DABBEL
Editing the ACNET Device Database
10 Nov 2020: The DELSETREC command will also remove any entries for the device and property which
may exist in the download_devices table.
09 Sep 2020: Add support for both reading and basic status properties in the EXPR command.
31 Aug 2020: The DELSETREC command is now supported which provides the only method to
delete a setting record for the setting and basic control properties.
26 Aug 2020: The DWNLDLOC (download location) command supports the ability to disable downloading
of setting and basic control properties.
17 Jun 2020: Add support for optional basic status scaling attribute mapping from Digital Control attributes.
16 Mar 2020: DWNLDLOC (download location) command supports setting and basic control properties
in addition to alarm block properties.
26 Feb 2020: Add support for DWNLDLOC (download location) command
22 Oct 2019: The FNAME (Full Name) command now fully supports the control system type
19 Sep 2019: Allow the user to enter initial setting property data as double-precision floats
29 Jul 2019: The frequency time descriptor in the various PRO commands may contain
a data event string like "p,1000,true" (in addition to FTD and Tnn forms).
In a device listing, the data event string format will be used.
21 Jun 2019: Add support for the CHGNOD command
05 Mar 2019: Remove support for FTD display/interpretation of "event1" and "event2" fields in alarm blocks
17 Jan 2019: Remove restriction on order numbers being strictly increasing for PRBSSC and PRDCTL
07 Nov 2018: Add support for component type identifier (COMPONENT).
23 Oct 2018: Add support for quick-listing capability. Add "LIST" command as equivalent to "LIS".
29 Aug 2018: Modify support for Selective Listing such that the listing can be restricted for the Reading and Setting properties with regard to the PDB commands.
16 Aug 2018: Provide documentation for the DABOUT area
15 Aug 2018: Retire support for Basic Status PDBs
25 Jul 2018: Retire support for Basic Control PDBs
23 Jul 2018: Retire support for PDX command (hex PDB)
07 Mar 2018: Allow the user to re-direct listing output to stdout
09 Jan 2018: Allow the user to issue multiple successive commands in Dialog mode
26 Jul 2017: Add support for SCALEN (scaling length) command
15 Jun 2017: Permit certain privileged users to Modify an obsolete device
18 May 2017: Add support for COMPUTE option for minimum/maximum extrema in Reading/Setting PDBs
12 May 2017: Add support for DREAD (destructive read) command
02 May 2017: Add support for RSTEXTRMA command, which recomputes reading/setting scaling extrema (limits)
18 Apr 2017: Add support for KNOB (setting knobable) command
20 Feb 2017: Add support for Basic Status Scaling property PRBSSC
10 Jan 2017: Disable the wildcard listing capability
03 Jan 2017: Allow device names up to 14 characters long (except for IRM devices)
18 Apr 2016: Add support for SWAP command which will swap two device names
23 Nov 2015: Add support for symbolic representation of device addressing modes in EPR command
17 Nov 2015: Add support for listing/modification of minimum/maximum limits in Reading/Setting PDBs
17 Sep 2015: Add support for machine identifier (MACHINE).
12 Aug 2015: Add support for enumerated value (ENUM) shared sets.
16 Sep 2014: Add support for COMMENT command which will write an edit-comment
to the table accdb.dbo.device_edit_comment
08 Aug 2014: DABBEL can now be called directly from a program (see UL_DABBEL)
18 Mar 2014: Add support for DOC and UDC commands (documentation devices)
28 Oct 2013: BP (bypass bit) field always ignored for analog/digital
alarm block PRO commands
26 Aug 2013: Deleting Basic Control also deletes Digital Control property
24 Jul 2013: Add support for CMAINT command
27 Jun 2013: Display line number in error messages
05 Jun 2013: Family devices must have a source node of 'LOCAL' or '0'
or an empty field. In listings, '0' will be used.
18 Mar 2013: Allow a PDB to be deleted with any PDB/PDBFE/PDX command
containing a single zero parameter; disallow a zero
attribute definition flag word for basic status.
13 Mar 2013: Support common unit limits in analog alarm block (PRANAB).
LIS command displays in common units, while LSX command
displays in raw units.
28 Jan 2013: Add support for property location (LOC command)
12 Dec 2012: Add support for symbolic representation of basic status
PDB alternate color/character masks
06 Aug 2012: FDESC (Full Description) is a synonym for LDESC
25 Jul 2012: FNAME (Full Name) is a synonym for LNAME (Long Name)
09 May 2012: BACKUP optional qualifier added to LIS(LSX) command
22 Feb 2012: Add support for alarm groups (ALMGRP command)
29 Nov 2011: Add support for front-end scaling (PDBFE command)
23 Aug 2011: Allow a zero value for Controlled-By device
18 Jul 2011: Add support for AAMASK command, which adds/modifies the new
alarm acknowledge mask.
28 Jun 2011: Add support for symbolic representation of console protection
masks. Allow URLs to be attached to digital alarm text records.
08 Mar 2011: ENUM short-name must not contain embedded spaces.
24 Feb 2011: Support new-style property names (PRxxxx), while old-style
names (e.g. READNG, BASTAT) will continue to be recognized.
15 Feb 2011: Require FAMILY devices to have only a LOCAL source node
12 Jan 2011: Add Console protection mask command (PMASK)
DABBEL (Database Batch Editing Language) is the facility for modifying the central ACNET device database. This document is the reference guide for using DABBEL. It contains three main parts: an overview, a description of the editing language, and a guide to the shell command used to invoke the DABBEL facility.
OVERVIEW ON USING DABBEL
DABBEL processes files containing an editing language. The user creates and/or modifies DABBEL input files in his (or her) own Linux disk directory. The DABBEL command is then issued at shell-level to process the input file in one of several modes. As an alternative, the user may also invoke Dabbel from a program using the "dabbel" function in UL_DABBEL.
The most usual method of editing or adding devices is to first list (using the LIS command described below) the devices to be edited, or in the case of adding, list a device like the ones being added. The file resulting from the listing is modified with the new information. Any parameter in any command statement may be modified. Property commands may be added or deleted.
Device names may not include any of the following special characters:
[ ] ( ) { } < > ` ' ^ ? @ # $ ~ = . , ! | & \ * " / + - (hyphen) %
The first character of the device name must be an alphabetic character representing one of the accelerator sub-systems, as described in Section I (Device Name Command Line) below.
Except as noted below, the ':' and ';' characters may only appear in the second character position of the device name. Multiple colons are permitted, however, in long (full) device names, starting in position 2. In addition, the last character must be alphanumeric. Finally, long device names are not up-cased, except in the first, prefix position.
The wildcard listing facility has been disabled due to the fact that underscore characters are now permitted in all device names. If there is a need for this capability, it could be reenabled with the use of an alternate listing command (perhaps WLIS), but we would need to deal with the underscore characters somehow. Contact Brian Hendricks if this is a feature that you need.
There are several methods for retrieving Data Base Information:
1) The LIS(T) command will produce a listing of devices in the form of a DABBEL input text file. This may then be either used as reference, or else modified and then resubmitted to DABBEL for processing. The listing is always written to a disk file having the same name as the input file, but with the file-type "LIS". The Linux system grep function may be used on the listing files to look for a particular piece of information.
2) D80. Control console page D80 will dump the contents of a device entry. It contains display of all of its attribute, including audit information on the editing of the device, scaling transforms, SaveRestore codes...etc..
THE DABBEL LANGUAGE
DABBEL is a device oriented language for editing the data base. By creating a text file of command lines, a user may add, delete, modify and list device entries. The DABBEL processor parses the text file, performs various types of error checking, and calls subroutines to access the data base.
Part 1 of the following section is a table of DABBEL commands and the data base fields which are the arguments to the commands. The table is organized by Command Line type and includes the field name, its acceptable value(s), whether or not it is required in the line, and comments. Part 2 is a summary of the above commands. Part 3 is a sample DABBEL text file. A brief description of the language follows.
A DABBEL text file consists of one or more device batches, each starting with a Device Name command line. The Device Name command line consists of a 3-character command verb plus device name, and, for some commands, parameters. Following ADD or MOD, there may be one or more Subsidiary command lines, such as the Sub-System Device Number line, Property line or PDB line. The order of these subsidiary lines is arbitrary as long as they refer to the same device batch. The device batch is terminated when a new Device Name command line or End-Of-File is encountered.
Input lines must be terminated with a new-line character. Any line containing more than 128 printable characters will cause DABBEL to abort with an overflow error. A mechanism to continue long text strings on succeeding lines is described below.
Command line parameters are enclosed in parentheses and are separated by commas. Optional parameters may be omitted by either terminating the line with a closing parenthesis, or by using a comma without the parameter. Leading and trailing white-space around parameters is permitted. Command lines may be continued on succeeding lines.
Long text fields may be continued on succeeding lines by inserting a backslash character at the very end of any line which is incomplete.
There is an alternate mode for entering sub-system device numbers, event message codes and sub-system device records, which is Hex input, entered word by word, or byte by byte, separated by slashes. This is the only method available for entering SSDN's and Event Message Codes (EMX).
Any line beginning with an exclamation point (!) is considered a comment line. The exclamation point can also be used anywhere in the command line (except inside quoted text) to start an end-of-line comment.
DABBEL commands may be entered in either upper or lower case. Quoted text strings may be delimited either by a pair of double-quotes, or by a pair of apostrophes. Apostrophes may be included within those text strings which are delimited by double-quotes. The converse is not true -- double-quotes can never be included inside a text string. Alpha characters inside quoted text strings are never up-cased.
DABBEL processes the input file in a single pass. Each device batch (see definition above) is processed as a unit. If an error occurs within a batch, none of the modifications within that batch will be performed.
As an option, DABBEL can be run in Syntax-Checking-Only mode, where there is no connection to the central database. Many (but not all) errors can be identified using this mode of operation, which runs very fast. Certain error conditions, however, require connection to the database in order to be detected. For example, a device given as a sibling in a MOD statement must exist in the database, but this cannot be verified in Syntax-Checking-Only mode. If any error is detected while running in normal mode, DABBEL will immediately disconnect from the central database and enter Syntax-Checking-Only mode. If logical name DABBEL_EXIT_ON_ERROR is defined in the shell, Dabbel will exit on any error which would cause it to switch to Syntax-Checking-Only mode.
