[Awesome-Ace22]

This pull request introduces a major refactor to support simulated hardware for development and CI, adds comprehensive documentation for the simulation mode, and improves the architecture and testability of the codebase. The most significant changes are the introduction of the novaMock build (the real application running on simulated hardware), a clear separation between hardware interfaces and implementations, and improved test coverage with scenario-driven simulation. Additionally, the PR updates build scripts, documentation, and controller interfaces to enable these features.

Simulation and Build System Enhancements:

• Added a new novaMock executable that runs the real application logic on simulated hardware, using a scenario-driven simulator for DAQ, relays, servos, and GPIO, making it possible to build and test on non-Pi systems and in CI. The build system (meson.build) now conditionally builds novaMock and its integration test if dependencies are available. [1] [2] [3] [4]
• Updated the build process to separate core, simulated, and real hardware code, and only require hardware-specific libraries when building for real hardware. [1] [2]

Documentation Improvements:

• Added a new docs/simulation.md describing how the simulated hardware works, how to use scenario files to drive tests, and how to run tests in CI or on a laptop. Updated docs/setup.md to clarify the purpose and capabilities of novaMock. [1] [2]

Controller and Interface Refactoring:

• Refactored controller classes (GpioController, RelayController) to depend on abstract interfaces (DigitalIo, RelayBank) instead of hardware-specific implementations, improving modularity and enabling simulation. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Sampling and Loop Improvements:

• Replaced previous sampling loops with new, interruptible loops that support cooperative cancellation via std::stop_token, improving shutdown behavior and testability. Added new sampler.cpp with single-sample and loop functions for DAQ and GPIO, supporting both real and simulated hardware. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Testing and CI Integration:

• Added an integration test (novamock_smoke) that runs the full application on simulated hardware, verifies telemetry and data logging, and runs automatically in CI if dependencies are present. [1] [2]

These changes collectively enable robust simulation, testing, and development workflows without requiring physical hardware.

• Simulation and build system:
  • Added novaMock target and scenario-driven simulated hardware; updated meson.build and CI to support simulation and integration testing. [1] [2] [3] [4]
• Documentation:
  • Added docs/simulation.md and updated docs/setup.md to explain simulation and usage. [1] [2]
• Controller refactor:
  • Changed controllers to use abstract interfaces (DigitalIo, RelayBank) for better modularity and simulation support. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
• Sampling/loop improvements:
  • Introduced interruptible, stop-token based sampling loops and refactored sampling logic for testability and simulation. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
• Testing:
  • Added scenario-driven integration test for novaMock and improved test coverage in CI. [1] [2]