(Why) Is it bad practice to check in catkin workspaces?
I'm trying to set up a repository which makes it easy for new developers to join the project. To do so I'm considering checking a catkin workspace; doing so without the constituent packages. Are there any known pitfalls to doing this?
Is there a recommended way to create one-step checkout and go setups?
What are you actually proposing to check in? My workspace is effectively empty without any packages.
My colleges are versioning complete workspaces. There are a few things to take care of. For example that the .rosinstall includes absolute paths, but they successfully versioned workspaces.
Be sure to not check in any generated files, such as devel or build folders. Can you motivate what exactly you want to do? It seems by providing a .rosinstall new developers can setup their workspace with just 2-3 commands.