Error messages appear on the terminal and in a listing file generated during the run. The listing file has the same name as the input file, but with the file-type "LIS". Syntax, data field, I/O and miscellaneous errors (such as adding a new device with a name that already exists, or modifying an undefined device) will be displayed. A line number from the input file will be displayed in all error messages, after "DABBEL:". The line number will be enclosed in parentheses. For syntax errors, the line number will point to the exact line containing the error. For other errors, the line number will point to the first line of the device batch.
Console Protection Mask Representation
In general, the console protection mask may either be specified as a hexadecimal integer, or as a symbolic text string. It is generally better to use the hex form for the console protection mask, as most classes are set. With the alarm acknowledge mask, however, the symbolic form is preferred. The symbolic form is structured as follows: "class1+class2+...+classn".
Save/Restore of Database using DABBEL:
DABBEL input lines for those device batches which modify the central database wlll be written to a file and saved permanently. Files from the time of the last Data Base Save can be used to reconstruct the state of the Data Base to its present condition in the event of corruption.
PART 1
TABLE OF COMMANDS AND DATA BASE FIELDS FOR DABBEL
Field Value Req? Comments
I. Device Name Command Line (A command line containing a device name. At least one must appear before any other commands for a given device.)
General Format: COM X: YYYYYY ( arg1 , arg2, . . . )
Command One of: yes
ADD Add new device
DEL Delete device from database (must use OBS first)
DEL REQUIRES PRIVILEGES
OBS Mark device as obsolete which means that it is non-functional
and database information is typically not available to applications
UBS Undo an OBS command (may be used with 'DLP EMC' command)
DOC Mark device for documentation, which means that it is non-functional
but the database information remains available to applications
(This is typically done to devices that are saved in a data logger that has been
turned off so that people can retrieve historically interesting data.)
(This should be used sparingly.)
UDC Undo a DOC command to make the
device fully functional again
MOD Modify device data
LIST, LIS or LSX List device data in the form of an
input text file. LSX will list analog alarm limits
in HEX (raw) format.
CHG Change device name
CHGNOD Change primary source node
SWAP Swap two device names
Device Name X:YYYYYY where X yes List of acceptable prefix letters
is one of the is provided below
prefix letters
shown, and YYYYYY is
<=12 char mnemonic.
[Note: a semi-colon
in the second
character will be
automatically
replaced with a
colon]
No further parameters are required for
LIS or LSX, however, "BACKUP" may
be appended in order to list the
device from the backup server.
Example: LIS M:OUTTMP BACKUP
List of Acceptable Device Prefix Letters (as of 11-September-2019)
A Accumulator (historic) B Booster
C Cryogenics D Delivery Ring (formerly Debuncher)
E Experimental F Fixed Target
G General Controls H HINS (historic)
I Main Injector L Linac
M Muon (formerly Main Ring) N NML
P PIP-II R Recycler
S Switchyard T Test area (formerly Tevatron)
U Utility device V States device
X Statistics Z Test device
Field Value Req? Comments
ADD X: YYYYYY ( "DESCRIPTIVE TEXT" , SRCNODE , PRVSIB , CONSOLEPRO, ALRMLSTID, CTRLBYDEV, DEPARTMENT, MAINTAINER )
Device Text<=24 chars yes
Descriptive Text
Source Node Refer to file yes, unless Must be 'LOCAL' or '0' or blank
nodes.txt family for PRFMLY devices.
for a list of mecca/services/acnet/nodes.txt
current nodes
PRVSIB-Device Any valid device no Should refer to a device already
name of previous name defined, or defined in same file
sibling prior to this entry
CONSOLEPRO Bit Mask expressed no: default Bit on means setting request to
Console protect in Hex (bits 1-27 is 7FFDBDE given device honored for this
bit mask corresponding to console class. Bit 0 should
console classes) not be set. Symbolic representation
0-FFFFFFFE (High is supported, but not recommended
order bits to the if many classes set.
left)
ALRMLSTID Alarm List ID: no Default is zero
may be expressed Example: "BOOSTR A-dumb"
as numeric value
or quoted symbol
CTRLBYDEV Any valid device no Should refer to a device already
Controlled-By name, or zero defined, or defined in same file
Device prior to this entry. Use zero (0)
to eliminate controlled-by device
DEPARTMENT Text from list no - default Must match a name from the table
Lab department of departments based on accdb..departments (name column)
name prefix See note below.
MAINTAINER Text (name of no - default Must match name from the table
equipment person) is NOBODY for accdb..console_user. This is
maintainer new devices typically the last name (or NOBODY).
The following departments are defined as of 11-September-2019:
Antiproton Source, Controls, Cryogenics, EE Support, Engineering Support, ES&H, External Beamlines, Instrumentation, Main Injector, Mechanical Support, Muon, Neutron Therapy, Operations, Photoinjector, Proton Source, RF, SRF Beam Test Facility, Target Systems, Tevatron
A complete, up-to-date list of departments is maintained in the table "accdb..departments".
General Format: Same as ADD, but all arguments are optional. Only those indicated will be modified. All commands following the MOD command will also be in modify mode until a new Device Name Command Line appears.
Most users are not permitted to modify obsolete devices. They must first be restored with the UBS command. Certain privileged users, however, may modify obsolete devices directly.
C) CHG Command (Change Device Name)
General Format: CHG X: YYYYYY (x: yyyyyy)
X: YYYYYY old Any valid existing Yes
device name device name
x: yyyyyy new Any valid Yes
device name non-existing
device name
D) CHGNOD Command (Change Source Node)
General Format: CHGNOD X: YYYYYY (node-name)
Note that this is a convenience command which duplicates the same operation in the MOD command.
X: YYYYYY Any valid existing Yes device name device name node-name Any valid existing Yes new primary node name node name
E) SWAP Command (Swap Two Device Names)
General Format: SWAP X: YYYYYY (x: yyyyyy)
X: YYYYYY first Any valid existing Yes device name device name x: yyyyyy second Any valid existing Yes device name device name
Note that the full device names will also be swapped.
F) OBS Command (Mark device obsolete)
General Format: OBS X: YYYYYY ("Text describing reason to obsolete")
Note that the text must be delimited by the double-quotes!
A documentation-only device may be obsoleted, but this will reset the the documentation-only state.
X: YYYYYY Any valid existing Yes
device name device name
Text Up to 80 Yes
characters and
must include >= 8
non-blank chars
Field Value Req? Comments
G) UBS Command (Restore device, undo an obsolete)
General Format: UBS X: YYYYYY ("Text describing reason to restore device")
X: YYYYYY Any valid existing Yes
device name device name
Text Up to 80 Yes
characters and
must include >= 8
non-blank chars
Field Value Req? Comments
H) DOC Command (Mark device for documentation only)
General Format: DOC X: YYYYYY ("Text describing reason to mark documentation-only")
Note that the text must be delimited by the double-quotes!
A documentation-only device is non-functional, and cannot be read or set.
X: YYYYYY Any valid existing Yes
device name device name
Text Up to 80 Yes
characters and
must include >= 8
non-blank chars
Field Value Req? Comments
I) UDC Command (Restore device from documentation-only state)
General Format: UDC X: YYYYYY ("Text describing reason to restore device")
X: YYYYYY Any valid existing Yes
device name device name
Text Up to 80 Yes
characters and
must include >= 8
non-blank chars
Field Value Req? Comments
J) DEL Command (Mark device deleted)
General Format: DEL X: YYYYYY ("Text describing reason to delete")
The DEL command requires privileged user status!
X: YYYYYY Any valid existing Yes
device name device name that
has been obsoleted
Text Up to 80 Yes
characters and
must include >= 8
non-blank chars
II. Event message code definition line
A) HEX Input format: EMX (Wrd1/Wrd2/Wrd3/Wrd4,Wrd1/Wrd2/Wrd3/Wrd4)
[Note: the second event message code is optional]
Command desig- EMX Yes
nator
Word1, etc. Up to 4 [or 8] HEX Yes Low order word first
digits (high order
digits first) per
word, separated by
slashes (total of
4 words) For two
EMC's, separate
second set of
words by a comma
III. Sub-system device number definition line (must appear with a PRO line with same property name)
A) HEX General Input Format: SSDNHX PropName (Word1/Word2/Word3/Word4)
Command line SSDNHX Yes
designator
PropName-Property One of: PRREAD Yes Old-style names such as
Name PRBSTS PRESTS READNG,SETTNG, and BASTAT
PRBCTL PRSET will continue to work
PRANAB PRDABL
Word1, etc. Up to 4 HEX digits Yes Low order word first For field
(high order digits information and SSDN formats, see
first) per word, the appropriate device description
separated by document or the front-end programmer.
slashes (total of
4 words)
Field Value Req? Comments
IV. Sub-system device record
A) Hex Input Format: SSREC (WordCount/Word2/Word3/Word4/... )
Command Line SSREC Yes
designator
WordCount Word count for Maximum of 64 (decimal) words
record in Hex
Word2, etc Up to 4 Hex Yes Low order word first
digits (high order
first) per word
V. Property Command Line (must be accompanied by a SSDN definition command line if PRREAD, PRBSTS, PRESTS, PRBCTL, PRSET, PRANAB, or PRDABL)
The Extended Status property (PRESTS/ESTATS) has been deprecated! Only existing instances of this property may be modified.
General Format: PRO PropName (arg1, arg2, ...)
Property line PRO yes
designation
Property Name One of: PRREAD yes Old-style names such as
PRBSTS PRBCTL READNG, SETTNG, and BASTAT
PRSET PRAATX will continue to work
PRANAB PRDABL
PRETXT PRDATX
PRESTS PRFMLY PRSAVE
PRVMDI PRDCTL
Field Value Req? Comments
A) PRREAD, PRBSTS, PRESTS Format: PRO PRREAD (DATSIZE, MAXSIZE, FREQ)
Note that the old-style property names (READNG, BASTAT, ESTATS) will be recognized.
DATSIZE-Default 1, 2, 4 bytes, or no: Data Size 0 for no default default=2 MAXSIZE-Maximum 1->10485760 no: Array Size in default=2 decimal bytes FREQ-Frequency 0-32767 or T00-TFF yes If positive, then frequency; if T time descriptor, OR number, then hex event # or data event like "p,1000,true" must be periodic or clock event
B) PRBCTL and PRSET Format:
PRO PRSET (DATSIZE, MAXSIZE, FREQ, DATUM1, DATUM2, DATUM3,...)
