SICS Variables

In SICS most parameters necessary for instrument control are kept with the SICS object implementing the functionality. However, there are some odd bits of information which need to be known, mostly additional information about and from the user, which should go into data files. Such information is kept in SICS variables, created with the command VarMake detailed below.

Variables are also used in order to control the SINQ automatic file name creation scheme for data files. At SINQ, data files are put into a special directory. The actual name consists of a prefix, a sequential number, the last two digits of the year and an ending. All these components are controlled by variables.

The exact syntax for creating variables looks like this:

• VarMake name type access creates a simple variable name. The variable type can be Text, Int or Float. The access parameter defines who may may change the variable. Possible values are: Internal, Manager, User and Spy.

There are quite a few SICS variables which have special usages and should be present. Some of them may need to be set by the user, all of them should be inspectable by the user. Many of these variables are used when writing NeXus data files. These special variables are:

sample

The sample name. To be set by the user.

title.

The experiment title.

User

The name of the user to be specified in a data file.

Instrument.

The name of the instrument.

SicsDataPath

The full path name of the instruments data directory. Should have a / at the end.

SicsDataPrefix

The prefix to use for data file names.

SicsDataPostFix

The ending to use for the data file name. Including the '.'.

Adress

The users adress.

phone

The users phone number.

email

The users e-mail adress.

fax

The users fax number.

Some of the variables stated above should never be changed by a user. This can be achieved by the variable lock command described in the user documentation.