aCalcout - Array Calculation Output Record

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Scan Parameters
  3. Array-size Parameters
  4. Input Links
  5. Expressions
  6. Output Parameters
  7. Display Parameters
  8. Alarm Parameters
  9. Monitor Parameters
  10. Run-time Parameters
  11. Record Support Routines
  12. Record Processing

Note: Some aspects of this record, and of the calc engine that it uses, are experimental. While the scalar functions and operators are probably fairly stable, array operators and functions described here are not guaranteed to exist in future versions of this software, or to behave in exactly the same way. For example, the function that takes the derivative of an array currently expects a single array argument, and constructs an artificial independent variable array; probably a future version will require that two arrays be specified.

1. Introduction

The Array Calculation Output or “aCalcout” record is derived from the sCalcout (string calcout) record, which, in turn, is derived from the calcout record. The aCalcout record extends the calcout record by supporting array operands and expressions in addition to scalar operands and expressions. The record has 12 array fields (AA…LL) used as input variables for the expression, and it calls an extended version of the EPICS calculation engine that knows about arrays. Soft device support supplied with the aCalcout record writes array or scalar data to the record’s output link, depending on the number of elements of the field to which it is linked.

Here’s a sample MEDM display of some of the the aCalcout record fields.

userArrayCalc.adl

2. Scan Parameters

The aCalcout record has the standard fields for specifying under what circumstances the record will be processed. See the EPICS Record Reference Manual for these fields and their use.

3. Array-size Parameters

The aCalcout record allocates NELM elements for its arrays the first time they are used. This is the maximum number of array elements, and it applies to all arrays. NELM must be specified at boot time, before any array is used.

The number of elements actually used is specified as NUSE. The value of NUSE will forced into the range 0,NELM (inclusive). If NUSE==0, the record will take it as NELM.

When a CA client connects to an array, the acalcout record can tell the client that the array size is either NELM, or NUSE, depending on the setting of the SIZE field, which takes values “NELM” and “NUSE”. “NELM” is the default, and it’s the safer choice. “NELM” is less efficient than “NUSE”, in some cases. If SIZE is set to “NUSE”, the CA connection must be broken and reestablished when the NUSE field increases.

Field Summary Type DCT Initial Access Modify Rec Proc Monitor
NELM Number of allocated array elements DBF_ULONG Yes 1 Yes No N/A
NUSE Number of array elements actually to be used DBF_ULONG Yes 0 Yes Yes Yes
SIZE Specified whether NELM or NUSE is the array size declared to clients MENU(“NELM”,”NUSE”) Yes “NELM” Yes Yes N/A

The aCalcout record has 24 links with which it fetches values for use in expressions: 12 to scalar fields (INPA -> A, INPB -> B, . . . INPL -> L); and 12 to array fields (INAA -> AA, INBB -> BB, …INLL -> LL). The fields can be database links, channel access links, or (scalar-fields only) constants. These link fields cannot be hardware addresses. In addition, the aCalcout record contains the fields INAV, INBV, . . . INLV, which indicate the status of the links to scalar fields, and the fields IAAV, IBBV, . . . ILLV, which indicate the status of the links to array fields. These fields indicate whether or not the specified PV was found and a link to it established. See Section 7, Display Parameters for an explanation of these fields.

See the EPICS Record Reference Manual for information on how to specify database links.

Field Summary Type DCT Initial Access Modify Rec Proc Monitor
INPA Input Link A INLINK Yes 0 Yes Yes N/A
INPB Input Link B INLINK Yes 0 Yes Yes N/A
… … … … … … … …
INPL Input Link L INLINK Yes 0 No No N/A
INAA Input Link AA INLINK Yes 0 Yes Yes N/A
INBB Input Link BB INLINK Yes 0 Yes Yes N/A
… … … … … … … …
INLL Input Link LL INLINK Yes 0 Yes Yes N/A

5. Expressions

Like the Calcout record, the aCalcout record has a CALC field into which you can enter an expression for the record to evaluate when it processes. The resulting scalar value will be placed in the VAL field, and the resulting array value will be placed in the AVAL field. VAL can then be used by the OOPT field (see Section 6, Output Parameters) to determine whether or not to write to the output link or post an output event. Either VAL and AVAL can also be written to the output link. (If you elect to write an output value, the record will choose between VAL and AVAL, depending on the data type of the field at the other end of the output link.)