Note that the old-style property names (BCNTRL and SETTNG) will be recognized.
FREQ-Frequency 0-32767 or T00-TFF not needed If positive, then frequency; if T
time descriptor, OR for PRBCTL number, then hex event #
or data event like "p,1000,true" must be periodic or clock event
DATUM1, DATUM2 Up to 2 Hex no DATUM fields will be ignored if
digits per datum, existing data already exists in the
separated by database. NOTE: these fields
commas- not may be specified as double-
greater than precision floats for
MAXSIZE # of data PRSET (see discussion below)
and <= 128 bytes
Double-precision floating values may be provided as setting data in lieu of hex bytes. These values will be down-scaled to raw data using the scaling parmeters provided for the setting property in the Dabbel batch input stream. In other words, the user must provide a PDB with scaling data if the setting data includes floating values! Dabbel looks for either a period (.), plus sign (+), or a minus sign (-) in the first data field to determine which format to use for the entire data list. Each floating value will produce 1, 2, or 4 bytes of raw data, depending on DATSIZE. The total number of floating values accepted will be limited by the 128 byte limit. Please note that a Dabbel listing will always show the first 128 bytes (or less) of setting data in hex format! Tools (such as ACL) are available to examine the entire setting record in a variety of formats.
The 128 byte limit is somewhat arbitrary, and was chosen to match the size of a single segment in the database. Front-ends are the source for nearly all settings, and Dabbel is only permitted to create initial setting data for a property.
Field Value Req? Comments
C) PRANAB Format: PRO PRANAB (DATSIZE, MAXSIZE, FREQ, VALUE1, VALUE2, K, Q, DE, LE, EV, AI, AB, BP, TRIES, EVENT1, EVENT2, SSINFO1, SSINFO2, ... SSINFO6)
Note that the old-style property name (ANALBL) will be recognized.
DATSIZE - Def Size Must be 2 bytes no
MAXSIZE - Size 20, 40, 60, 80, ... no Must be a multiple of 20 bytes
of alarm block default=20
in decimal bytes
VALUE1, VALUE2 UP to 8 hex no May not be MODified.
digits (raw), or Both values must either be
double-precision in raw (hex) units or
w/ period (common) in common units.
K-Type of 0 or 2 only no: 0=VALUE1 is nominal, VALUE2 is
VALUE1, VALUE2 default=0 tolerance; 2=VALUE1 is minimum,
VALUE2 is maximum.
Q-Length of 1, 2, 4 bytes no:
VALUE1, VALUE2 default=2
DE-event display 0, 1 no: 0=event display disabled, 1=event
bit default=1 display enabled
LE-event logging 0, 1 no: 0=event logging disabled, 1=event
bit default=0 logging enabled
EV-exception or 0, 1 no: 0=exception condition, 1=event
event default=0
AI-override 0, 1 no: 1=override abort(AB); May not
abort default=0 be MODified
AB-trigger abort 0, 1 no: 1=abort allowed
when in alarm default=0
BP-alarm bypass 0, 1 no 0=alarm bypassed, 1=alarms not
bypassed; field ignored on input;
NEW alarm blocks have BP set to 0
TRIES-tries 0-255 no-def=1 May not be MODified
needed (0 same as 1)
EVENT1, EVENT2 0-255 no-def=0 Fields also known as clock_event
-event #'s and subfunction_code. See the
section below entitled "Specific
MOOC Issues" for more information.
May not be MODified.
SSINFO1, 2, etc Up to 6 Hex no See the section below entitled
sub-system numbers (2 digits "Specific MOOC Issues"
specific info each) sep by
commas. 0-FF
range for each
NOTE: For existing alarm blocks, VALUE1, VALUE2, TRIES, EVENT1, and EVENT2 will be ignored, as these fields can not be modified.
Field Value Req? Comments
D) PRDABL Format:
PRO PRDABL (DATSIZE, MAXSIZE, FREQ, NOMVALUE, MASKVALUE, Q, DE, LE, EV, AI, AB, BP, TRIES, EVENT1, EVENT2, SSINFO1, SSINFO2, ... SSINFO6)
Note that the old-style property name (DGALBL) will be recognized.
DATSIZE - Def Size Must be 2 bytes no
MAXSIZE - Size 20, 40, 60, 80, ... no Must be a multiple of 20 bytes
of alarm block default=20
in decimal bytes
NOMVALUE nominal Up to 8 Hex yes May not be MODified
value digits-high order
on left
MASKVALUE Up to 8 Hex yes May not be MODified
digits-high order
on left
Q-Length of 1, 2, 4 bytes no:
VALUE1, VALUE2 default=2
DE-event display 0, 1 no: 0=event display disabled, 1=event
bit default=1 display enabled
LE-event logging 0, 1 no: 0=event logging disabled, 1=event
bit default=0 logging enabled
EV-exception or 0, 1 no: 0=exception condition, 1=event
event default=0
AI-override 0, 1 no: 1=override abort(AB); May not
abort default=0 be MODified
AB-trigger abort 0, 1 no: 1=abort allowed
when in alarm default=0
BP-alarm bypass 0, 1 no 0=alarm bypassed, 1=alarms not
bypassed; field ignored on input;
NEW alarm blocks have BP set to 0
TRIES-tries 0-255 no-def=1 May not be MODified
needed (0 same as 1)
EVENT1, EVENT2 0-255 or no-def=0 Fields also known as clock_event
-event #'s and subfunction_code. See the
section below entitled "Specific
MOOC Issues" for more information.
May not be MODified.
SSINFO1, 2, etc Up to 6 Hex no See the section below entitled
sub-system numbers (2 digits "Specific MOOC Issues"
specific info each) sep by
commas. 0-FF
range for each
NOTE: For existing alarm blocks, NOMVALUE, MASKVALUE, TRIES, EVENT1, and EVENT2 will be ignored, as these fields can not be modified.
E) PRAATX Format:
PRO PRAATX (PRIORITY, "TEXT" ) <--- DEPRECATED
PRO PRAATX (PRIORITY, HAND_CODE, SOUND_ID, SPEECH_ID, "TEXT", "URL" )
Note that the old-style property name (ANALTX) will be recognized.
PRIORITY-Message 0-255 yes Required even for MOD
Priority
Handler Code >= 0 yes Required even for MOD
Sound Identifier >= 0 yes Required even for MOD
Speech Identifier >= 0 yes Required even for MOD
Alarm text <= 80 ascii chars yes Required even for MOD
Must contain non-blank characters
URL text <= 128 ascii chars no Defaults to no URL
If the deprecated form of the PRO PRAATX command is used, the three missing parameters (HAND_CODE, SOUND_ID, SPEECH_ID) will be set to zero.
F) PRETXT Format: PRO PRETXT ( TC1, BITNO1, COLORA1, "STEXTA1", COLORB1, "STEXTB1", "LTEXT1", TC2, BITNO2, COLORA2, "STEXTA2", COLORB2, "STEXTB2", "LTEXT2", ...)
Note that the old-style property name (EXTEXT) will be recognized.
TC - type code always 1 yes Up to 256 sets of values.
Required even for MOD
BITNO - bit # 0-255 yes Required even for MOD
COLORA - color 0-F (hex) yes Required even for MOD
code if bit
clear
STEXTA - short <= 7 ascii chars yes Required even for MOD
text if bit
clear
COLORB - color 0-F (hex) yes Required even for MOD
code if bit set
STEXTB - short <= 7 ascii chars yes Required even for MOD
text if bit set
LTEXT - <= 24 ascii chars yes Required even for MOD
descriptive text
Field Value Req? Comments
G) PRDATX Formats:
PRO PRDATX (DGMASK1, CONDVAL1, PRIOR1, "TEXT1" , DGMASK2, CONDVAL2, PRIOR2, "TEXT2" , ...) <---DEPRECATED
PRO PRDATX (DGMASK1, CONDVAL1, PRIOR1, HAND_CODE1, SOUND_ID1, SPEECH_ID1, "TEXT1", DGMASK2, CONDVAL2, PRIOR2, HAND_CODE2, SOUND_ID2, SPEECH_ID2, "TEXT2", ...)
PRO PRDATX (DGMASK1, CONDVAL1, PRIOR1, HAND_CODE1, SOUND_ID1, SPEECH_ID1, "TEXT1", "URL1", DGMASK2, CONDVAL2, PRIOR2, HAND_CODE2, SOUND_ID2, SPEECH_ID2, "TEXT2", "URL2", ...)
Note that the old-style property name (DGALTX) will be recognized.
DGMASK digital Up to 8 Hex yes Up to 32 sets of values. Required
mask digits-high order even for MOD
bits on left
CONDVAL Up to 8 Hex yes Required even for MOD
condition value digits-high order
bits on left
PRIOR-message 0-255 yes Required even for MOD
priority
Handler code >= 0 yes Required even for MOD
Sound Identifier >= 0 yes Required even for MOD
Speech Identifier >= 0 yes Required even for MOD
TEXT-digital <= 80 ascii chars yes Required even for MOD
alarm text Must contain non-blank characters
URL text <= 128 ascii chars no Defaults to no URL (ADD)
or to existing URL (MOD)
If URL text is specified for one entry, it must be specified for all entries.
If the deprecated form of the PRO PRDATX command is used, the three missing parameters (HAND_CODE, SOUND_ID, SPEECH_ID) will be set to zero.
PRO PRFMLY (DEVNAME1, DEVNAME2, DEVNAME3, ... , DEVNAME300)
Note that the old-style property name (FAMILY) will be recognized.
DEVNAME1- device valid device name yes up to 300 device names may be name of first specified offspring, etc.
Field Value Req? Comments
J) PRSAVE Format:
PRO PRSAVE (LISTNUM, HCODE, DCODE, PROP1, PROP2, ... )
Note that the old-style property name (SAVE) will be recognized.
LISTNUM- SAVE 0-255 decimal yes
list #
HCODE- handler 0-'FFFF'X yes
code
DCODE- display 0-'FFFF'X yes Upper byte is reason code
handler code (non-zero) if list number
is SAVE_LIST_NEVER_SAVE (4)
PROP1, etc. ALL or PRREAD, yes
property list PRSET, PRBSTS,
PRANAB, PRDABL, NONE if list number is
NONE SAVE_LIST_NEVER_SAVE (4)
Field Value Req? Comments
The PRSAVE property will be deleted if NONE is specified in the property list and the LISTNUM is not SAVE_LIST_NEVER_SAVE (4).
