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sics/doc/manager/nxupdate.htm
Ferdi Franceschini 3168325921 PSI update
r1464 | ffr | 2007-02-12 12:20:21 +1100 (Mon, 12 Feb 2007) | 2 lines
2012-11-15 12:58:05 +11:00

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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Automatic Updating of NeXus Files</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<H1>Automatic Updating of NeXus Files</H1>
<P>
Some instruments perform measurements for quite long counting
times. In such cases it is advisable to save the data measured so far
to file in order to protect against hardware or software failures. To
this purpose an automatic file upgrade manager is provided. On
installation the automatic update object is connected wth a counting
device through the the callback interface. This makes sure that the
update manager is automatically notified when counting starts or
finishes.
</P>
<h2>Prerequisites for Using the Automatic Update Manager</h2>
<p>
In order to use automatic updating, three programs must be
provided. Each of these programs can be a script which uses the
nxscript facility. It can also be a SICS command.
<dl>
<dt>startScript
<dd>This program is supposed to write the static part of the file. It
is called once when the file is created.
<dt>updateScript
<dd>This program is supposed to create and update the variable data
elements in the NeXus file. This is called frequently.
<dt>linkScript
<dd>This program is supposed to create the links within the NeXus
file. This is called once after startcript and updateScript have been
run.
</dl>
</p>
<h2>Installing Automatic Update</h2>
<p>
An automatic update object is installed into SICS with:
<pre>
updatefactory name countername
</pre>
name is a placeholder for the name under which SICS knows the
automatic update object. name is available as a SICS command later on.
countername is a placeholder for a counter
object (counter or HM) which triggers automatic updating of NeXus
files. This object has to support both the countable and callback
interfaces of SICS. Suitable SICS objects include counter and
histogram memory objects.
</p>
<h2>Configuring Automatic Update</h2>
<p>
The SICS command created with updatefactory (see above) supports a few
parameters which allow for the configuration of the whole
process. Parameters follow the normal SICS syntax. Futhermore there is
a subcommand list, which lists all configuration
parameters. Supported parameters are:
<dl>
<dt>startScript
<dd>The program supposed to write the static part of the file.
<dt>updateScript
<dd>The program supposed to create and update the variable data
elements in the NeXus file.
<dt>linkScript
<dd>This program supposed to create the links within the NeXus
file.
<dt>updateintervall
<dd>The time intervall in seconds between updates. The defualt is
1200, eg. 20 minutes.
<dt>onoff
<dd>can be 1 or 0. Switches automatic updates on or off. It might be usefule for
scans to switch this off.
</dl>
</p>
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