Kartik/typedef optional references

[kartikarcot]

Overview

This PR is part of a push to upgrade GTSAM to C++17, and remove boost dependencies from GTSAM. In this PR we want to update our factor interfaces and the factor implementations that use arguments of the type boost::optional<A&> to raw pointers of the type A*. We wish to do that because the semantics of raw pointers are the same as that of an optional to a reference. This is in accordance to google style guide’s recommendation for function input parameters, link here.

Details

Retaining evaluateError interface to accept both pointers and matrices

This was achieved by some templating and conditional compilation in NoiseModelFactorN class. A side-effect of this is that when a user inherits NoiseModelFactorN and implements it, they have to do something like this-
using Base::evaluateError; for all of the evaluateError overloads to be visible for the end user.

Replacing std::binds with lambdas

std::bind had a problem inferring which evaluateError overload to use through template deduction. I replaced it with lambdas instead.

OptionalJacobian

I have replaced boost::optional<Matrix&> in functions whose, input argument sizes are known, with OptionalJacobians. This enables us to use that function with both pointers and l-value references of matrices.

TODO

• Need to update GeoGraphicLibs and compile some tests that were excluded.
• Need to still replace boost::optional<Matrix&> in the following lines of code after discussing with Frank:

 gtsam/geometry/CameraSet.h
112:      boost::optional<Matrix&> E = boost::none) const {
141:      boost::optional<Matrix&> E = boost::none) const {

gtsam/base/tests/testOptionalJacobian.cpp
35:  boost::optional<Matrix&> optional(dynamic);

gtsam/slam/SmartFactorBase.h
207:      boost::optional<Matrix&> E = boost::none) const {
244:      boost::optional<Matrix&> E = boost::none) const {}

gtsam_unstable/slam/SmartStereoProjectionFactor.h
457:      boost::optional<Matrix&> E = boost::none) const override {

• Need a review on Pose3Upright.cpp
• Need a review on timePose2.cpp (Deleted a test which looked like a copy paste to me)

[dellaert]

Forgot to submit my comments :-(

[dellaert]

Do we not do this somewhere else for c++11?

[dellaert]

undo reformat (noise in PR)

[kartikarcot]

That is not formatting noise. I added a check to see if dynamic is not nullptr.

[dellaert]

no using Base

[kartikarcot]

This is an expression factor. It doesn’t inherit from noisemodelfactorN