Fetch Plugin Code Source

A few number of plugins are directly embedded in SOFA repository, under applications/plugins. Most of them are deactivated by default, and it is up to the developer to activate the compilation in CMake through a corresponding CMake variable.

However, some plugins can also be found in other repositories. For example, here is a list of important plugins with their corresponding repository:

Plugin	Repository
SofaPython3	https://github.com/sofa-framework/SofaPython3
SofaGLFW	https://github.com/sofa-framework/SofaGLFW
CGALPlugin	https://github.com/sofa-framework/CGALPlugin
SoftRobots	https://github.com/SofaDefrost/SoftRobots
ModelOrderReduction	https://github.com/SofaDefrost/ModelOrderReduction
Caribou	https://github.com/mimesis-inria/caribou

Some of those external plugins (from other repositories) can be directly fetched and downloaded in SOFA sources at the configuration stage with CMake. To fetch the source code of a plugin, follow these steps: 1) In CMake, activate the variable SOFA_FETCH_{PLUGINNAME}. 2) Configure. After the configuration, the variable SOFA_FETCH_{PLUGINNAME} is automatically unchecked. The log output should confirm that. 3) A new CMake variable PLUGIN_{PLUGINNAME} becomes available. Activate it. 4) Configure and generate. The plugin will be compiled along with SOFA.

Fetching the source code of a plugin uses git to clone a repository (usually the master branch) in the SOFA build directory. It is done one time, and it is then up to the developer to update and manage the git directory. For developing on a plugin repository, it is advised to follow these steps rather than fetching the code source.