Design Question

[Mathias Steiner <steiner@nscl.msu.edu>]

Learned Friends,

I have a question regarding software design:  How does everyone solve 
the problem of sequence in EPICS?

I ran afoul of this some years ago, when I wrote code to set a  group of 
power supplies along a beamline;  FIRST, the EPICS channel representing 
magnetic rigidity would be set, THEN the magnets were told to go set 
themselves to that rigidity.

Needless to say, half the magnets started setting themselves to the 
previous rigidity, because in the world of ethernet, there is no such 
thing as "do-this-then-do-that".

I found a  workaround that is effective but inelegant, and I was 
wondering if there was an accepted way of handling this issue.

Thanks in advance,
  Mathias

Mathias Steiner
NSCL/Cyclotron Lab
Michigan State University