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<== Date ==> <== Thread ==>

Subject: RE: few questions on autosave
From: Mark Rivers via Tech-talk <[email protected]>
To: 'Jeong Han Lee' <[email protected]>
Cc: tech-talk <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2019 18:06:48 +0000
Hi Han,

>   I would like to raise few simple questions related with autosave. 
> These questions are related with predefined req files and the info tag in db  or template files.
>   Since `autosaveBuild` is supported from base 3.15.0.2, or a patch to EPICS base 3.14, are there any specific reasons why areaDetector keeps using only req files instead of info tags in template files?

I think you are confusing two different features of autosave: autosaveBuild and makeAutosaveFiles.

autosaveBuild does not parse db or template files for info tags to define fields to be autosaved.  What autosaveBuild does is it to automatically search for a corresponding .req file for each db or template file that is loaded.  If it finds a corresponding .req file it adds that .req file to built_settings.req.  Thus the purpose of this utility is to save the developer from having to manually create a complete auto_settings.sav file for each IOC, based on the databases it loads.  autosaveBuild does require base 3.15.0.2 or a patch to EPICS base 3.14.

makeAutosaveFiles is the command that reads the entire databases loaded into the IOC and searches for info nodes named autosaveFields or autosaveFields_pass0.  It constructs a list of PV names to be saved and writes them to the info_settings.req and info_positions.req files.  I think this is the command you are actually talking about.  Note that it is supported in 3.14 and does not require any patches.

My personal feeling is that using info nodes to autogenerate .req files may not be the best approach.  The reason is that the choice of what records and fields to add to autosave can be a site-specific decision.  For example, should the .PREC field of every record be in autosave or not?  Some sites may want this, but some may not because they want those fields to revert to a "known state" when the IOC restarts, even if some user changed the PREC field for a specific experiment.  I feel that customizing the .req file is much simpler and less error prone than customizing the .template file.  For example in ADProsilica prosilica.template is 960 lines long (and currently does not contain any info nodes), while prosilica_settings.req is only 23 lines long.  Sites can easily create a new version of prosilica_settings.req and put it in a location earlier in the autosave requestfile_path to use the new version.  This is much easier to maintain than editing the prosilca.template file itself to change the info nodes.

> In addition, ADSpinnaker module, it uses req files and info tag together. Do you have any specific reasons why both configurations are in that one module?

Actually spinnaker.template in the current version of ADSpinnaker does not contain any info nodes.  

What does contain info nodes are the .template files in ADGenICam that are auto-generated using the camera XML file and a Python script.  Those are there because that Python script was derived from the one in aravisGigE that put them in and I have not removed them.  However, I really question how useful they are.  Consider the file PGR_BlackflyS_50S5C.template for a FLIR/Point Grey camera.  It contains 619 lines like this:

  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE PINI VAL")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE PINI VAL")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE PINI VAL")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE PINI VAL")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC ZRSV ONSV TWSV THSV FRSV FVSV SXSV SVSV EISV NISV TESV ELSV TVSV TTSV FTSV FFSV TSE")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC ZRSV ONSV TWSV THSV FRSV FVSV SXSV SVSV EISV NISV TESV ELSV TVSV TTSV FTSV FFSV TSE PINI VAL")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE")
  info(autosaveFields, "DESC LOLO LOW HIGH HIHI LLSV LSV HSV HHSV EGU TSE")

Altogether it defines over 8000 PVs to be autosaved, including such very important PVs as PINI, DESC, etc.  Do you really want a user to be able to modify those fields and have those changes survive an IOC restart?

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: Tech-talk <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Jeong Han Lee via Tech-talk
Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2019 5:49 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: few questions on autosave

Hi All, and especially areaDetector Developers,


   I would like to raise few simple questions related with autosave. 
These questions are related with predefined req files and the info tag in db  or template files.

   Since `autosaveBuild` is supported from base 3.15.0.2, or a patch to EPICS base 3.14, are there any specific reasons why areaDetector keeps using only req files instead of info tags in template files?

   In addition, ADSpinnaker module, it uses req files and info tag together. Do you have any specific reasons why both configurations are in that one module?

   Best,
   Han


Replies:
Re: few questions on autosave J. Lewis Muir via Tech-talk
Re: few questions on autosave Jeong Han Lee via Tech-talk
Re: few questions on autosave Cobb, Tom (DLSLtd,RAL,LSCI) via Tech-talk
References:
few questions on autosave Jeong Han Lee via Tech-talk

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