Re: Mark IV control software and actions

[Chris Albertson <chris@topdog.pas1.logicon.com>]

Stupendous Man wrote:
<snip>
>   On the other hand, it does mean that people who -- like Chris
> Albertson, apparently -- would like to point to any arbitrary
> position on the sky are going to be disappointed.  

No, I would be happy with a one hour of RA limit.  My remark
about how to point the Mk IV was just that "technically, how 
do you do it".

> Anyone who
> wants to use a Mark IV to look for optical counterparts to GRBs
> will have to design and make his own mount.  To my mind, that's
> not a bad thing: any single design can NOT be everything to all
> people.  I do think it's important to build a device that can
> do a few things well, rather than a lot of things poorly.

Is this true?  No, I'd not disagreeing, it is a question.  
I just wonder if
you need  to look all over the sky.  If there is no preferred
location for GRBs is not any place as good as any other?

<snip>
> 
>   So, I contend that Chris should feel largely free to come up with
> a command language that
> 
>              - makes him happy
>              - provides the ability to do the obvious tasks (point and shoot)
>              - doesn't take him years and years of effort
>              - is well documented (the key)

I'll add one other requirement:
               - That uers will use and like.

What are the good and bad featuree of other telescope control systems?

I am thinking of adding "point and shoot" commands to an existing command
interpeter.  I would pick an interpeter that is common enough that you
could go to a bookstore and find a book on the script language. It must
also allow funtions written in C to be compiled and called from the language. 
The plan is to write all the primitives in C then add functions to the
command interpeter to referance these C functions.

Ideas are:

1) Tcl/Tk
2) Java
3) Anyone think of something else worth looking at?  Lisp?, Forth?

I want the script language to have loops, asignment statments and
arithmatic expressions.  So you can say "point_to (current+5.0)".
> 
> People who are strong proponents of ATIS, or of FITS-like syntax, should
> spend a weekend figuring out how to take the versions of the "obvious"
> tasks (point here, shoot) in _their_ favorite language, and turn it
> into the Mark IV language.

I'll ask "People who are strong proponents of ATIS, or of FITS-like syntax"
to please send me examples of command sequences.

We can write a translator easly if there is a close fuctional match
between the TASS script and ATIS/FITS.  So please post examples.


-- 

--Chris Albertson

  chris@topdog.logicon.com                Voice:  818-351-0089  X127
  Logicon RDA, Pasadena California          Fax:  818-351-0699