K) PRVMDI Format:
PRO PRVMDI (DEVNAME, PROP1, PROP2, ... )
Note that the old-style property name (VMDI) will be recognized.
DEVNAME- device valid device name yes virtual machine control device
name
PROP1, etc. PRREAD, PRSET, yes List of properties controlled by
property list PRBSTS, PRANAB, DEVNAME
PRDABL
PRO PRDCTL (VALUE1, ORDER_NUM1, "SNAME1", "LNAME1", ["STSNAME1",] VALUE2, ORDER_NUM2, "SNAME2", "LNAME2", ["STSNAME2",]...)
Note that the old-style property name (DGCTRL) will be recognized.
VALUEn digital Up to 8 Hex yes Up to 32 sets of values. Required
mask digits-high order even for MOD
bits on left
ORDER_NUMn >= 0 yes Required even for MOD. Recommended
order number Must be unique assignments: 0=RESET,1=ON,2=OFF,
3=POSITIVE,4=NEGATIVE,5=RAMP,6=DC
SNAMEn short name <= 16 ascii chars yes Required even for MOD
Must be unique Uppercase recommmended
LNAMEn long name <= 64 ascii chars no defaults to short name
STSNAMEn optional <= 16 ascii chars no May be completely omitted
status mapping (including the comma)
The optional STSNAME parameter facilitates the mapping of a digital control attribute to an associated basic status scaling attribute. If provided, the STSNAME parameter must contain a text string of the associated status TRUE or FALSE attribute. It is not recommended or needed, however, for the status mapping to be provided for the standard digital control attributes (Reset, On, Off, Positive, Negative, Ramp, DC). Dabbel will automatically provide the standard mapping. In fact, Dabbel will not even list the standard attribute status links. This facility is mainly intended for the non-standard control attributes. A good example might be a digital control attribute to turn-on a heater. This could be associated with a basic status attribute called "Temperature", with True being "Hot", and False being "Cold". In this case, the digital control attribute for turning on the heat might be mapped to "Hot".
See the SCALEN command to provide a scaling length for the Digital Control property.
M) PRBSSC Format:
PRO PRBSSC (MASK1, MATCH1, INVERT_FLAG1, ORDER_NUM1, "SNAME1", "LNAME1", TRUE_STR1, TRUE_COLOR_CHAR1, FALSE_STR1, FALSE_COLOR_CHAR1, MASK2, MATCH2, ...)
Field Value Req? Comments
MASKn digital Up to 16 Hex yes Up to 32 sets of values. Required
mask value digits-high order even for MOD
bits on left
MATCHn digital Up to 16 Hex yes Required even for MOD
match value digits-high order
bits on left
INVERT_FLAGn zero or one yes invert raw data if non-zero
ORDER_NUMn >= 0 yes Required even for MOD. Recommended
order number Must be unique, assignments: 0=OnOff,1=ReadyTripped,
>= 0, and 2=RemoteLocal,3=Polarity,4=RampDC
< 32
SNAMEn short name <= 16 ascii chars yes Required even for MOD
Must be unique See recommended assignments above
LNAMEn long name <= 64 ascii chars no defaults to short name
TRUE_STRn <= 16 ascii chars yes Required even for MOD
true string
TRUE_COLOR_CHAR color:character yes Example: GREEN:.
FALSE_STRn <= 16 ascii chars yes Required even for MOD
false string
FALSE_COLOR_CHAR color:character yes Example: RED:*
For more information on color-characters, see alternate color characters.
Note that Basic Status Scaling replaces the older Basic Status PDB, which is now deprecated.
See the SCALEN command to provide a scaling length for the Basic Status Scaling property.
VI. Extended Property Command Line (Optional property values)
EPR PropName (ATOMIC_SIZE,ADDR_MODE,SOURCE_NODE,CS_INDICATOR)
Property Name One of: PRREAD yes Note that old-syle
PRBSTS PRBCTL property names will
PRSET PRANAB continue to be recognized
PRDABL PRESTS
ATOMIC_SIZE atomic size no fewest number of bytes that
decimal value default= can be manipulated --> must
DATSIZE be >= DATSIZE !
ADDR_MODE addressing mode no non-zero for non-standard
decimal value OR default=0 addressing modes. Text
symbolic text must be enclosed in quotes
SOURCE_NODE Similar to SRCNODE no tracks changes in device
in ADD/MOD commands defaults to SRCNODE given in ADD/MOD
SRCNODE from command -- UNLESS the two
ADD/MOD are different
CS_INDICATOR controlled setting no non-zero for controlled
indicator (0/1) default=0 setting -- PRSET, PRBCTL,
PRANAB, and PRDABL only
(controlled setting -> cannot be
set from the parameter page)
VII. Full Name Command Line (Provide optional full device name and/or control system type)
FNAME (CS_TYPE,FULL_NAME)
Note that the old-style long name command (LNAME) will be recognized.
CS_TYPE - 0 = ACNET no "Acnet", "Epics", etc.
control system decimal value default is Acnet
type or quoted text
FULL_NAME 15-64 characters see below must comply with device
naming rules as discussed
in the introduction. Note
the exceptions for full
(long) device names. Full
names MAY be delimited by
quotation marks, but this
practice is not
recommended.
A full name may have a length less than 15 characters only if it is identical to the normal (terse) device name.
Dabbel will accept all of the following examples:
FNAME (Z:This_is_a_long_name)
FNAME ("Z:This_is_a_long_name")
FNAME (1, Z:This_is_a_long_name)
FNAME ("Epics", Z:This_is_a_long_name)
FNAME ("Epics") See important note below
FNAME ("Epics",) See important note below
FNAME ( ) See important note below
The last three examples above do not provide a full name. This will result in the deletion of the full name, which
means that the full name will be replaced by the terse name. If there is no full name, nothing will be changed (except,
possibly, the control system type).
VIII. Full Description Command Line (Provide optional full device description)
FDESC ("FULL_DESCRIPTION")
Note that the old-style long description command (LDESC) will be recognized.
FULL_DESCRIPTION 25-128 characters yes enclose in quotes
IX. Foreign Device Mapping Command Line (Provide optional foreign device mapping)
FMAP PropName ("SYSTYPE", "NAME1", "DATA_TYPE1", STRT_IDX1, NUM_ELE1, "NAME2", "DATA_TYPE2", STRT_IDX2, NUM_ELE2, ...)
SYSTYPE foreign ascii string yes example is "EPICS"
system type
NAMEn foreign name <= 80 ascii chars yes process variable name
in Epics
DATA_TYPEn ascii string no system type dependent
data type default is "DEFAULT"
STRT_IDXn >= 0 no defaults to zero
starting index
NUM_ELEn number >= 1 no defaults to one
of elements
The syntax for deleting the foreign device mapping fields is simply:
FMAP PropName ("SYSTYPE")
X. Enumerated Value Command Line (Provide optional enumerated values for PRREAD and PRSET properties)
The ENUM command will also permit the user to attach to an existing enumerated value set which was created for another device/property.
ENUM PropName (VALUE1, "SNAME1", "LNAME1", VALUE2, "SNAME2", "LNAME2", ...)
ENUM PropName (REFDEVPROP)
VALUEn value 32-bit integer yes must be unique
may be negative
SNAMEn short name <= 10 ascii chars yes must contain no embedded
spaces, and must be unique
LNAMEn long name <= 64 ascii chars no defaults to SNAMEn
REFDEVPROP Device name yes Second character must be
Reference device either a colon (:) for
and property PRREAD or an underscore (_)
for PRSET property
If the first form is used (with names and values), an enumerated value set will be created or modified. A modification action, however,will affect any other device/property which is attached to this set.
If the second form is used, note that the reference device can be the same device, but then it must be a different property. If the device was previously attached to a different enumerated value set, it will be detached from that set. A set will be deleted from the database after the last device/property has been detached from it.
An enumerated value set may contain up to 'DIO_MAX_ENUM_VALUE_ENTRIES' entries.
The syntax for detaching the device/property from an enumerated value set is simply:
ENUM PropName ()
XI. Property Structure Command Line (Provide optional structure names for PRREAD and PRSET properties)
STRUC PropName ("SNAME")
SNAME structure <= 64 ascii chars yes
name
The syntax for deleting the structure name is simply:
STRUC PropName (" ")
XII. Device Expression Command Line (Provide optional device expression for PRREAD or PRBSTS properties)
EXPR PropName ("EXPRESSION")
EXPRESSION 4-510 characters yes text field with format
defined by associated source
node.
The specified property must be either reading or basic status. The property name may be omitted, in which case the command defaults to the reading property.
If the source node is MACALC, the expression must be a valid ACL expression. A warning will be issued if the expression does not parse correctly in this case.
The syntax for deleting the expression is simply:
EXPR PropName ()
XIII. Console Protection Mask Command Line (Provides an alternative method of adding or removing individual classes to/from the console protection mask)
PMASK ADD ("CLASS1", "CLASS2", ...)
PMASK REMOVE ("CLASS1", "CLASS2", ...)
CLASSn class name <= 12 ascii chars yes at least one class is required
The user may include both ADD and REMOVE versions of the PMASK command in a single batch. A list of acceptable protection mask classes can be viewed by clicking on "Protection Mask" in the Summary page of application D80. The indicated classes will be used to modify the hex protection mask (CONSOLEPRO) provided in the ADD/MOD command described above. If the user provides no protection mask in the ADD/MOD command, however, then the PMASK commands will alter either the default mask (7FFDBDE) if adding a new device, or the current console protection mask for an existing device.
XIV. Alarm Acknowledge Mask Command Line (Provide optional alarm acknowledge mask)
AAMASK (CONSOLEPRO)
CONSOLEPRO Hex Bit Mask or no: default Normally symbolic text Console protect symbolic text is "MCR+ string bit mask MCRCrewChief"
Note that the alarm acknowledge mask is a completely separate entity from the console protection mask, but both share the same structure and syntax.
XV. Alarm Group Command Line (Provide optional alarm group information)
ALMGRP (ALMGRPDEV, CONSOLIDATOR)
ALMGRPDEV Device Name no: default Leave blank to remove
Alarm group is no alarm device from alarm group
device group
CONSOLIDATOR TRUE or FALSE no: default TRUE if this device is
is FALSE an alarm consolidator
The alarm group device must exist and be some other device. Furthermore, it must be an alarm consolidator device.