The CALC expression is converted to opcodes and stored in postfix notation in the RPCL field. It is the postfix expression which is actually evaluated when the record processes. When the CALC field is changed at run-time, the record-support routine special() calls a function to check it and convert it to postfix.

The record also has a second set of calculation-related fields described in Section 6, Output Parameters.

Field Summary Type DCT Initial Access Modify Rec Proc Monitor PP
CALC Calculation STRING[80] Yes 0 Yes Yes Yes No
VAL Value DOUBLE No 0 Yes Yes Yes No
RPCL Postfix NOACCESS No 0 No No N/A No
AVAL Array value DOUBLE No 0 Yes Yes Yes No

Expressions supported by the array calculation record can involve scalar and/or array operands, algebraic operators and functions, trigonometric functions, relational operators, logical operators, array operators and functions, parentheses and commas, and the conditional ‘?:’ operator. All are described in sections to follow, but first, we need to talk about how operators and functions behave when presented with scalar, array, and mixed operands.

Unless otherwise stated, functions and operators behave as follows:

  • One-argument functions and operators, when given an array-valued argument or operand, operate on each array element individually, and return an array.

  • Two-argument functions and operators, when given array-valued operands, operate on pairs of elements and return an array. (e.g., aa+bb = aa[0]+bb[0], aa[1]+bb[1],...)

  • If one argument of a two-argument function or operator is an array, and the other argument is a scalar, the scalar argument is converted to an array by repeating the scalar value. Thus, the value of the expression A*BB is the array a*bb[0], a*bb[1], a*bb[3],...

  • Whenever an array must be converted implicitly to a scalar (e.g., for the operators ?:, ^, **, >>, and <<), the scalar value used is the value of the first array element. In the following expressions, the array argument will be converted implicitly to scalar (experimental):

    • AA?BB:CC
    • AA^BB
    • AA**BB
    • AA>>BB
    • AA<<BB

5.1. Operands

The expression can use the values retrieved from the input links as operands. These values retrieved from the input links are stored in the A-L, and AA-LL fields. The values to be used in the expression are simply referenced by the field name. For example, the values obtained from the INPA link is stored in the field A, and is referred to in an expression as ‘A’ (or ‘a’ – case doesn’t matter).

The number of elements of the array operands AA-LL is set at boot time by the field NELM. If an array value is received by the record with more or fewer elements, the array used by the aCalcout record will be truncated or padded at the end with zeros.

Field Summary Type DCT Initial Access Modify Rec Proc Monitor PP
A Input Value A DOUBLE No 0 Yes Yes/No* Yes Yes
B Input Value B DOUBLE No 0 Yes Yes/No* Yes Yes
… … … … … … … … …
L Input Value L DOUBLE No 0 Yes Yes/No* Yes Yes
AA Input array AA DOUBLE ARRAY No 0 Yes Yes/No* Yes Yes
BB Input array BB DOUBLE ARRAY No 0 Yes Yes/No* Yes Yes
… … … … … … … … …
LL Input array LL DOUBLE ARRAY No 0 Yes Yes/No* Yes Yes

* If a valid input link is associated with this field, then the record will not not permit it to be modified by a ‘put’ operation.

There are a few special operands not associated with input fields, but defined by the record (more exactly, defined by the calc engine the record uses to evaluate expressions). All but RNDM, NRNDM, and ARNDM are constants.

Operand Description
PI 3.141592654
D2R Degrees to radians (PI/180)
R2D Radians to degrees (1/D2R)
S2R Arc seconds to radians (D2R/3600)
R2S Radians to arc seconds (1/S2R)
NRNDM Random number from a normal (Gaussian) distribution about 0, with a standard deviation of 1.
RNDM Random number between 0 and 1.
ARNDM Array of random numbers between 0 and 1.
IX The array (0,1,2,…,NUSE).
VAL The previous value of the VAL field. (In an OCAL expression, “VAL” is the previous value of the OVAL field.)
AVAL The previous value of the AVAL field. (In an OCAL expression, “AVAL” is the previous value of the OAV field.)

