Fixes updating configclass parameter with a list of objects (#847)

# Description

When configclass dicts are nested inside lists, the list is treated as
an Iterable object and assigned directly to the outer configclass when
updating configclass data with dicts. This overwrites the configclass
object in the list with a dict object and causes undesired behavior.

This change checks for nested dictionaries inside Iterables and updates
the values inside the dictionary individually without overwiting the
full Iterable.

Fixes https://github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab/issues/843

## Type of change

- Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)


## Checklist

- [x] I have run the [`pre-commit` checks](https://pre-commit.com/) with
`./isaaclab.sh --format`
- [x] I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
- [x] My changes generate no new warnings
- [x] I have added tests that prove my fix is effective or that my
feature works
- [ ] I have updated the changelog and the corresponding version in the
extension's `config/extension.toml` file
- [x] I have added my name to the `CONTRIBUTORS.md` or my name already
exists there

source/extensions/omni.isaac.lab/omni/isaac/lab/utils/dict.py

@@ -95,6 +95,16 @@ def update_class_from_dict(obj, data: dict[str, Any], _ns: str = "") -> None:
                     )
                 if isinstance(obj_mem, tuple):
                     value = tuple(value)
+                else:
+                    set_obj = True
+                    # recursively call if iterable contains dictionaries
+                    for i in range(len(obj_mem)):
+                        if isinstance(value[i], dict):
+                            update_class_from_dict(obj_mem[i], value[i], _ns=key_ns)
+                            set_obj = False
+                    # do not set value to obj, otherwise it overwrites the cfg class with the dict
+                    if not set_obj:
+                        continue
             elif callable(obj_mem):
                 # update function name
                 value = string_to_callable(value)

source/extensions/omni.isaac.lab/test/utils/test_configclass.py

@@ -298,10 +298,11 @@ Dummy configuration: Nested dictionaries
 
 
 @configclass
-class NestedDictCfg:
-    """Dummy configuration class with nested dictionaries."""
+class NestedDictAndListCfg:
+    """Dummy configuration class with nested dictionaries and lists."""
 
     dict_1: dict = {"dict_2": {"func": dummy_function1}}
+    list_1: list[EnvCfg] = [EnvCfg(), EnvCfg()]
 
 
 """
@@ -341,10 +342,14 @@ basic_demo_cfg_change_with_none_correct = {
     "device_id": 0,
 }
 
-basic_demo_cfg_nested_dict = {
+basic_demo_cfg_nested_dict_and_list = {
     "dict_1": {
         "dict_2": {"func": dummy_function2},
     },
+    "list_1": [
+        {"num_envs": 23, "episode_length": 3000, "viewer": {"eye": [5.0, 5.0, 5.0], "lookat": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]}},
+        {"num_envs": 24, "episode_length": 2000, "viewer": {"eye": [6.0, 6.0, 6.0], "lookat": [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]}},
+    ],
 }
 
 basic_demo_post_init_cfg_correct = {
@@ -456,6 +461,10 @@ class TestConfigClass(unittest.TestCase):
         update_class_from_dict(cfg, cfg_dict)
         self.assertDictEqual(asdict(cfg), basic_demo_cfg_change_correct)
 
+        # check types are also correct
+        self.assertIsInstance(cfg.env.viewer, ViewerCfg)
+        self.assertIsInstance(cfg.env.viewer.eye, tuple)
+
     def test_config_update_dict_with_none(self):
         """Test updating configclass using a dictionary that contains None."""
         cfg = BasicDemoCfg()
@@ -464,11 +473,23 @@ class TestConfigClass(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertDictEqual(asdict(cfg), basic_demo_cfg_change_with_none_correct)
 
     def test_config_update_nested_dict(self):
-        """Test updating configclass with sub-dictionnaries."""
-        cfg = NestedDictCfg()
-        cfg_dict = {"dict_1": {"dict_2": {"func": "__main__:dummy_function2"}}}
+        """Test updating configclass with sub-dictionaries."""
+        cfg = NestedDictAndListCfg()
+        cfg_dict = {
+            "dict_1": {"dict_2": {"func": "__main__:dummy_function2"}},
+            "list_1": [
+                {"num_envs": 23, "episode_length": 3000, "viewer": {"eye": [5.0, 5.0, 5.0]}},
+                {"num_envs": 24, "viewer": {"eye": [6.0, 6.0, 6.0]}},
+            ],
+        }
         update_class_from_dict(cfg, cfg_dict)
-        self.assertDictEqual(asdict(cfg), basic_demo_cfg_nested_dict)
+        self.assertDictEqual(asdict(cfg), basic_demo_cfg_nested_dict_and_list)
+
+        # check types are also correct
+        self.assertIsInstance(cfg.list_1[0], EnvCfg)
+        self.assertIsInstance(cfg.list_1[1], EnvCfg)
+        self.assertIsInstance(cfg.list_1[0].viewer, ViewerCfg)
+        self.assertIsInstance(cfg.list_1[1].viewer, ViewerCfg)
 
     def test_config_update_dict_using_internal(self):
         """Test updating configclass from a dictionary using configclass method."""