If a device belonging to an alarm group is obsoleted, it will automatically be removed from the alarm group. An alarm consolidator device may be obsoleted, but only if there are no other devices which reference it as their consolidator.
XVI. KNOB Command Line (Indicate whether or not setting is knobable)
KNOB TRUE (default)
KNOB FALSE
If the single parameter is TRUE, the setting is knobable. This command is illegal if there is no setting property.
XVII. DREAD Command Line (Indicate whether or not reading is destructive)
DREAD PropName TRUE
DREAD PropName FALSE (Default)
Supported properties include PRREAD, PRSET, and PRBSTS. This command is illegal if the associated property does not exist, or is not being created in the same batch.
XVIII. DLP--Delete Property (Must be used only with MODify or UBS commands)
Deletes Property Information (PRO, SSDN, PDB lines). May also be used to delete the EMC, Subsystems Device Record (PRSSDR), Sibling (PRSIBL), Family (PRFMLY), Analog Alarm Text (PRAATX), Digital Alarm Text (PRDATX), Extended Text (PRETXT), Save (PRSAVE), VMDI (PRVMDI), and Controlled-By device (PRCBDI) properties.
Note that deleting the Basic Control property will also delete the Digital Control property (if it exists).
General Format: DLP PropName
PropName Any valid property Yes Deleting the EMC property is the
name -- except for same as setting both EMCs to zeros.
UBS: must be EMC
property
Field Value Req? Comments
XIX. CTYPE, CSCAL and CLOC -- Check Device Type, Scaling and/or Location (forces the device type, scaling and/or device location re-determination for a particular device and property). Normally, a device type (location) determination is only performed if the SSDN or source node are modified. There are rare cases, however, when these values can change, but the SSDN and source node remain the same.
CTYPE will force re-determination of both the device type and the location. CLOC will force re-determination of only the location.
General Format: CTYPE PropName
or: CLOC PropName
or: CSCAL PropName
PropName Any valid property Yes Use the parameter ALL to select
name which may have all valid SSDN properties
an SSDN, or ALL
The only properties allowed for the CSCAL command are PRREAD and PRSET. These commands are permitted only after a MOD.
XX. Property Location Command Line (Provide optional location data for PRREAD, PRSET, PRBSTS, PRBCTL, PRANAB, and PRDABL properties)
LOC PropName ("LTEXT", "RACK", X, Z, Y)
LTEXT location <= 64 ascii chars yes may be blank
text
RACK rack text <= 16 ascii chars yes may be blank
X coord 32-bit float no default = 0.0 (if new)
Z coord 32-bit float no default = 0.0 (if new)
Y coord 32-bit float no default = 0.0 (if new)
If any of the X,Z,Y coordinates are provided, all must be provided.
If not provided, the coordinates default to 0.0 if new property, otherwise,
the existing values are retained.
XXI. CMAINT -- Check Equipment Maintainer (compares the supplied user name with the existing equipment maintainer and reports any discrepancy). This command must follow a MOD command (never an ADD command). The MOD command may or may not provide a new equipment maintainer name. This command compares the UserName parameter with the existing equipment maintainer name (before any modification). If equal, this command does nothing, but if NOT equal, however, a warning message is written to the terminal and listing file, AND any new equipment maintainer name provided in the MOD command is ignored.
General Format: CMAINT "UserName"
UserName Any valid username Yes
from console_user
table
XXII. RSTEXTRMA -- Reset the Scaling Extrema (recomputes the existing scaling extrema/limits). This command must follow a MOD command (never an ADD command). The only properties supported are PRREAD and PRSET.
If the user also provides scaling extrema (limits) in a PDB command, an error will be generated. This command should normally stand alone after a MOD command.
General Format: RSTEXTRMA PropName Type
PropName Any valid property Yes PRREAD or PRSET Type Type of scaling No FE if front-endIf the Type parameter is omitted, normal scaling will be affected.
XXIII. MACHINE -- Machine Identifier
MACHINE ("MNAME")
MNAME Any valid machine Yes See below on how to generate
name a list of machine names
The machine name may be either a macro name or "long name". For example, "Main Injector" is the long name,
and MAIN_INJECTOR is the macro name. A list of machines can be generated with the following ACL command:
"listStrings/machine".
XXIV. COMPONENT -- Component Type Identifier
COMPONENT ("TYPE")
TYPE Any valid component Yes List will be
type or "none" provided later
XXV. PDB (or PDBFE) Descriptor Lines (must have PRO command line with same property name)
The user may provide two types of scaling for PRREAD and PRSET properties: normal and front-end. Other properties support only the normal scaling. Either, or both may be provided via the PDB (normal scaling) and PDBFE (front-end scaling) commands. Both variants have the same format as described below. In most cases, no front-end scaling is provided, and scaling is performed solely by console services.
If front-end scaling is provided (and supported by the front-end), the front-end will scale the data using the PDBFE data. The user may have additional scaling performed by the console using PDB data. If the user provides only PDBFE for a new device/property, DABBEL will automatically create a NULL normal PDB which causes the console scaling services to simply pass the front-end scaled data without modification.
Important Note: Support for the PDB command has been dropped for both basic control and basic status. Please use the PRO PRDCTL and PRO PRBSSC commands respectively.
General Format: PDB{FE} PropName (arg1, arg2, ... , argN)
PDB descriptor PDB{FE} yes
Property name One of PRREAD, yes
PRSET, PRBSTS,
PRESTS, PRBCTL
General Format: PDB{FE} PropName (PRMUNITS, COMUNITS, PRMTRNIND, COMTRNIND, IDL, DS, LS, MC, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, MINIMUM, MAXIMUM)
PRMUNITS- Any 4 char text yes
primary units string surrounded
by quotes
COMUNITS- common Any 4 char text yes
units string surrounded
by quotes
PRMTRNIND- 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, no: See sec 1.2.1.2 of Scaling
primary 10, ... 20 default=0 Service doc
transform index
COMTRNIND- 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, no: See sec 1.2.1.3 " "
common transform 12, 14, 16, 18, default=0 If 60 or 84, see notes
index 20, ... 24 below.
IDL-input data 1, 2, 4 no:
length default=2
DS-dec or sci 0, 1 no: 0=decimal notation, 1=scientific
notation default=0
LS-long or short 0, 1 no: 0=short, 1=long
display default=0
MC-motor 0, 1 no: 0= normal D/A
controller default=0 1= stepper motor
(controlled setting is DEPRECATED
in PDB -- see EPR command)
C1, C2, ... , C6 Up to 6 double- no: See sec 1.2.1.3 " "
common transform precision constants default=0
constants depending on
COMTRNIND.
MINIMUM Minimum extrema no Computed from COMTRNIND
double-precision and constants if COMPUTE
MAXIMUM Maximum extrema no Computed from COMTRNIND
double-precision and constants if COMPUTE
If the user provides a MINIMUM extrema (limit), a MAXIMUM extrema must also be provided. If the extrema are not provided, any previous extrema are left un-modified. In lieu of providing actual extrema values, the user may specify COMPUTE (un-quoted), which will reset the extrema to computed values. COMPUTE must be in the MINIMUM field, but it is not necessary to also put it in the MAXIMUM field (although it is permitted in both fields). It is not necessary to use the COMPUTE token for ADD (new device) entries, since Dabbel will always ensure that minimum and maximum extrema are in the database. Please refer to the RSTEXTRMA command, which provides an alternate method of resetting the extrema (limits).
At the current time, the user is not permitted to default the MINIMUM extrema with a blank field followed by a comma, as this would not make much sense.
The listing command (LIS) will not include the extrema values if they are equal to the computed extrema. The computed extrema, however, will always be displayed on a comment line immediately below the PDB command line.
Special scaling to strings using common transforms 60 and 84:
(Note: If the common transform index is 60, the primary transform index must be 68.)
The first scaling constant for common transforms 60 and 84 indicates the type of string conversion and must contain a value from the following list:
CNV_SHORT 0 Convert a 2-byte integer
CNV_SHORT_HEX 2 Convert a 2-byte integer (hex)
CNV_LONG_HEX 3 Convert a 4-byte integer (hex)
CNV_HEX 4 Convert a byte string to hex (little endian)
CNV_CHAR 8 Null convert a character string
CNV_ENUMERATED 12 Convert an enumerated value
CNV_NODE 15 Convert a 2-byte node value
CNV_DEVICE 17 Convert a device index value
CNV_ERROR 21 Convert an ACNET error value
CNV_SHORT_ERROR 22 Convert an ACNET error value (short display)
CNV_ULONG 27 Convert a 4-byte unsigned integer
CNV_CLINKS 29 Convert a 4-byte time in clinks
CNV_UTC_TIME_FMT_CLINKS 280 Convert a 4-byte UTC (GMT) time since
January 1, 1970 (clinks format)
CNV_SHORT_ENUMERATED 289 Convert a 2-byte enumerated value
CNV_HOURS_TO_TOD 472 Convert a fractional hours value to a
time-of-day string
The second scaling constant for common transforms 60 and 84 is only used for string (CNV_CHAR) conversions and indicates the length of the string.
The third scaling constant for common transforms 60 and 84 is used to specify any raw data handling:
0 -> no special data raw handling required 1 -> swap adjacent bytes of the raw data before converting to a string 2 -> swap adjacent words of the raw data before converting to a string
A Reading/Setting PDB may be deleted with the command: PDB(FE) PropName (0)
B) PRBSTS Format: PDB PRBSTS (ADFLAG, SFLAG, ONMASK, RDYMASK, REMMASK, POSMASK, IDL,ONALT,RDYALT,REMALT,POSALT)
NOTE: The Basic Status PDB has been retired. It has been replaced with the Basic Status Scaling (PRBSSC) property. The following documentation is retained for historical reference.
