr-wxgui Graphics widgets for wxWindows/wxPython

• Formally deprecate for eventual removal in 3.9

gr-digital Digital Modulation Support

• Clean up (d)xPSK files; use a common mod/demod structure
• Remove old OFDM code

gr-filters Filters

• Remove wintype from firdes; re-implemented in gr-fft

volk VOLK

• Deprecating ORC now for removal in 3.8 to resolve ARM issues
  • Expecting replacement kernels in NEON for ORC
• does it make sense to make VOLK a more independent submodule with the goal of it being useful on its own (i.e. w/o compiling GNU Radio)?