5.2. Algebraic Functions/Operators

Op Description Example
ABS Absolute value (one-argument function) ABS(A)
DBL Convert (array) to double (one-argument function) DBL(AA)
FINITE True if all arguments are finite (variable-argument function) FINITE(A,B,...)
ISINF True if argument is infinite (one-argument function) ISINF(A)
ISNAN True if argument is not a number (one-argument function) ISNAN(A)
SQRT Square root (one-argument function) (SQR is deprecated) SQRT(A)
MIN Minimum (variable-argument function) MIN(A,B,...)
MAX Maximum (variable-argument function) MAX(A,B,...)
CEIL Ceiling (one-argument function) CEIL(A)
FLOOR Floor (one-argument function) FLOOR(A)
INT Nearest integer (one-argument function) INT(A)
NINT Nearest integer (one-argument function) NINT(A)
APOS Clamp positive values to zero; negative values are unchanged (one-argument function) APOS(A)
ANEG Clamp negative values to zero; positive values are unchanged (one-argument function) ANEG(A)
LOG Log base 10 (one-argument function) LOG(A)
LN Natural logarithm (one-argument function) LN(A)
LOGE Deprecated synonym for ‘LN’ LOGE(A)
EXP Exponential function (unary) EXP(A)
^ Exponential (binary) (Same as ‘**’.) A^B
** Exponential (binary) (Same as ‘^’.) A**B
+ Addition (binary) A+B
- Subtraction (binary) A-B
* Multiplication (binary) A*B
/ Division (binary) A/B
% Modulo (binary) A%B
- Negate (unary) -A
NOT Negate (unary) NOT A
>? Max (binary) A>?B
<? Min (binary) A<?B

5.3. Trigonometric Functions

Op Description Example
SIN Sine (one-argument function) SIN(A)
SINH Hyperbolic sine (one-argument function) SINH(A)
ASIN Arc sine (one-argument function) ASIN(A)
COS Cosine (one-argument function) COS(A)
COSH Hyperbolic cosine (one-argument function) COSH(A)
ACOS Arc cosine (one-argument function) ACOS(A)
TAN Tangent (one-argument function) TAN(A)
TANH Hyperbolic tangent (one-argument function) TANH(A)
ATAN Arc tangent (one-argument function) ATAN(A)
ATAN2 Alternate form of arctangent (two-argument function) ATAN2(A,B)

5.4. Relational Operators

Op Description Example
>= Greater than or equal to A>=B
> Greater than A>B
<= Less than or equal to A<=B
< Less than A<B
!= Not equal to (same as ‘#’) A!=B
# Not equal to (same as ‘!=’) A#B
== Equal to (same as ‘=’) A==B
= Equal to (same as ‘==’) A=B

5.5. Logical Operators

Op Description Example
&& Logical AND A&&B
|| Logical OR A\|\|B
! Logical NOT !A

5.6. Bitwise Operators

Op Description Example
| Bitwise OR A|B
OR Bitwise OR A OR B
& Bitwise AND A&B
AND Bitwise AND A AND B
XOR Bitwise Exclusive OR A XOR B
~ One’s Complement ~A
<< Left shift A<<B
>> Right shift A>>B

5.7. Separators

The open and close parentheses are supported. Nested parenthesis are supported. Square and curly brackets are not available for use as separators, because they are being used as operators.

The comma is supported when used to separate the arguments of a binary function.

Spaces may occur between expression elements. Space is required between elements that would otherwise be parsed incorrectly. The parser always attempts to match the largest string of characters that constitute a recognized operator or variable. For example, A AND B could be shortened to A ANDB, because ANDB will be parsed as AND B. However, A AND B may not be shortened to AAND B, because AAND would be parsed as AA ND.

5.8. If-Else Expression

The C language’s if-else (“?:”) operator is supported. The format is:

 <expression> ? <expression-true result> : <expression-false  result>

5.9. Array-specific Functions/Operators

Most of the functions and operators that can work with arrays are simple generalizations of functions and operators that work with scalars. Such functions are not listed here. In this section are those functions or operators that apply only to arrays, and whose behavior is not a simple element-by-element rendition of some scalar function.