ADFLAG-attribute 2 Hex digits yes Bitmask definitions:
def flags Must not be zero Mask Meaning
unless deleting $01 ONMASK present
the PDB. $02 RDYMASK present
$04 REMMASK present
$08 POSMASK present
$10 ONALT present
$20 RDYALT present
$40 REMALT present
$80 POSALT present
SFLAG-status 2 Hex digits yes Bitmask definitions:
data invert Mask Meaning
$01 ONMASK inverted
$02 RDYMASK inverted
$04 REMMASK inverted
$08 POSMASK inverted
$F0 Unused bits
ONMASK on/off Up to 8 Hex digits yes
mask with high order
bits on left
RDYMASK ready Up to 8 Hex digits yes
mask with high order
bits on left
REMMASK Up to 8 Hex digits yes
remote/local with high order
bits on left
POSMASK pos/neg Up to 8 Hex digits yes
with high order
bits on left
IDL-input data 1, 2, 4 no: See above
length default=2
ONALT on/off structure (below) no Alternate color and character codes
alt display or - 8 Hex digits
RDYALT ready structure (below) no Ditto - see below
alt display or - 8 Hex digits
REMALT rem/local structure (below) no Ditto - see below
alt display or - 8 Hex digits
POSALT pos/neg structure (below) no Ditto - see below
alt display or - 8 Hex digits
A basic status PDB may be deleted with the command: PDB PRBSTS (0)
Each of the alternate color and character code masks contain 8 hex characters. The first (high-order) 4 characters contain the color + character displayed if the condition is false (off, not ready, local, negative). The last (low-order) 4 characters contain the color + character displayed if the condition is true (on, ready, remote, positive). The color code occupies the first 2 characters, and the character code occupies the second 2 characters of each group.
Color codes include: 0=BLACK, 1=BLUE, 2=GREEN, 3=CYAN, 4=RED, 5=MAGENTA, 6=YELLOW, 7=WHITE.
The newer, preferred method of representing the alternate color/character masks is the following symbolic structure (NOTE order!):
(True color name):(True character)|(False color name):(False character)
The color name must be one of the 8 colors show above. The character must be either a single, printable ASCII character, or else the hex representation of an ASCII character (i.e. 0x41 for 'A').
Examples: GREEN:*|RED:0x10, YELLOW:?|CYAN:.
Unused masks may be set to zero, but DABBEL will replace a missing or zero alternate color/character mask with a default value based upon the attribute.
Example using hex masks:
PDB PRBSTS ( FF, 01, 100, 400, 2000, 4020, 2, 042A022E, 0626022E, 044C022E, 03230521)
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
ADFLAG + | | | | | | ONALT + | | |
SFLAG + | | | | | RDYALT + | |
ONMASK + | | | | REMALT + |
RDYMASK + | | | POSALT +
REMMASK + | |
POSMASK + |
IDL +
Notes: ADFLAG: FF All attributes present, with alternate characters for each
SFLAG: 01 On/Off attribute is inverted (0=ON and 1=OFF)
ONMASK 100 Bit mask to check for On/Off state
RDYMASK 400 Bit mask to check for Ready state
REMMASK 2000 Bit mask to check for Remote/Local state
POSMASK 4020 Bit mask to check for Pos/Neg state (Positive if either bit is set)
IDL 2 Data length equals 2 bytes
ONALT 042A022E Off state: display RED (04) "*" (2A)
On state: display GREEN (02) "." (2E)
RDYALT 0626022E Not Ready: display YELLOW (06) "&" (26)
Ready state: display GREEN (02) "." (2E)
REMALT 044C022E Local state: display RED (04) "L" (4C)
Remote state: display GREEN (02) "." (2E)
POSALT 03230521 Neg. state: display CYAN (03) "#" (23)
Pos. state: display MAGENTA (05) "!" (21)
Same example using symbolic masks:
PDB PRBSTS ( FF, 01, 100, 400, 2000, 4020, 2, GREEN:.|RED:*,
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
ADFLAG + | | | | | | ONALT +
SFLAG + | | | | |
ONMASK + | | | |
RDYMASK + | | |
REMMASK + | |
POSMASK + |
IDL +
GREEN:.|YELLOW:&, GREEN:.|RED:L, MAGENTA:!|CYAN:#)
^ ^ ^
| | |
RDYALT + | |
REMALT + |
POSALT +
C) PRBCTL Format: PDB PRBCTL (ADFLAG, RESMASK, ONMASK, OFFMASK, POSMASK, NEGMASK)
Note that the old-style property name (BCNTRL) will be recognized.
NOTE: The Basic Control PDB has been retired. It has been replaced with the Digital Control (PRDCTL) property. The following documentation is retained for historical reference.
ADFLAG-Attribute 2 Hex digits yes Bitmask Definitions:
definition Mask Meaning
$01 RESMASK present
$02 ONMASK present
$04 OFFMASK present
$08 POSMASK present
$10 NEGMASK present
$20 Beamline ramp card
$C0 Unused bits
RESMASK- Reset Up to 8 Hex yes
device digits with high
order bits on
left
ONMASK- device on Up to 8 Hex yes
digits with high
order bits on
left
OFFMASK- device Up to 8 Hex yes
off digits with high
order bits on
left
POSMASK- set dev Up to 8 Hex yes
to pos polarity digits with high
order bits on
left
NEGMASK- set dev Up to 8 Hex yes
to neg polarity digits with high
order bits on
left
Field Value Req? Comments
Hex Input Format: PDX PropName (ByteCount/Byte2/Byte3/Byte4/ ... )
The PDX command has been retired.
XXVI. SCALEN Command Line (Provide scaling length for certain properties)
SCALEN PropName (LENGTH)
LENGTH must be 1, 2, or 4.
Supported properties include PRDCTL and PRBSSC. If the scaling length is not provided for a new PRDCTL or PRBSSC property, the scaling length will be gotten from the default data size (DATSIZE) of the basic control or basic status properties, respectively.
This command is illegal if the associated property does not exist, or is not being created in the same batch.
XXVII. DWNLDLOC Command Line (Provide download location information for certain properties)
DWNLDLOC PropName (LOCATION)
Except as noted below, the LOCATION must be either a valid non-negative integer, or a label string. Example: 7 = "CMTF78" for certain nodes. Note that all text strings must be enclosed in quotes, for example "Global". Valid locations can vary, depending on the source node. You may use the following ACL command to list the valid locations:
ACL> nodeinfo/downloadLocations node-name
Supported properties are analog/digital alarm blocks, setting, and basic control. Only MOOC, ERLANG, and ACNET NG front-ends are supported. Generally, CAMAC devices should not use this command as the download location is the crate number, which is provided inside the SSDN. This command will be accepted for CAMAC nodes, however, if the location is identical to the crate number.
For Setting and Basic Control properties, it is possible to disable any downloading by moving the device/property to the "Rejected/Disabled" list in the database. This can be done using the DWNLDLOC command with a special location value of -2, or a blank string. Later on, another DWNLDLOC command with a normal location parameter can be used to restore the download capability.
This command is illegal if the associated property does not exist, or is not being created in the same batch.
XXVIII. DELSETREC Command Line (Delete setting record for setting and basic control properties)
DELSETREC PropName
This command provides the only method to delete a setting record for the setting and basic control properties. It must be used within a MOD command. If no setting record exists, no error is generated. An error will be generated, however, if a PRO command is included in the batch which does provide setting data.
In addition, this command will delete any entries for the device and property from the download_devices table.
The COMMENT command must be used with either an ADD or MOD command. It will add a time-stamped comment to the table accdb.dbo.device_edit_comment. Once written, these comments cannot be modified or deleted, nor will they be displayed with the Dabbel LIS command. Only one COMMENT command is permitted in the ADD/MOD batch, but it may contain up to 255 characters.
It is possible to add a comment without actually modifying the device. Simply use a MOD command with no parameters (other than the device name) followed by the COMMENT command. You will get a warning that no device modifications were seen. A device edit comment is NOT considered a device modification.
General Format: COMMENT ("Text - up to 255 characters")
XXX. Other Controls
A) Comment indicator
! no Ignore all text which follows on
same line.
B) Wild Card Indicators
% no Replaces all or part of device name
to indicate more than one device.
Repeats execution of the command
sequence following the Device Name
Command Line in which the '%'
exists for each device in the
indicated range. Can only be used
for the LIS or LSX command. It can
only occur after the ':' in the
device name.
PART
2
SUMMARY OF DABBEL COMMANDS
I. Device Name Command Line
ADD X:YYYYYY ("TEXT", SRCNODE, PRVSIB, CONSOLEPRO)
MOD X:YYYYYY ("TEXT", SRCNODE, PRVSIB, CONSOLEPRO)
OBS X:YYYYYY ("Reason for Obsolete text")
UBS X:YYYYYY ("Reason for Restore text")
DEL X:YYYYYY ("Reason for Delete text")
LIS X:YYYYYY {BACKUP}
LSX X:YYYYYY {BACKUP}
CHG X:YYYYYY (x: yyyyyy)
II. Event message code definition line: EMX (Word1/Word2/Word3/Word4)
For two EMC's:
EMX(Word1/Word2/Word3/Word4,Word1/Word2/Word3/Word4)
III. Sub-system device number definition line
Hex Input: SSDNHX PropName (Word1/Word2/Word3/Word4)
IV. Sub-system device record
Hex Format: SSREC (WordCount/Word2/Word3/...)
V. Property Descriptor Line
General Format: PRO PropName (DATSIZE, MAXSIZE, FREQ, ... float values)
PRO PRREAD ( DATSIZE , MAXSIZE , FREQ )
PRO PRBSTS ( DATSIZE , MAXSIZE , FREQ )
PRO PRESTS ( DATSIZE , MAXSIZE , FREQ )
PRO PRSET ( DATSIZE , MAXSIZE , FREQ ,
DATUM1 , DATUM2 , DATUM3 , . . . )
PRO PRBCTL ( DATSIZE , MAXSIZE , FREQ ,
DATUM1 , DATUM2 , DATUM3 , . . . )
PRO PRANAB ( DATSIZE , MAXSIZE , FREQ , VALUE1 , VALUE2 ,
K , Q , DE , LE , EV , AI , AB , BP ,
TRIES , EVENT1 , EVENT2 , SSINFO )
PRO PRDABL ( DATSIZE , MAXSIZE , FREQ , NOMVALUE , MASKVALUE , Q , DE , LE , EV , AI , AB , BP , TRIES , EVENT1 , EVENT2 , SSINFO )
PRO PRAATX ( PRIORITY , HAND_CODE, SOUND_ID, SPEECH_ID, . . . "TEXT" . . . )
PRO PRETXT ( TC1 , BITNO1 , COLORA1 , "STEXTA1" , COLORB1 , "STEXTB1" , "LTEXT1" , TC2 , BITNO2 , COLORA2 , "STEXTA2" , COLORB2 , "STEXTB2" , "LTEXT2" , . . . )
PRO PRDATX ( DGMASK1, CONDVAL1, PRIOR1, HAND_CODE1, SOUND_ID1, SPEECH_ID1, . . . "TEXT1" . . . , DGMASK2, CONDVAL2, PRIOR2, HAND_CODE2, SOUND_ID2, SPEECH_ID2, . . . "TEXT2" . . . )
PRO PRDCTL (VALUE1, ORDER_NUM1, "SNAME1", "LNAME1", VALUE2, ORDER_NUM2, "SNAME2", "LNAME2", ...)
