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Glossary

ACF

Access Control File. A file used by the Gateway which contains rules for access.

ActiveMQ

A messaging system that is used in a number of places throughout IBEX. Specifically, The Alarm Server and The IOC Log Server. See ActiveMQ Homepage for more information on the technology.

Alarm

Archive Engine

A CSS component that archives PV values. Implemented in IBEX in the Block Archive and Instrument Archive

Autosave

A system to record PV values and reinstate them on startup of an IOC.

Axis

In IBEX, the term axis refers to a degree-of-freedom within an experimental system. See Axes in IBEX for more detail.

Backdoor

A method of changing the internal parameters of an emulator to mimic the behaviour of the actual device.

Barndoors

Slits used on each of the Muon instruments to control the neutron flux to the sample. Each "jaw" pivots on one edge, much like a door on a hinge.

Block

Block Archive

Archives block values using the CSS Archive Engine and restarts whenever block definitions and/or the configuration changes.

BlockServer

A Channel Access Server (CAS) that allows blocks to be configured and configurations to be created and loaded.

Branch

CALab

Channel Access Laboratory. A library which enables EPICS and LabVIEW to communicate with each other.

Calibration Files

Files which contain information about how pieces of sample environment equipment translate their readings into useful data. e.g. temperature sensor calibration files which enable translation from electrical measurements to temperature values.

Channel Access (CA)

A protocol that defines how PV data is transferred between a server and client in an EPICS control system.

Chopper

A device, usually a spinning disc of thick metal with a narrow slot, which allows selection of a particular energy range of neutrons by varying its speed.

CLF

Central Laser Facility. A department at RAL that also uses the EPICS control system.

Code Chats

Short meetings and presentations held within the group to discuss various aspects of the control system, or other related technologies.

Collision Detection

A method for detecting collisions between moving beamline components by simulating the requested move beforehand. See Collision Detection Project for more information.

Commit

A commit is a snapshot of your repository at a certain point in time. It is also a git command, which saves all of your staged changes on a project. There are various ways to perform a git commit, more info can be found here: Git Guides - git commit

Component

Config-Checker

A Python script to highlight potential issues with current configurations when a new version of IBEX is installed.

Config-Upgrader

A Python script to upgrade current configurations to be compatible with new versions of IBEX.

Configuration

ConServer

CSS

"Control System Studio is an Eclipse-based collection of tools to monitor and operate large scale control systems, such as the ones in the accelerator community. It's a product of the collaboration between different laboratories and universities."

DAE

The Data Acquisition Electronics (DAE) is the physical hardware that reads the neutron events out of the detectors. IBEX communicates with this hardware via the Instrument Control Program (ICP). This program is also responsible for combining the neutron and sample environment data into the NeXus file.

Database Server

DataWeb

DB File

A file containing the definition of PVs for a specific IOC using records.

Dial values

Eclipse

An IDE and collection of tools for development of GUIs. CSS and the IBEX client are based on it.

Emulator

A software implementation of hardware. Usually used to help write and test an IOC and OPI. See Emulating-Devices for more information.

EPICS

Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System. A client/server control system using Channel Access as its communication protocol, forming a distributed real-time database of machine values (PVs). It is a collection of software tools collaboratively developed which can be integrated to provide a comprehensive and scalable control system.

Field

Gateway

A service that controls access between two or more networks.

Genie-Python

An implementation of the OpenGenie scripting language in Python, or at least its commands specific to instrument control. Documentation here.

GIT

Git is a distributed version control software. Version control is a way to save changes over time without overwriting previous versions. More info can be found here: Git Guides: Git

Github

While Git takes care of the underlying version control, GitHub is the collaboration platform built on top of it. It's where most of IBEX source code is kept, along with some other projects. Git Guides: Git

GUI

Graphical User Interface. AKA "The GUI" or IBEX Client. A program which provides a graphical method of interacting with the IBEX Server.

IBEX

The new ISIS instrument control system. Primarily based on EPICS as the underlying technology.

Inhibitor

Instrument Archive

Archives PV values using the CSS Archive Engine which have the ARCHIVE Field set in their Record.

IOC

InputOutputController. A process which reads and writes PVs. Often interfaces with hardware (e.g. sample environment equipment) to enable it to be controlled remotely.

Java

Jenkins

Journal Viewer

Journal viewer is an overloaded term. There are two, one as part of the ibex GUI and the other is a standalone application supported by the instrument scientists, we only provide data for this.

Journal Parser

The journal parser is a program that runs as part of the end run processes. It looks parses the journal produced by the isisicp and adds the details to the database in the journal schema.

LabVIEW

LaboratoryVirtualInstrumentEngineeringWorkbench. A graphical programming language in which the device drivers for SECI are written.

LeWIS

Let's Write Intricate Simulators. A Python framework for producing and running emulators. See Emulating-Devices for more information.

Macro

A named abstraction for a variable setting, e.g. the macro is PORT, referenced as $(PORT), but the data it is abstracting could be COM11 or 192.168.0.0. Regex is used to define the format of the macro in the GUI to ensure that you don't try to use the wrong data type or formatting where the variable is referenced.

Mini-Inst

A term used to describe an instrument which uses components from both the SECI and IBEX control systems. For example, an IOC wrapped with a VI on a SECI instrument (using CALab).

Momentum Slits

Slits used on the Muon front-end to control the neutron momentum to the three instruments.

MySQL

Nicos

A network-based control system. Some elements of it are used in the script server. See homepage for more information.

OPI

Operator Interface. A file used in CSS to enable a user to interact with an IOC graphically.

Perspective

Plugin

ProcServ

PV

Process Variable. A named piece of data and the primary object of the Channel Access Protocol, often associated with a piece of equipment (e.g. status, readback, setpoint, parameter).

PVLIST

A file used by the Gateway which specifies which rules to follow that are defined in the ACF.

Record

Used to define a PV in a DB File.

Release

The version of IBEX to be deployed.

Repository ("Repo")

Script Server

SECI

Sample Environment Control Interface. The current instrument control system, currently being replaced by IBEX. Written in C# and incorporating LabVIEW drivers for the sample environment equipment. If you need access to the SECI user manual, please ask.

Sequencer

An EPICS module to provide support for SNL files.

SNL

State Notation Language. A "C-like" language to enable State Machines to be written which can then be integrated into IOCs.

Soft Motor

An software implementation of a motor axis to enable conversion between two coordinate systems.

State Machine

A software design in which a program executes only its well-defined states with strict rules governing the changes between them. Written in SNL in this case.

Substitution File

A template for creating DB files using macros.

Synoptic

A graphical representation of an ISIS beamline, showing permanent components as well as Sample Environment equipment. It is shown in a perspective view in the IBEX client.

Ticket

Umbrella Ticket

User Values

Vagrant

A tool for building and managing virtual machine environments. See homepage for more information.

Virtual Box

A tool for running virtual machines.

VI

Virtual Instrument. A LabVIEW program, usually a device driver for interacting with sample environment equipment.

Virtual Machine

An entire computer system running, without its own dedicated hardware, as software on a host computer. Each of the ISIS control machines (NDX...) is a virtual machine, as well as many other servers used as part of the development process.

Web Dashboard

ZeroMQ

Another messaging broker that is used in NICOS