Configuration

CORAL/COOL

OK, current next generation is CORAL/COOL, the main advantage being that the same database is accessible by offline.

See SctConfigurationCORAL.

Configuration file

The configuration is read from the xml file given by the environment variable SCTDAQ_ROD_CONFIGURATION_PATH. For an example of such a file, see ExampleConfigurationFile. Other comments are in ConfigurationFileComments.

Setting the configuration on the GUI

The SctGui reads the configuration when the user calls from the the menu:

• display ->
  • configuration ->
    • configure

The mechanism by which the SctGui retrieves the is over IPC using the idl interface to the ConfigurationService : .

Updating the configuration via the GUI

There is a manual SctGui configuration option, which allows one to add modules to the configuration, but this only modifies the local GUI's local copy of the configuration - not the master provided and maintaned by the ConfigurationService.

Viewing the configuration via the GUI

The GUI provides a geographical view of the position of the modules. By moving the mouse over a module, the name of the module will appear near the top of the screen.

To view more about that module's configuration, in the menu do:

• display ->
  • Test Results

Then right click on the module and select 'Module Configuration'.

This will bring up a new window containing more information about the configuration of that module.

There is a choice in this window of viewing either the stored configuration or the current configuration. what does this mean?

I think this is a choice between the configuration stored with the test result and the current configuration as returned by the ConfigurationService.

The button which says 'save configuration' sends all module configurations to the configuration database.

SctApi access to the configuration

The SctApi also gets access to the configuration over IPC via the class which provides a clean C++ interface.

It reads the configuration on creation of the SctApi.

Modifying the configuration

I don't know how to do this, other than via the xml file prior to start-up. -- Alan

Or by doing some sort of scan..then it automagically updates the configuration! You can save it semi-permamently from within the GUi. -- Matt

What is semi-permanent? Changed in the ConfigurationService, but not in the xml file? -- Alan

Yes -- Matt

The other option is to use sctConfGUI...

Changing the ChipConfiguration you need to know about the registers on the chip config.

Another cryptic setting is the errorMask, see ErrorMaskRegister.

Things it would be useful to be able to do but you can't at the moment

These are possibilities for adding to scripts.

• Adding all the module configuration files in a directory.
• Adding a set of modules to a ROD in a particular order.
• (Re)arranging MUR numbers
• Exports

OKS Schema

Historically, the SCT configuration has been stored in an adhoc XML schema. For production purposes this is moving to an OKS based system. A workable schema now exists, which contains the vast majority of the functionality present in the original. OksSchemaDevelopment documents what is missing and new things which should be present.