RE: Linux Mark IV Camera Control Status

["Albertson, Chris" <CAlbertson@primeadvantage.com>]

My goal all along has been to start a cooperative
software development project.  So far with TASS
we have software where one person "owns" each program
and when changes are needed you have to ask the "owner".
I'd like to see a community development effort with a
core group of at least three or four people who have
a deep understanding of the control software.
Without this, software tends to reach a fixed limit of
sophistication and stops.  You need a software peer review
process to do more and for that one needs peers.
My plan was to do enough work
to establish a road map.  This first part needs to be done
by one person (or by a small group all in one office.)
The project will only succeed now if the work I've done
at racks others and a "snow ball effect" takes off.


Design:

There is a "server" type program.  It acts much like
an FTP or Web server in that it always runs 24x7 and
accepts connections from "anyone".
That "anyone" could be on the local machine, the local
LAN or the Internet.  Like the other servers it can
accept multiple simultaneous client connections.

The idea is you run this Mk IV server on the control
computer.  The server accepts simple commands like 
"point to xx yy", "expose xxx" and so on.  Other commands
are "get CCD temp". You can add your own too. 

You need a second program to send those commands.  This
second program can run anywhere and have any kind of
user interface it wants.  It is completely separate from the
"Mk IV Server".  I can envision servers of these "client"
programs.  One for example could simply send "get CCD temp"
every ten seconds and maintain a graph display and know
nothing about images or pointing.  Another "client could
read commands out of a file and "drive" the telescope.

The Mk IV server can save the CCD image to a FITS file and/or
some other format (like GIF) and can send it to a display.
I use SAOimage, or the like for the display. So if you also
run IRAF you can click on the display and get rough photometry,
PSF plots or statistics with IRAF's imexam task.

The server can also execute any UNIX script when it saves a file.
There could be many uses of this feature.

The server has some built in tests.  For example it can read up
a FITS file and "pretend" the image cam from a Mk IV camera.

What remains to be done.
For every command the Mk IV server accepts there is one *.c file
called <comandname>.c.  The set of these files defines the set of
commands the server can accept.  In other words, it is very easy to
add commands.  You simply write a new function in C., add a table
entry in the "command table" and write the help text for the command.

For the author of a command the server offers a set of services
for things like data to/from the STAMP, date/time, status reporting,
spherical trig, device driver interface to the RAM Buffer card.
and so on...

OK, so what remains to be done?
1) We need more commands implemented if the server is to be at all
   useful. 
2) Better client programs if the server is to be user friendly.  The
   current clients have a text based user interface.

There is a "client library" that can be used by the author of a new
client.  The library handles all the "network stuff".  There are C
and Tcl version of the library.  


How to get started:

1) You don't need TASS hardware.  Everything runs without it.
   The first step is to get, build and run the current software.
   The second step is to pick a "toy" project.  Perhaps a CCD
   temperature display or implement a trivial new command like
   "beep" that beeps the PC's speaker.
   Step three would be to implement something more useful.
   Step four: Repeat step three many times.





> -----Original Message-----
> From: Glenn Gombert [mailto:glenngombert@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2001 9:57 AM
> To: CAlbertson@primeadvantage.com; tass@listserv.wwa.com
> Subject: Linux Mark IV Camera Control Status
> 
> 
> Hi Chris,
> 
>   Sorry that you been out there by yours self for so long 
> tying to write the 
> Mark IV Control sweet, I think that help is soon on the way. 
> Could you 
> briefly describe what has been done up till this time (just 
> an itemized 
> list) and the tasks (modules) that need to be completed and 
> written to 
> provide the baisc control, of a Mark IV. I know a lot of good 
> work has been 
> done the last few months, its just hard to get caught up on 
> all the details 
> from the e-mail archive.
> 
> I just picked up a rack-mount CPU case that I plan on 
> controlling the Mark 
> IV here in Dayton with nd I am really getting excited to try 
> one out here 
> :)) Also we want to keep Tom as highly motivated as possible 
> to keep him 
> chained to the work bench so Mike and I can make a trip out 
> to his place mid 
> summer sometime.
> 
> Thanks:))
> Glenn G
> 
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