RE: Linking Unix Matlab-Compiled Programs against MCA

[Steven Hartman <hartman@fel.duke.edu>]

We've been using a slightly modified version of SNS's mca under Solaris
(Solaris 7 and 8, EPICS R3.13.7, matlab 6.1). We use it primarily for
diagnostics and machine studies. Stability has been reasonably good. The
failures we do see are mostly related to timeouts. These can typically be
coded around in the matlab script on a case-by-case basis (using mcamon,
or try/catch). We did have more problems with mca connecting to PVs from a
labview program (interfacing gpib instruments) using the activeX ca
server. These PVs have since been moved to a 3.14.4 linux ioc using a
linux-gpib library, which eliminated nearly all the problems we had been
having with mca connecting to these PVs.

We are not yet using compiled matlab programs using mca, but do have plans
to do this. I believe one of my colleages here has done this as a test
case, but not yet for normal usage.

-- 
Steve Hartman
hartman@fel.duke.edu | 919-660-2650
Duke Free Electron Laser Laboratory