Chapter 4: Workflow Orchestration - Glossary

A

Action: A ROS 2 communication pattern for long-running tasks with feedback and goal management.

F

Fallback Path: An alternative execution path that activates when a primary process fails.

Finite State Machine (FSM): A computational model consisting of a finite number of states, transitions between those states, and actions based on inputs.

Failure Recovery: The process of restoring normal operation after a system failure.

L

Launch File: A ROS 2 configuration file that defines how to start multiple nodes with specific parameters and remappings.

P

Pipeline: A sequence of connected processing stages that transform data from input to output.

Process Pipeline: A series of interconnected processes where the output of one process becomes the input to the next.

S

State Machine: A computational model that represents a system with a finite number of states and transitions between those states.

Supervisor: A monitoring component that oversees the health and operation of other system components.

W

Watchdog: A monitoring component that detects failures and triggers recovery mechanisms.

Y

YAML: A human-readable data serialization format commonly used for ROS 2 configuration files.