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the Instrument Manual for values that match your specific instrument. The default PV file
comes preloaded on the instrument and provides most instrument functionality.
Each PV is an instance of a record, which has a type and a set of fields.
Each PV within the database file references a template file. The template file matches
its type and also references a pattern to define the order of each field from the template
or other fields common to all records. See EPICS documentation for further details on
records.
Example contents of a PV database file, excerpted from ztscopeM.pv:
A set of Binary Output PVs, setInp1Enable and setInp2Enable:
file "$(EPICS_PV_PATH)/db/ztecbo.template" {
pattern {NAME, SCPI, ONAM, ZNAM, SCAN, FLNK}
{ztec:setInp1Enable, "INP1", "Enabled", "Disabled",
"Passive", "ztec:getInp1Enable"}
{ztec:setInp2Enable, "INP2", "Enabled", "Disabled",
"Passive", "ztec:getInp2Enable"}
...
}
Database Template Files
The database template files define the fields within records of a type defined in the
database definition file. The zipped set of ZTEC
®
’s .template files are included in the
EPICS Installation
dat
directory. These can be used for reference, but cannot be
modified on the instrument.
Database Definition File
The database definition file defines the record types, devices, and behaviors for the
database. See the EPICS documentation for reference and examples. A ”ztec” device
type has been added and all PVs on the instrument will have this type. This cannot be
modified on the instrument.
Changing PVs
All PVs can be safely removed or renamed, as long as any forward links and fanouts
referencing a PV are also changed. Additional PVs may be added to the database file
by following the provided template format and uploading the file as described below.
Additional instrument functionality can be exposed by creating a PV associated with an
instrument SCPI call. This is done by inserting the SCPI string into the SCPI section of
the PV. See the instrument manual for a list of supported SCPI calls. The
ztec:UtilSCPISend and ztec:UtilSCPIRecv PVs may also be used to send and receive
SCPI strings without adding new PVs.
PV Naming Conventions
The EPICS naming convention requires the ability to add a prefix to the process
variables. ZTEC
®
PVs have “ztec:” as a default prefix. The prefixes/names can be
changed by editing and uploading the default PV file. If unique names are required,
such as in the case of having two or more ZTEC
®
EPICS oscilloscopes, changing the PV
prefixes to separate identifiers will clear up any ambiguity about which instrument is
