Interfaces with external programs
OPUS
We use the pywin32 Python library, which provides an interface to the Windows DDE APIs. Pyra Core uses DDE to communicate with OPUS: Loading experiment files, starting and stopping macros, and stopping OPUS itself.
import dde
# initialize DDE client
server = dde.CreateServer()
server.Create("Client")
conversation = dde.CreateConversation(server)
# connect to OPUS
conversation.ConnectTo("OPUS", "OPUS/System")
assert self.conversation.Connected()
# send a command to OPUS
macro_path = "..."
answer = conversation.Request(f"RUN_MACRO {macro_path}")
logger.info(f"Started OPUS macro: {macro_path}")
We are working on improving the reliability of that connection: https://github.com/tum-esm/pyra/issues/124
CamTracker
The CamTrackerConfig.txt file contains geographical coordinates Pyra Core uses in its Astronomy utility class. The coordinates can be found by looking for the $1 mark inside the file:
...
$1
48.15
11.57
0.54
...
The LEARN_Az_Elev.dat file contains CamTracker's logs about the mirror position and the currently estimated sun position. Example:
Julian Date, Tracker Elevation, Tracker Azimuth, Elev Offset from Astro, Az Offset from Astro, Ellipse distance/px
2458332.922778,107.490800,149.545000,0.197305,0.188938,705.047211
2458332.922836,107.494400,149.761400,0.192179,0.365420,736.914133
2458332.922905,107.498400,150.208200,0.188914,0.778934,736.914133
2458332.922975,107.499200,149.811600,0.179557,0.335728,736.914133
2458332.923032,107.508400,149.647800,0.182958,0.145281,736.914133
...
The SunIntensity.dat file contains CamTracker's own evaluation of the sun conditions. This is currently not used in Pyra Core, but it might be in the future. Example:
Julian Date, Date UTC[yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss], Intensity[px*ms], big and small obj good
2457057.199028, 2015/02/03 16:46:36, 0.000000, good
2457057.200347, 2015/02/03 16:48:30, 0.000000, good
2458332.906019, 2018/08/02 09:44:40, 0.000000, good
2458332.906088, 2018/08/02 09:44:46, nan, bad
2458332.906169, 2018/08/02 09:44:53, nan, bad
...
When stopping CamTracker, we have to add a stop.txt inside CamTracker's code directory, and the application will shut down gracefully.
TUM PLC
We are using the Snap7 Python library to communicate with the TUM PLC. Here is a manual for the underlying Snap7 API: http://snap7.sourceforge.net/sharp7.html