Re: Mark IV control software and actions

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

Herbert R Johnson wrote:
> 
> On Tue, 27 Jan 1998 13:12:35 -0800, Chris Albertson <chris@topdog.pas1.logicon.com> wrote:
> 
> *>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?
> *>
> *>--Chris Albertson
> 
> I would agree with others that the *script language* should be seperate
> from the *command language*, so that those of us who do not care to
> learn or to support Java or Tcl or Lisp or Forth can operate the Mark IV
> system at a command level or in other ways.
> 
> For simple uses or testing, a straightforward command language
> or command set would be very convenient. If nothing else, good design
> suggests seperating the user-side software from the controlling software.
> I suspect a simple command language would parallel
> the functions available from a "program library" that would be referenced
> by the above-mentioned languages and also C. Anyone who wished to incorporate
> Mark IV support within their products or systems - including sites that
> already have a local system in use - would want this kind of program-level
> access and command-level support.

See if this is what you are asking for...

What I want to do is make a low level C library of callable 
functions.  This would at the level of the hardware, very
low.  For example "Stuff XX into register YY" 

A second level library would provide functions at a
user level, "expose" "point to", "save image to file",
"I live at (Lat,long)" and so on.  

Next make text commands that have a one
to one relationship with the second level library functions.  
I guess this set of text commands is what Herb is calling 
*command language*.

My *script language* would contain loops, if statments, asignments
and the like but is not differnt from the command language. As
I see it, it is a subset/superset relationship.  You if don't want
to learn the complexities involved in writting while loops then
ignore them.  As for learning how to run Tcl or Java programs (Tcl
is more likely) You just type the name of the file containing the
commands at the OS prompt or double click on the file icon if using
a window system.  I don't think users will ever need to see the
camera driver itself as it is built into the interpeter.  To
re-phrase, TASS control scripts are executable programs, just like
*.exe files in DOS.

Once you have the above working it should be pretty easy to build
a WWW based interface for it or some other kind of user interface
that allows a user to run the telescope withoput editing command
scripts
-- 

--Chris Albertson

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