First Application

This guide shows the quickest path to your first AstuteDDS publisher and subscriber using the installed developer package and IDL compiler.

Pre-Install Prerequisites

Ensure your build toolchain is available:

cmake --version

Compiler check examples:

# Linux / macOS
c++ --version

# Windows (Developer Command Prompt)
cl

1. Install the Developer Package

Install the package for your platform:

• Windows: astutedds-dev-*-windows-x64.msi
• Debian/Ubuntu: astutedds-dev_*_amd64.deb
• RHEL/Rocky/AlmaLinux: astutedds-dev-*-x86_64.rpm

For exact install commands and package verification, see Developer Packages.

2. Verify Installed Tooling

Confirm the IDL compiler is available after package installation:

astutedds-idl --help

3. Create Project Layout

mkdir -p hello-astutedds/src
cd hello-astutedds

4. Create a Minimal IDL Type

Create HelloWorld.idl:

module Demo {

@final
struct HelloWorld {
    @key unsigned long id;
    string<128> message;
};

};

5. Generate C++ Code from IDL

mkdir -p generated
astutedds-idl -o generated HelloWorld.idl

Generated files:

• generated/HelloWorld.hpp
• generated/HelloWorld.cpp

6. Add Publisher and Subscriber Sources

Create src/hello_publisher.cpp:

#include "HelloWorld.hpp"

#include <astutedds/dcps/CorePolicy.hpp>
#include <astutedds/dcps/dcps.hpp>
#include <astutedds/dcps/qos.hpp>

#include <chrono>
#include <iostream>
#include <thread>

int main()
{
    dds::domain::DomainParticipant participant(0, 0);
    dds::topic::Topic<Demo::HelloWorld> topic(participant, "HelloWorldTopic");
    dds::pub::Publisher publisher(participant);

    astutedds::dcps::DataWriterQos wqos{};
    wqos.reliability.kind = astutedds::dcps::ReliabilityQosPolicyKind::RELIABLE_RELIABILITY_QOS;

    dds::pub::DataWriter<Demo::HelloWorld> writer(publisher, topic, wqos);

    Demo::HelloWorld sample;
    sample.id(1);
    sample.message("Hello from AstuteDDS");

    if (writer.write(sample))
    {
        std::cout << "Published HelloWorld sample" << std::endl;
    }

    // Give discovery and transport a brief window before process exit.
    std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(1));
    return 0;
}

Create src/hello_subscriber.cpp:

#include "HelloWorld.hpp"

#include <astutedds/dcps/CorePolicy.hpp>
#include <astutedds/dcps/dcps.hpp>
#include <astutedds/dcps/qos.hpp>

#include <chrono>
#include <iostream>
#include <thread>

using namespace std::chrono_literals;

int main()
{
    dds::domain::DomainParticipant participant(0, 0);
    dds::topic::Topic<Demo::HelloWorld> topic(participant, "HelloWorldTopic");
    dds::sub::Subscriber subscriber(participant);

    astutedds::dcps::DataReaderQos rqos{};
    rqos.reliability.kind = astutedds::dcps::ReliabilityQosPolicyKind::RELIABLE_RELIABILITY_QOS;

    dds::sub::DataReader<Demo::HelloWorld> reader(subscriber, topic, rqos);

    std::cout << "Waiting for HelloWorld samples..." << std::endl;

    while (true)
    {
        Demo::HelloWorld sample{};
        astutedds::dcps::SampleInfo info{};

        while (reader.take_next(sample, info) == astutedds::dcps::ReturnCode_t::RETCODE_OK)
        {
            if (info.valid_data)
            {
                std::cout << "Received id=" << sample.id()
                          << " message=\"" << sample.message() << "\"" << std::endl;
            }
        }

        std::this_thread::sleep_for(100ms);
    }

    return 0;
}

7. Create CMake Build

Create CMakeLists.txt:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)
project(HelloAstuteDDS LANGUAGES CXX)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)

find_package(AstuteDDS REQUIRED)
find_package(Threads REQUIRED)

add_executable(hello_publisher
    src/hello_publisher.cpp
    generated/HelloWorld.cpp
)

add_executable(hello_subscriber
    src/hello_subscriber.cpp
    generated/HelloWorld.cpp
)

target_include_directories(hello_publisher PRIVATE generated)
target_include_directories(hello_subscriber PRIVATE generated)

target_link_libraries(hello_publisher PRIVATE
    AstuteDDS::astutedds
    Threads::Threads
)

target_link_libraries(hello_subscriber PRIVATE
    AstuteDDS::astutedds
    Threads::Threads
)

8. Build and Run

Build both executables:

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build -j

If CMake cannot find AstuteDDS, set the install prefix explicitly:

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/opt/astutedds

Typical installation prefix examples:

• Windows: -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="C:/Program Files/AstuteDDS"
• Debian/Ubuntu: -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/opt/astutedds
• RHEL/Rocky/AlmaLinux: -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/opt/astutedds

Run subscriber in terminal 1:

./build/hello_subscriber

Run publisher in terminal 2:

./build/hello_publisher

Expected output from publisher:

Published HelloWorld sample

Expected output from subscriber:

Received id=1 message="Hello from AstuteDDS"

Stop both applications with Ctrl+C when finished.

Troubleshooting Discovery

If publisher/subscriber do not match:

1. Confirm both use the same domain ID.
2. Validate local discovery and endpoint visibility in astutedds-inspect.
3. For explicit peers or interface pinning, configure discovery using JSON Discovery Config.

Next Step

Continue with QoS Introduction to learn how reliability, durability, history, and deadlines change runtime behavior.