Controls Software Documentation

This page exists to collect links to documentation about the instrument control system EPICS, its modules and related libraries (synApps, areaDetector), as used at the Advanced Photon Source.

Documentation referenced should be appropriate for beamline scientists, as opposed to only EPICS developers. New deployments should prefer EPICSv7, the latest release series.

See also the extensive resources from past EPICS Collaboration meetings.

EPICS Base

• Intro to EPICS
• EPICS Database Concepts
• EPICS Base Getting Started (official)

synApps (aka EPICS Support)

• synApps Collected Documentation
• synApps deployment instructions, including use of xxx template ioc

areaDetector

• areaDetector Official Documentation

Deploying, troubleshooting, and maintaining IOCs

• Troubleshooting EPICS IOCs
• simDetector Install directions (2BM)
• The Basics of an IOC (XXX documentation)
• Creation of an IOC using mkioc
• BCDA Tutorials (APS Internal)

Maintaining Documentation

• ReadTheDocs tutorial and example site

APS ESAF & Proposal - Read-only interface

• apsbss - Read-only interface to information from APS Proposal and ESAF (experiment safety approval form) databases.

Bluesky

• Bluesky home page
• Try Bluesky in a web browser (from NSLS-II)
• apstools - Various Python tools for use with Bluesky at the APS.
• apstools: Guides, How-Tos, and other examples.
• hklpy: Bluesky's diffractometer support
• Diffractometer examples
• Bluesky training for APS users
• Template for new instrument description.
• Installation Steps for APS users
• Template for creating a local tiled data server