Tcl as a software environment for a TCS

David L. Terrett

doi:10.1117/12.461327

13 December 2002 Tcl as a Software Environment for a TCS

David L. Terrett

Proceedings Volume 4848, Advanced Telescope and Instrumentation Control Software II; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461327
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

This paper describes how the Tcl scripting language and C API has been used as the software environment for a telescope pointing kernel so that new pointing algorithms and software architectures can be developed and tested without needing a real-time operating system or real-time software environment. It has enabled development to continue outside the framework of a specific telescope project while continuing to build a system that is sufficiently complete to be capable of controlling real hardware but expending minimum effort on replacing the services that would normally by provided by a real-time software environment. Tcl is used as a scripting language for configuring the system at startup and then as the command interface for controlling the running system; the Tcl C language API is used to provided a system independent interface to file and socket I/O and other operating system services. The pointing algorithms themselves are implemented as a set of C++ objects calling C library functions that implement the algorithms described in [2]. Although originally designed as a test and development environment, the system, running as a soft real-time process on Linux, has been used to test the SOAR mount control system and will be used as the pointing kernel of the SOAR telescope control system

Citation Download Citation

David L. Terrett "Tcl as a Software Environment for a TCS", Proc. SPIE 4848, Advanced Telescope and Instrumentation Control Software II, (13 December 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461327

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