source/extensions/omni.isaac.lab_tasks/omni/isaac/lab_tasks/utils/hydra.py

@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ def hydra_task_config(task_name: str, agent_cfg_entry_point: str) -> Callable:
             # register the task to Hydra
             env_cfg, agent_cfg = register_task_to_hydra(task_name, agent_cfg_entry_point)
 
-            # define thr new Hydra main function
+            # define the new Hydra main function
             @hydra.main(config_path=None, config_name=task_name, version_base="1.3")
             def hydra_main(hydra_env_cfg: DictConfig, env_cfg=env_cfg, agent_cfg=agent_cfg):
                 # convert to a native dictionary

source/extensions/omni.isaac.lab_tasks/test/test_hydra.py

@@ -16,11 +16,50 @@ simulation_app = app_launcher.app
 
 """Rest everything follows."""
 
-
+import functools
 import unittest
+from collections.abc import Callable
+
+import hydra
+from hydra import compose, initialize
+from omegaconf import OmegaConf
+
+from omni.isaac.lab.utils import replace_strings_with_slices
 
 import omni.isaac.lab_tasks  # noqa: F401
-from omni.isaac.lab_tasks.utils.hydra import hydra_task_config
+from omni.isaac.lab_tasks.utils.hydra import register_task_to_hydra
+
+
+def hydra_task_config_test(task_name: str, agent_cfg_entry_point: str) -> Callable:
+    """Copied from hydra.py hydra_task_config, since hydra.main requires a single point of entry,
+    which will not work with multiple tests. Here, we replace hydra.main with hydra initialize
+    and compose."""
+
+    def decorator(func):
+        @functools.wraps(func)
+        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
+            # register the task to Hydra
+            env_cfg, agent_cfg = register_task_to_hydra(task_name, agent_cfg_entry_point)
+
+            # replace hydra.main with initialize and compose
+            with initialize(config_path=None, version_base="1.3"):
+                hydra_env_cfg = compose(config_name=task_name, overrides=sys.argv[1:])
+                # convert to a native dictionary
+                hydra_env_cfg = OmegaConf.to_container(hydra_env_cfg, resolve=True)
+                # replace string with slices because OmegaConf does not support slices
+                hydra_env_cfg = replace_strings_with_slices(hydra_env_cfg)
+                # update the configs with the Hydra command line arguments
+                env_cfg.from_dict(hydra_env_cfg["env"])
+                if isinstance(agent_cfg, dict):
+                    agent_cfg = hydra_env_cfg["agent"]
+                else:
+                    agent_cfg.from_dict(hydra_env_cfg["agent"])
+                # call the original function
+                func(env_cfg, agent_cfg, *args, **kwargs)
+
+        return wrapper
+
+    return decorator
 
 
 class TestHydra(unittest.TestCase):
@@ -39,7 +78,7 @@ class TestHydra(unittest.TestCase):
             "agent.max_iterations=3",  # test simple agent modification
         ]
 
-        @hydra_task_config("Isaac-Velocity-Flat-H1-v0", "rsl_rl_cfg_entry_point")
+        @hydra_task_config_test("Isaac-Velocity-Flat-H1-v0", "rsl_rl_cfg_entry_point")
         def main(env_cfg, agent_cfg, self):
             # env
             self.assertEqual(env_cfg.decimation, 42)
@@ -50,6 +89,23 @@ class TestHydra(unittest.TestCase):
             self.assertEqual(agent_cfg.max_iterations, 3)
 
         main(self)
+        # clean up
+        sys.argv = [sys.argv[0]]
+        hydra.core.global_hydra.GlobalHydra.instance().clear()
+
+    def test_nested_iterable_dict(self):
+        """Test the hydra configuration system when dict is nested in an Iterable."""
+
+        @hydra_task_config_test("Isaac-Lift-Cube-Franka-v0", "rsl_rl_cfg_entry_point")
+        def main(env_cfg, agent_cfg, self):
+            # env
+            self.assertEqual(env_cfg.scene.ee_frame.target_frames[0].name, "end_effector")
+            self.assertEqual(env_cfg.scene.ee_frame.target_frames[0].offset.pos[2], 0.1034)
+
+        main(self)
+        # clean up
+        sys.argv = [sys.argv[0]]
+        hydra.core.global_hydra.GlobalHydra.instance().clear()
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":