PRO PRFMLY ( DEVNAME1 , DEVNAME2 , DEVNAME3 , . . . , DEVNAME300 )
PRO PRSAVE ( LISTNUM, HCODE, DCODE, PROP1, PROP2, . . . )
PRO PRVMDI ( DEVNAME, PROP1, PROP2, . . . )
VI. Extended Property
General Format: EPR propname (ATOMIC_SIZE,ADDR_MODE,SOURCE_NODE)
VII. Long Name
General Format: LNAME (CS_TYPE,LONG_NAME)
VIII. Long Description
General Format: LDESC ("LONG_DESCRIPTION")
IX. Foreign Device Mapping
General Format: FMAP PropName ("SYSTYPE", "NAME1", STRT_IDX1, NUM_ELE1, "DATA_TYPE1", DATA_LEN1, "NAME2", STRT_IDX2, NUM_ELE2, "DATA_TYPE2", DATA_LEN2, ...)
X. Enumerated Values
General Format: ENUM PropName (VALUE1, "SNAME1", "LNAME1", VALUE2, "SNAME2", "LNAME2", ...)
XI. Property Structure Names
General Format: STRUC PropName ("SNAME")
XII. Device Expression
General Format: EXPR ("EXPRESSION")
XIII. Alarm Group
General Format: ALMGRP (ALMGRPDEV,CONSOLIDATOR)
XIV. Delete Property
General Format: DLP propname
XV. Check Device Type for property
General Format: CTYPE propname
XVI. PDB Descriptor Line
A. General Format: PDB PropName ( arg1 , arg2 , ... )
PDB PRREAD ( PRMUNITS , COMUNITS , PRMTRNIND , COMTRNIND, IDL , DS , LS , MC , C1 , C2 , .. C6 , MINIMUM , MAXIMUM )
PDB PRSET ( PRMUNITS , COMUNITS , PRMTRNIND , COMTRNIND, IDL , DS , LS , MC , C1 , C2 , .. C6 )
PDB PRBSTS ( ADFLAG , SFLAG , ONMASK , RDYMASK , REMMASK , POSMASK , IDL )
PDB PRBCTL ( ADFLAG , RESMASK , ONMASK , OFFMASK , POSMASK , NEGMASK )
B. Hex Input Format: PDX PropName (ByteCount/Byte2/ ... )
PART 3
!This is a sample DABBEL text file. First, we will add some devices to the data base.
ADD T:A0TC01 ( "PIRANI GAUGE 01 ", TEV)
LNAME (0,T:PIRANI_GAUGE_01_AT_A0)
LDESC ("This is the long description for the Pirani Gauge 01 at A0")
SSDNHX PRBSTS (0001/0E19/0000/0001)
PRO PRBSTS( 1, 1, 60)
SSDNHX PRREAD (0001/0E19/0A00/0001)
PRO PRREAD( 2, 2, 60)
LOC PRREAD ( "Transfer Gallery 2nd Floor","Rack 10456", 100.23, 751.21, -245.7)
PDB PRBSTS (2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1)
PDB PRREAD ("VOLT", "TORR", 0, 14, 2, 1, 1, 0,
2.571E-03, -2.205E-02, 4.729E-03, .9391, -2.625, 0.1)
!
ADD T:A1TCQ ("PIRANI GAUGE Q ", TEV)
SSDNHX PRBSTS (0001/0E01/0000/0001)
PRO PRBSTS( 1, 1, 60)
SSDNHX PRREAD (0001/0E01/0A00/0001)
PRO PRREAD( 2, 2, 60)
PDB PRBSTS (2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1)
PDB PRREAD ("VOLT", "TORR", 0, 14, 2, 1, 1, 0,
2.571E-03, -2.205E-02, 4.729E-03, .9391, -2.625, 0.1)
!
ADD T: A1TC2D ("PIRANI GAUGE 2D ", TEV)
SSDNHX PRBSTS (0001/0E01/0001/0001)
PRO PRBSTS( 1, 1, 60)
SSDNHX PRREAD (0001/0E01/0A01/0001)
PRO PRREAD( 2, 2, 60)
PDB PRBSTS (2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1)
PDB PRREAD ("VOLT", "TORR", 0, 14, 2, 1, 1, 0,
2.571E-03, -2.205E-02, 4.729E-03, .9391, -2.625, 0.1)
!
ADD T: A1TC3R ("PIRANI GAUGE 3R ", TEV)
SSDNHX PRBSTS (0001/0E01/0002/0001)
PRO PRBSTS( 1, 1, 60)
SSDNHX PRREAD (0001/0E01/0A02/0001)
PRO PRREAD( 2, 2, 60)
PDB PRBSTS (2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1)
PDB PRREAD ("VOLT", "TORR", 0, 14, 2, 1, 1, 0,
2.571E-03, -2.205E-02, 4.729E-03, .9391, -2.625, 0.1)
!
ADD T: A1TC5U ("PIRANI GAUGE 5U ", TEV)
SSDNHX PRBSTS (0001/0E01/0008/0001)
PRO PRBSTS( 1, 1, 60)
SSDNHX PRREAD (0001/0E01/0A08/0001)
PRO PRREAD( 2, 2, 60)
PDB PRBSTS (2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1)
PDB PRREAD ("VOLT", "TORR", 0, 14, 2, 1, 1, 0,
2.571E-03, -2.205E-02, 4.729E-03, .9391, -2.625, 0.1)
!
!Now modify device T:A1TC5U so that "PIRANI GAUGE 5U" is changed to "PIRANI
!GAUGE 5Z". Also, add another property, PRANAB.
MOD T:A1TC5U("PIRANI GAUGE 5Z") !in a modify, all arguments are
!optional
COMMENT ("This is an example of a device edit-comment. Please \
note that the comment can contain up to 255 characters")
SSDNHX PRANAB (1/AE/A02/4)
PRO PRANAB (2, 20, 60) !other arguments will be default
!values
!Change the device name to reflect the new descriptive text.
CHG T: A1TC5U(T:A1TC5Z)
!
!Change a device to add digital control
MOD Z:FUBAR
PRO PRDCTL (03, 0, "RESET", "Reset",
01, 1, "ON", "On",
02, 2, "OFF", "Off",
10, 8, "PURGE", "Purge the pipe")
!
MOD Z:ACLTST ( "ACL test device ", CACHE , ,
01FBDBDE, 0, , "Controls", "HENDRICKS" )
FNAME ( 0, Z:ACL_TEST_DEVICE )
FDESC ("This is a simple memory device for testing ACL commands.")
MACHINE ( "none")
ALMGRP ( Z:CL38A0 , FALSE)
AAMASK ("MCR+MCRCrewChief")
EMX (4000/0000/0000/0000,0000/0000/0000/0000)
SSDNHX PRANAB (000A/0000/0000/0000)
PRO PRANAB ( 2, 20, 60, 2.4000000953674, 111., 2, 4, 1, 1,
0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0)
PRO PRAATX ( 0, 0, 0, 0, " ", "this will not work")
SSDNHX PRBCTL (000A/0000/0000/0000)
PRO PRBCTL ( 2, 2, 60, 03, 00)
SSDNHX PRBSTS (000A/0000/0000/0000)
PRO PRBSTS ( 4, 4, 60)
! Basic Status PDB usage deprecated - see PRO PRBSSC
SSDNHX PRDABL (000A/0000/0000/0000)
PRO PRDABL ( 2, 20, 60, 00000001, 00000001, 4, 1, 1,
0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0)
SSDNHX PRREAD (000A/0000/0000/0000)
PRO PRREAD ( 4, 16, 60)
EPR PRREAD ( 4, 2 )
PDB PRREAD ( "Unit", "Unit", 22, 6, 4, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, , , , ,
-1.871538668260E+38, -1.867883291192E+38)
SSDNHX PRSET (000A/0000/0000/0000)
PRO PRSET ( 4, 16, 60, 8C, 41, CD, CC, A0, 41, 00, 00, 00, 41, 00, 00,
80, 40, 00, 00)
EPR PRSET ( 4, 2 )
PDB PRSET ( "Unit", "Unit", 22, 6, 4, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, , , , ,
-1.701398752450E+38, -1.698075682461E+38)
PRO PRSAVE ( 10, 0000, 0000, PRREAD, PRSET)
PRO PRDCTL ( 00000003, 0, "RESET", "Reset",
00000001, 1, "ON", "On",
00000002, 2, "OFF", "Off",
00000004, 3, "POSITIVE", "Positive",
00000010, 4, "NEGATIVE", "Negative",
00000005, 5, "RAMP", "Ramp",
00000006, 6, "DC", "DC",
00000008, 7, "TEST", "Test")
PRO PRBSSC ( 1, 0, 0, 0, "ON/OFF", "On/Off", "On", GREEN:., "Off", RED:*,
2, 0, 0, 1, "READY/TRIPPED", "Ready/Tripped", "Ready", GREEN:.,
"Tripped", RED:T,
4, 0, 0, 2, "REMOTE/LOCAL", "Remote/Local", "Remote", GREEN:.,
"Local", YELLOW:L,
8, 0, 0, 3, "POLARITY", "Polarity", "Positive", CYAN:+, "Negative",
MAGENTA:-,
200, 0, 0, 4, "RAMP/DC", "Ramp/DC", "Ramp", GREEN:R, "DC", YELLOW:D)
!
!
!Make another device obsolete
OBS T:A4EVUN ("Device has been disconnected")
!
!List all devices whose name starts with 'T:A1TC'
LIS T:A1TC%
!
!List a device from the backup server
LIS M:OUTTMP BACKUP
SPECIFIC MOOC ISSUES
Analog and Digital Alarm Block Fields EVENT1 and EVENT2
Event1 and Event2 can be combined to make one 16-bit FTD for MOOC front-ends. Event1 is copied to the "clock_event_no" column in the alarm_block table, and event2 is copied to the "subfunction_code" column in the same table.