Op Description Example
[ Subarray AA[1,3] -> aa(1),aa(2),aa(3)
{ Subarray in place AA[1,3] -> 0, aa(1),aa(2),aa(3), 0,...
>> Array shift right. Move array elements by index. If index is not an integer, the array is interpolated to move by the fractional part. AA>>2
<< Array shift left. Move array elements by index. If index is not an integer, the array is interpolated to move by the fractional part. AA<<2 (same as AA>>-2)
AMIN Minimal element of array (one-argument function) AMIN(AA) -> scalar
AMAX Maximal element of array (one-argument function) AMAX('a','b','c') -> 'c'
ARR Convert argument to array (one-argument function) ARR(1) -> 1, 1, 1,...
AVG Average of array values AVG(AA)=SUM(AA)/arraySize, AVG(AA[4,9])=SUM(AA[4,9])/6
CAT Concatenate array subranges, or an array subrange and a double value. If the second argument is a scalar, it is not converted to an array before being appended to the first argument. Note that CAT does nothing if its first argument is not a subrange, because a full array has no free space in which to append new values. CAT(AA[0,2],BB[0,2]), CAT(AA[0,2],B)
CUM Running sum of array values. For example, if AA=(1,2,3), CUM(AA)=(1,3,6). CUM(AA)
DERIV Derivative of array values, with respect to array index. Equivalent to NDERIV(AA,2). DERIV(AA)
FWHM Full width at half max of array values FWHM(AA)
FITPOLY (Deprecated. Use FITQ.) Fit array to second order polynomial a + b*x + c*x^2. FITPOLY(AA)
FITMPOLY (Deprecated. Use FITMQ.) Fit masked array to second order polynomial. First argument is input-data array, second argument is the mask array. If mask-array element value is true (greater than zero), corresponding data-array element will be used to compute best-fit polynomial a + b*x + c*x^2. FITPOLY(AA,AA>0)
FITQ Fit array to quadratic a + b*x + c*x^2, and optionally return fit coefficients. If the second, third, and fourth arguments are specified as the names of double variables, fit coefficients will be stored to those acalcoutRecord fields, in the order a,b,c. If any of the second, third, and fourth arguments is an array variable, it will be ignored. FITQ(AA), FITQ(AA,J,K,L)
FITMQ Fit masked array to quadratic, and optionally return fit coefficients. First argument is input-data array, second argument is the mask array. If mask-array element value is true (greater than zero), corresponding data-array element will be used to compute best-fit polynomial a + b*x + c*x^2. If the third, fourth, and fifth arguments are specified as the names of double variables, fit coefficients will be stored to those acalcoutRecord fields, in the order a,b,c. If any of the second, third, and fourth arguments is an array variable, it will be ignored. FITMQ(AA,AA>0), FITMQ(AA,AA>0,J,K,L)
IX The array (0,1,2,3,…,NUSE) IX(AA)
IXMAX The index of the largest (most positive) element of the array. IXMAX(AA)
IXMIN The index of the smallest (most negative) element of the array. IXMIN(AA)
IXZ The (floating-point) index of the first zero crossing in the array, calculated by linear interpolation. IXZ(AA)
IXNZ The index of the first nonzero element of the array. (The first element whose absolute value is greater than 1.e-9.) IXNZ(AA)
NDERIV Derivative of array values, with respect to array index. Derivative is calculated in the following way: at each array point, fit N surrounding array points to a second-order polynomial, take the derivative of the polynomial analytically, and evaluate it at the index of the array point. The number of points, on either side of the array point, to be used in the fit, is specified by the second argument to NDERIV(). (I.e., if N is specified, 2*N+1 points will be fit.) Array elements less than N points from the beginning or end of the array will get a less effectively calculated derivative, since the fit will not be centered on the point. NDERIV(AA,B)
NSMOO Smooth array values, using multiple applications of SMOO() NSMOO(AA,B)
STD Standard deviation of array values STD(AA)
SMOO Smooth array values, using a 5-point binomial formula y’(i) = y(i-2)/16 + y(i-1)/4 + 3*y(i)/8 + y(i+1)/4 + y(i+2)/16 SMOO(AA)
SUM Sum of array values. SUM(AA)

5.10. Argument-array Operators

These operators represent the scalar/array fields of the aCalcout record as arrays of scalars/arrays. They are an alternative way of specifying the fields A-L and AA-LL.

Op Description Example
@ Scalar array element. Regard the numeric fields A-L as an array whose elements are numbered 0-11, and return the element whose number follows. Thus, @0 is another way of saying A. (unary operator) @A
@@ Array array element. Regard the array fields AA-LL as an array of arrays whose elements are numbered 0-11, and return the element whose number follows. Thus, @@1 is another way of saying BB. (unary operator) @@A

5.11. Miscellaneous Operators

Op Description Examples
:= Store value of right hand side in location specified by left hand side. (binary) A:=1.2, @7:=3, AA:=IX, @@4:=sin(IX)
UNTIL Execute expression until its value is TRUE. (binary) The total number of iterations is limited to the ioc-shell variable sCalcLoopMax, which defaults to 1000. until(1), until(a:=a+1;b:=b-1;b<1)

5.12. Examples

Algebraic

A + B + 10

Result is A + B + 10

Relational

(A + B) < (C + D)

