Visual DCT upgrade Gasper Jansa Cosylab SLAC April

Visual DCT upgrade Gasper Jansa, Cosylab SLAC, April 2005

Outline • • • History & Functionality Archiver Configuration Plugin Alarm Configuration Plugin Spreadsheet view Substitution file editor Conclusion

Visual DCT - Overview • Very popular visual database configuration tool • Open source, funded by many labs • Main features: – Written in Java – Extendable - plugins – Stores graphical information as comments – Reads also databases without graphical info – Hierarchical database structure is possible – Easy to learn

Archiver Configuration Plugin • Supports EPICS Channel Access Archiver configuration files (XML) • Import a predefined XML file • Create a new group with one click • Define a group and channel attributes • Move records from a list that is generated from the template to the tree structure

Alarm Handler Configuration Plugin • Import a predefined configuration files • Move records from a list to the tree structure • Complicated structure can be created with only few mouse clicks • Add all attributes to a group or channel – Guidance – Commands – ….

Spread sheet view • Bob’s idea • Useful for EPICS databases with little logic (i. e. links). • Tables are on a tabbed pane – one table per tab for each record type and one record per row. • All cells are editable, in a similar fashion as in property inspector • Possible to customize which fields to display • Use search

Spread sheet view – artistic impression

Substitution file editor • Don’t worry about syntax • Large amount of macros can be easy controlled • Check if number of macros match number of substitutes

Conclusion • Visual DCT already provided an excellent tool for database configuration • New plugins provide added value – possibility to configure some essential EPICS tools from within the Visual DCT. • You are always very welcome to contribute new ideas or sponsor developments