ROS allows to declare and use nested parameters. However, it looks to me that the ROS parameter server mainly supports single-value parameters.

I can have something like

node
    calibration
          x
          y
          ts

What's the best way for storing/retrieving a nested structure like this?

• Server:

  • PRO: The request/response can contain a structure.
  • CONS: I can't request a single value, but only the whole structure.

• Parameter server:

  • PRO: I'm storing parameters, so a parameter server seems the obvious choice. I can easily load them from a persistent storage. I can request any combination of values.
  • CONS: The response is a list of parameters that the consumer node has to "assemble" into a structure. There are no warranties that all the parameters have been set. The "set" operation should not permit to update single parameters.