techui_builder

A package for building Phoebus GUIs

Techui-builder is a module for building and organising phoebus gui screens using a builder-ibek yaml description of an IOC, with a user created techui.yaml file containing a description of the screens the user wants to create.

The process to use this module goes as follows (WIP):

Requirements

1. Docker
2. VSCode
3. CS-Studio (Phoebus)

Installation

1. Clone this module with the --recursive flag to pull in techui-support for the associated bob files.
2. Open the project using VSCode.
3. Reopen the project in a container. Make sure you are using the VSCode extension: Dev Containers by Microsoft.

Setting Up

1. Clone the beamline ixx-services repo to the root of this project, ensuring each IOC service has been converted to the ibek format.

   git clone --recursive git@gitlab.diamond.ac.uk:controls/containers/beamline/ixx-services.git

2. Create your handmade synoptic overview screen in Phoebus and place at ixx-services/synoptic/index.bob.

3. Construct a techui.yaml file inside ixx-services/synoptic containing all the components from the services:

   beamline:
       location: {e.g. b23, b01-1}
       domain: {e.g. bl23b}
       desc: {beamline description}
       url: {e.g. b23-opis.diamond.ac.uk}
   
   components:
       {component name}:
           desc: {component description}
           prefix: {PV prefix}
           extras: 
               - {extra prefix 1}
               - {extra prefix 2}
   

   [!NOTE] extras is optional, but allows any embedded screen to be added to make a summary screen e.g. combining all imgs, pirgs and ionps associated with a vacuum space.

4. Run this command to locally generate a schema, which can be used for validation testing

   $ techui-builder schema

   Add the following at the top of the techui.yaml to validate it against a schema

   # yaml-language-server: $schema=/path/to/techui.schema.yml

   where the path can be the dev container workspace, or a released asset in the GitHub repo.

Generating the Synoptic

$ techui-builder build /path/to/synoptic/techui.yaml

This populates index.bob and individual component screens inside ixx-services/synoptic.

Generating the JsonMap

$ techui-builder generate-jsonmap /path/to/synoptic/index.bob

This populates JsonMap.json with the tree of component screens inside ixx-services/synoptic/index.bob.

Generating the Status PV database file

$ techui-builder status /path/to/synoptic/techui.yaml

This populates config/status.db with the status PVs of components inside ixx-services/synoptic/techui.yaml.

Viewing the Synoptic

In a terminal outside of the container:

$ module load phoebus
$ phoebus.sh -resource /path/to/opis/index.bob