Publish JointState commands for velocity-only and effort-only interfaces

[TedVanderfeen]

Description

Fixes the JointStateTopicSystem::write() publish threshold so it considers all supported command interfaces, not just position.

Previously, the rate limiter only accumulated command/state differences for position interfaces. Velocity-only and effort-only hardware configurations could update command values without publishing a sensor_msgs/msg/JointState command message.

This PR updates the threshold check to include:

• position
• velocity
• effort

It also adds regression tests covering position-only, velocity-only, and effort-only command publishing.

Is this user-facing behavior change?

Yes. Users with velocity-only or effort-only command interfaces should now see command messages published on the configured joint_commands_topic when those command values change beyond the trigger threshold.

Did you use Generative AI?

Yes. I used OpenAI Codex to help implement the fix, add regression tests, and run local verification.

Additional Information

Regression check: with the new tests applied but the production fix reverted to the pre-fix implementation, the velocity-only and effort-only publish tests fail because no JointState command message is received:

    [----------] Global test environment tear-down
    [==========] 8 tests from 1 test suite ran. (483 ms total)
    [  PASSED  ] 6 tests.
    [  FAILED  ] 2 tests, listed below:
    [  FAILED  ] TestTopicBasedSystem.topic_based_system_2dof_velocity_only_publishes_commands
    [  FAILED  ] TestTopicBasedSystem.topic_based_system_2dof_effort_only_publishes_commands

With the fix restored, local verification passes:

Summary: 9 tests, 0 errors, 0 failures, 0 skipped

TODOs

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[codecov-commenter]

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 82.00000% with 9 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 78.65%. Comparing base (81e94e8) to head (e0c7f64).

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
...test/joint_state_topic_hardware_interface_test.cpp	81.25%	9 Missing ⚠️

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main     #118      +/-   ##
==========================================
+ Coverage   77.68%   78.65%   +0.97%     
==========================================
  Files           6        6              
  Lines         457      506      +49     
  Branches       46       45       -1     
==========================================
+ Hits          355      398      +43     
- Misses         70       78       +8     
+ Partials       32       30       -2     

Flag	Coverage Δ
unittests	78.65% <82.00%> (+0.97%)	⬆️

Flags with carried forward coverage won't be shown. Click here to find out more.

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
...rface/src/joint_state_topic_hardware_interface.cpp	63.33% <100.00%> (+2.65%)	⬆️
...test/joint_state_topic_hardware_interface_test.cpp	87.57% <81.25%> (-2.69%)	⬇️

... and 1 file with indirect coverage changes

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[christophfroehlich]

LGTM, thank you!

[TedVanderfeen]

Thanks @christophfroehlich. Merged latest main back into this branch. Does this need another approval, or is this ready for merge from your side?

[christophfroehlich]

yes, a review by another maintainer would be great

[TedVanderfeen]

@bmagyar @MarqRazz Could this please be reviewed?

[MarqRazz]

Sorry for taking so long to get to this!