EPICS

sscanDoc

Documentation

The following documentation is available:
sscanRecord.html
The sscan record documentation. This also includes some information on saveData, the synApps client program that writes scan data to disk.
saveData_fileFormat.txt
description of the 'MDA' (multidimensional archive) file format written by saveData. This file format uses the XDR standard for cross-platform compatibility.
busyRecord.html
The busy record documentation
XDR_RFC1014.txt
A description of the XDR (External Data Representation) standard
Scans.ppt
Powerpoint presentation that describes the sscan module; shows how to use the sscan record; describes saveData's MDA file format; and explains how EPICS putNotify/ca_put_callback() completion behaves, and how to handle processing chains that don't satisfy EPICS' execution-tracing requirements.

Installation and use of the sscan module

Installation and Building

After obtaining a copy of the distribution, it must be installed and built for use at your site. Usually, these steps only need to be performed once.

  1. Unzip and untar the distribution, e.g. on Unix:
    gunzip sscan_R2-3.tar.gz
    tar xf sscan_R2-3.tar
    Usually this is done in an EPICS 'support' directory. It will produce the subdirectory
    sscan/2-3
  2. Edit sscan's configure/RELEASE file and set the paths to your installation of EPICS base and to your versions of other dependent modules.
  3. Run gnumake in the top level directory and check for any compilation errors.

Use of the sscan module in an EPICS IOC

The sscan module is not intended to run an IOC application directly, but rather to contribute code libraries, databases, MEDM displays, etc., to an IOC application. SynApps contains an example IOC application (the xxx module), which pulls software from the sscan module and deploys it in an IOC.

The essential steps in applying sscan-module code in an IOC application ("example") are the following:

  1. Include the following line in example/configure/RELEASE.
    SSCAN=<full path to sscan module>
  2. Include the following line in example/exampleApp/src/iocexampleInclude.dbd.
    include "sscanSupport.dbd"
  3. Include the following line in example/exampleApp/src/Makefile.
    example_LIBS += sscan