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VDCT Status Update

VDCT Status Update. EPICS Collaboration, October 2007 Knoxville, Tennessee emma.shepherd@diamond.ac.uk nick.rees@diamond.ac.uk. Create, develop, test, deploy and debug an entire EPICS application from a single integrated set of tools!. This time last year.

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VDCT Status Update

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  1. VDCT Status Update EPICS Collaboration, October 2007 Knoxville, Tennessee emma.shepherd@diamond.ac.uk nick.rees@diamond.ac.uk

  2. Create, develop, test, deploy and debug an entire EPICS application from a single integrated set of tools! This time last year... • Idea was born to integrate VDCT into Control System Studio (Eclipse) • Many improvements planned to both usability and functionality, all within the Eclipse IDE • The vision:

  3. What does this mean? • How do we integrate: • Database design • Alarm handler configuration • Archiver configuration • Substitution file configuration • External interfaces • Debugging • Screen development etc, etc… • There must be a better development tool than a text editor! • However, we don’t want one big monolithic structure

  4. How do the tools work together? • Must be able to share information and have a common idea of data structures. • However, must be able to extend definitions to include information for a given tool. • Must be language agnostic. • Current problem is the db format is just limited to IOC server definitions, and isn’t extensible. • Logical textual exchange data format is XML.

  5. “DBD core” Conceptual architecture … Visual Config. and viewing tool Spreadsheet Config. and viewing tool Archiver and Alarm config. Debugger .dbd file .xml file Database Definition Schema(s) … .db file .req file .grp file .subst file Device definitions Display macros

  6. What about XML? • One tool doesn’t have to understand parsing file or the data associated with the other tools. • However XML must to be schema based so non-EPICS tools can be used and still generate valid files. • We think we can use namespaces in the schema so that schemas defining different types of data can be defined independently. • One of the schemas contains the dbd file information (and is generated from it). • Basic structure is a template/record/field hierarchy, with meta-data from other tools able to be attached at each level. • Would like to be compatible with JavaIOC definitions.

  7. What do you think? • This is only a proposal • How to the various “cores” work together: • IOC Core (Andrew) • RDB Core (Don) • CSS Core (Matthias) • Java IOC Core (Marty) • DBD Core • These each need some interfaces and mutual understanding of data formats, but don’t want to be too tightly tied together. • Need a “core” workshop?

  8. What about Visual DCT? • Database configuration is only a small part of the whole • Visual database configuration is only part of database configuration. • However, project can include some other tools – spreadsheet mode, maybe a more functional way of designing databases. • Live mode, and drag and drop of information is important. • Needs a backwards compatible mode of understanding db and dbd files directly.

  9. Main aims for next release • Sophisticated graphical view with improved wiring functionality • New spreadsheet view • Interaction with CSS plugins • More support for property editing and validation • Better printing support

  10. Progress • Cosylab completed feasibility study and basic prototype for Eclipse integration. • Concluded that EMF and GEF (Eclipse modelling and graphical frameworks) are suitable for this project and will reduce development time

  11. What next... • Finish defining the XML schema structure. • Propose feature list for new release to the EPICS community

  12. Thank you for listening! Please send any ideas or questions to: emma.shepherd@diamond.ac.uk

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