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| Paper: |
Tcl/Tk with DRAMA - A Natural for Building User Interfaces to Instrumentation Systems? |
| Volume: |
77, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems IV |
| Page: |
113 |
| Authors: |
Farrell, T. J.; Bailey, J. A.; Shortridge, K. |
| Abstract: |
DRAMA allows you to build distributed real-time systems consisting of a set of event-driven tasks. The Tk windowing system is also event-driven---like most windowing systems. The similarities between the two have allowed them to be merged extremely effectively, providing an almost seamless interface between the two. The control system for the AAO's 2dF project has instrument control tasks written using DRAMA and running on VMS, UNIX, and VxWorks systems. These are tested and controlled by higher-level tasks whose user interfaces are provided by Tcl/Tk and which communicate with the rest of the system using purpose-built Tcl commands that invoke the DRAMA system routines. This gives the critical instrument control tasks the fixed nature and reliability that comes from a compiled, linked system, while allowing a very flexible user interface and test system that takes advantage of the ease of modification and the flexibility of an interactive language like Tcl/Tk. |
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