The device is read and its alarm limits checked at the specified FTD.
The default value of Event1 = Event2 = 0 means use default alarm scan rate (typically 1/3 Hz --- once every 3 seconds). An FTD is either a clock-event-indicator (0x80) in the high byte followed by a clock event number in the low byte, or a period in 60ths of one second, [0 < period <= 32767] (the highest bit must be a zero).
Alarm Block Fields SSINFOn
SSINFO1 and SSINFO2 are combined to make one 16-bit offset for the alarm reading for MOOC front-ends. Both analog and digital alarms are supported by these two fields. This offset is passed as the read offset to the device's reading method for alarms. This offset is created by the expression:
(SSINFO2 << 8) | SSINFO1)
So SSINFO2 is the most significant byte. On D67, SSINFO1 - SSINFO6 are called
"FE system data".
If you want an offset of 0x1234 (4660 decimal), you set:
SSINFO1 = 0x34
SSINFO2 = 0x12
On D67, you set the first four digits in the "FE system data" field as 1234 (as of
May 2001, that is how D67 displays it).
If you want an offset of 8, you set:
SSINFO1 = 8
SSINFO2 = 0
(or put 0x0008 into the first four digits of "FE system data" on D67)
SSINFO3 (again for MOOC front-ends) contains a type-code indicating the data type of the device reading for the front-end alarms software. This field applies only to analog alarms. Current allowed values include:
signed integer 1
unsigned integer 2
float 3
swapped float 4 (typically only for Frig)
swapped signed integer 5
swapped unsigned integer 6
If a value of zero is set, then the front-end will determine the data type
based upon information supplied by the MOOC device driver software. This type
will then usually get forwarded to the central database.
Multiple Alarm Blocks
One cannot use the multiple alarms mechanism to select different FTDs and offsets for the same alarm device.
One should always have the same FTDs, offsets, and types in each of the multiple alarm blocks for a device.
EMBEDDED TEXT FORMATTING IN ALARM TEXT
Alarm text (digital or analog) may contain embedded formatting directives which are patterned after those used with the VMS $FAO system service. In processing these formats, the data to be converted to text will be taken from the EMC and parameter blocks of the Event Report Packet (ERP). A formatting directive consists of a single exclamation mark "!" followed by a 2-character code. Two exclamation marks (i.e. "!!") will insert a single exclamation mark into the output text.
The formatting directives either convert the current parameter to text in the output, or select the value to be used as the current parameter for the next formatting directive. Unrecognized formatting directives will be left unchanged in the output text. Similarly, if the parameter block is exhausted before all the conversion directives are processed, they will not be replaced in the output text.
Parameter Selection Directives
These directives temporarily override normal parameter value selection. The normal condition is that the current parameter on the parameter block is used as the value for a conversion directive. After processing the directive, the next parameter in the block is selected to be the new current parameter. The conversion directive itself determines the size of the current parameter and thus the location in the parameter block of the next parameter. Initially, the first parameter starts with the first word of the parameter block.
A parameter selection directive will temporarily replace the current parameter with a value selected from elsewhere for the next encountered conversion directive. After that directive is processed, the previous current parameter (before the parameter selection directive) is retained as the current parameter.
The recognized parameter selection directives are as follows:
!RD use reading (in ERP) as current parameter
!Un use as the value the datum (byte, word, longword) starting with byte number 'n' (0-7) of the EMC
!UH use house code from the EMC as current parameter
!UN use front-end node number from EMC as current parameter
The "parameters" selected by these directives are interpreted according to any following conversion directives as far as field size goes. Thus the "!RD" and "!Un" parameters can be interpreted as a byte, word, or longword as desired (except when referring to EMC bytes near the end -- !U7 must always be a single byte field). The !UH parameter should be interpreted as a byte, while the !UN parameter should be interpreted as a word by any conversion directives paired with these selection directives.
Conversion Directives
The usual form of a conversion directive converts a binary numeric value into text. The 2-character conversion directive code of the form "!bs" where "b" is the binary conversion code and determines the format of the output text and "s" the size of the input parameter. The recognized sizes are "B" for byte, "W" for word, and "L" for longword (32 bits).
The recognized binary conversion codes are as follows:
O zero-filled octal
X zero-filled hexadecimal
Z zero-filled unsigned decimal
U blank-filled (or suppressed) unsigned decimal
S blank-filled (or suppressed) signed decimal
The default field widths for the zero-filled conversions are given by the combinations of the parameter size codes and the binary conversion codes as the correct size required to hold all the text. The "blank-filled" binary conversion actually suppress the blanks in the output text. The recognized conversion directives are thus:
!OB !OW !OL
!XB !XW !XL
!ZB !ZW !ZL
!UB !UW !UL
!SB !SW !SL
!3E sets the next floating point conversion (!FE or !FP) to use IEEE format. Normally, floating point values are assumed to be in DEC format.
!FE converts a 32-bit parameter containing a floating point value into text using FORTRAN E-format notation (10 characters).
!FP converts a 32-bit parameter containing a floating point value into text ( 6 characters).
!HC converts the current parameter (assumed to be a house-code byte) into a 2-character house name.
!LN converts the current parameter (assumed to be a logical trunk/node word) into an ACNET node name (up to 6 characters).
!TX interprets the parameter as a text field (text parameter format), and copies to output
Combined Function Directives
The following directives combine the actions of parameter selection and conversion:
!AB replaced by the text "ABORT" if the AB bit is set and the AI bit is clear in the Event Status Word.
!GB replaced by the text "GOOD" or "BAD" depending upon the state of the GB bit in the Event Status Word.
!HL replaced by the text "HIGH" or "LOW" depending upon which of the HI and LO bits are set in the Event Status Word. If neither bit is set, then the directive is replaced by NULL (no) text. If both bits are set, the text "HILO" is used.
!RC replaced with the reading converted to common units in the preferred format as determined by the PDB of the reading.
!RP replaced with the reading converted to primary units in the preferred format as determined by the PDB of the reading.
!UT replaced with the units text from the previous !RC or !RP directive.
!! replaced with a single "!".
Other actions, such as using a house code from the EMC to place the house name in the text, are gotten by using a pair of directives (i.e. "!UH!HC").
DABBEL is controlled by an input file which is created by the user in his (or her) own Linux disk directory. This file is then submitted for processing via the 'dabbel' command (at shell level). The input file may not have the file type "lis". No input file is needed, however, in quick-listing mode.
The DABBEL program usually creates a listing file having a default filename identical to the input filename, and a default file type of "lis". This file is written in the same disk directory as the input file, and it contains all error and status messages. It also contains any list output which was generated by the LIS command verbs. As an option (--stdout), the listing file will be directed to STDOUT. normally the terminal.
Only authorized users will be permitted to modify or list the database. Using DABBEL in Syntax-Checking-Only mode, however, does not require any authorization. Please contact either Brian Hendricks or Glenn Johnson if you are denied access to DABBEL.
The DABBEL command has the following syntax:
$ dabbel input_file_specification qualifier
Where:
The input_file_specification is the required input file which must exist in the user's default disk directory. It should not contain any device or directory specification. If this parameter is missing, some help text will be displayed.
The optional qualifier must be one of the following keywords:
syntax (default): process the input file directly in syntax-checking-only mode. No connection will be made with the central database.
modify: process the input file with connection to the central database. Database modifications are permitted. The user will be notified when this task has been completed.
list: same as modify, except that the database cannot be modified (only LIS and LSX command verbs will be honored).
Other optional paramters may follow syntax/modify/list:
--prop: specify properties for selective listing (see below)
--stdout directs listing output to stdout instead of a file
If the user issues the DABBEL command without any parameters, the Dabbel program will be entered in dialog mode, with the DBL> prompt. In dialog mode, the user can issue any Dabbel command (without the leading "dabbel" verb), and one is able to issue multiple successive commands with the first parameter normally being the input file specification. To exit from dialog mode, simply enter "q", "quit", or Cntrl-D.
Selective Listing of devices is triggered by the --prop qualifier in which the user can specify one or more properties to be listed. This is most useful for those situations in which one desires to modify a single property by first listing the device. After editing the output listing, the resultant file can then be re-submitted to Dabbel in "modify" mode. This keeps the Dabbel input file simple and free of those properties not being changed.
The use of the --prop modifier is best illustrated by a couple of examples. "--prop:prread" will list the reading property only. Multiple properties can be provided, as in "--prop:prread:prset". In selective listing mode, the initial MOD line will contain only the device name unless one of the following properties are specified: prnode, prsibl, prtext, prcbdi, or pralst.
Selective listing can be further refined to display only the PDB commands for both the Reading and Setting properties. This is done with the "pdb" pseudo-property as in "--prop:prread:prset:pdb". Note that the "pdb" pseudo-property does nothing unless it is accompanied by "prread" or "prset". Alternatively, selective listing can be refined to eliminate the PDB commands via the "nopdb" pseudo-property. For example, "--prop:prread:nopdb" will display everything for the reading property except its PDB. If both "pdb" and "nopdb" are specified, no error will be generated, but "nopdb" will take precedence.
The Quick-List capability permits the user to list a single device without creating any input file, with the output going automatically to 'stdout'. Examples of valid quick-list commands:
dabbel list m:outtmp dabbel list m:outtmp backup dabbel lis m:outtmp --prop:prread:prset dabbel lsx m:outtmp
For help, the user can enter "h" or "help" as the single command parameter.
TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS
Error Recovery
If running DABBEL in MODIFY mode and an error occurs, the database may have been modified by those "device batches" which preceded the batch causing the error. The listing file will clearly indicate which devices were successfully modified. Before re-submitting the DABBEL input file, it is important that the user delete those lines from the beginning of the file which were successfully executed on a previous run.
Each Dabbel user has an assigned output area which will contain a variety of files related to a Dabbel run. These files are mainly useful to the Dabbel maintainer and database administrators. Each file name consists of a date-time plus extension. For example: 2018_08_16_11_DST_58_53.out. The path to this disk area is as follows: /usr/local/userb/dabbel/username (where 'username' is your user name)
The various file extensions are as follows:
.err Contains error information if there was an error
.out Contains those portions of the user's input file which were
successfully processed in "modify" mode.
.inp Contains a copy of the user's input file if there was an error
detected, and the user specified "modify" in his or her invocation.
.log Contains a log file which contains detailed run information