Result is 1 if (A+B) < (C+D)

Result is 0 if (A+B) >= (C+D)

If-Else

(A+B)<(C+D)?E:F+L+10

Result is E if (A+B) < (C+D)

Result is F+L+10 if (A+B) >= (C+D)

(A+B)<(C+D)?E

Result is E if (A+B) < (C+D)

Result is unchanged if (A+B) >= (C+D)

Logical

A&B

Causes the following to occur:

  • Convert A to integer
  • Convert B to integer
  • Perform bit-wise AND of A and B
  • Convert result to floating point

Array

Notation: I’ll use (1,2,3) to indicate an array. Note that [1,2] is not an array, but the subrange operator with arguments 1 and 2. The subrange operator must follow an array, like so: AA[2,5]. Similarly, {1,2} is not an array, but the subrange-in-place operator.

A + AA

where A=1 and AA = (1,2,3)

Result is (2,3,4).

A + DBL(AA)

where A=1 and AA=(1,2,3)

Result is 2. DBL returns the first array element.

AA+BB

where AA=(1,2,3) and BB=(7,8,9)

Result is (8,10,12). Element-by-element sum. Most operators behave in this way.

AA[2,4]

where AA = (1,2,3,4,5)

Result is (3,4,5). (The first element of an array is numbered “0”.)

AA[-3,-1]

where AA=(1,2,3,4)

Result is (2,3,4). (The last element of an array is numbered “-1”.)

AA{2,4}

where AA = (1,2,3,4,5,6)

Result is (0,0,3,4,5,0). (Similar to the [] operator, but the selected subrange is left in place.)

Argument array

@0

Result is the value of the numeric variable A. (“@0” is just another name for A.)

@@0

Result is the value of the array variable AA.

@(A+B)

Result is the value of the numeric variable whose number is given by the sum of A and B.

Store

The “Store” operator is the only array-calc operator that does not produce a value. Thus, the expression a:=0 is an incomplete and therefore illegal calc expression, because it leaves us with nothing to write to the record’s VAL field.

A:=A-1;7

Evaluate the expression A-1, store the result in the input variable A, set the VAL field to 7.

@0:=A-1;7

Same as above, because @0 is just another name for A

D:=0;@D:=A-1;7

Same as above, because D==0.

AA:=IX;7

Overwrite the array input variable AA with the array (0,1,2…), and set the VAL field to 7.

AA:=IX;b:=0;1

Multiple store expressions, separated by ‘;’ terminators, are legal at top level, but - as always - the expression as a whole must produce a value. This expression produces the value 1.

A+(AA:="abc";b:=0;1)

Multiple store expressions are also legal within parentheses, and again the parenthesized subexpression must produce a value. The parenthesized subexpression in this example produces the value 1, which is added to A.

@0:=A-1;7

Evaluate the expression A-1, store the result in the input variable A, and set the VAL field to 7.

Loop (“UNTIL”)

The UNTIL function evaluates its expression repeatedly until the expression returns a nonzero value, or the allowed number of iterations sCalcLoopMax has been reached. When looping is done, or aborted, the expression value is returned.

UNTIL(1)

The expression 1 is evaluated, terminates the loop, and is returned. This do-nothing expression is equivalent to (1).

B:=10;UNTIL(B:=B-1;B<1)

This do-almost-nothing expression initializes B to 10, decrements it repeatedly until its value is zero, and returns the value 1 (True).

BB:=1; B:=1; AA:=BB; UNTIL(AA:=AA+(BB>>B); B:=B+1; B>10)

Initialize BB to (1,1,1...). Loop to integrate over BB, so that the N’th element of AA will be the sum of all elements of BB[0,N]. This expression is useful for converting an array of step pulses accumulated by a multichannel scaler into an array of positions at which the multichannel scaler’s channel-advance signal was triggered. (The “CUM” function does this operation.)

AA:=0;L:=0;UNTIL(AA:=CAT(AA[0,L],@L);L:=L+1;L>9);AA:=AA<<1

Copy the 10 scalar input fields A-J to the first 10 elements of the array AA.

(This quite an inefficient way to do the job. An asub record would be much more efficient.)

L:=0;AA:=IX;UNTIL(@L:=AA[L,L];L:=L+1;L>10)

Copy the first 10 elements of AA to the scalar input variables A-J.

(Again, this is quite an inefficient way to do the job.)

Here’s a more complete example of array calcs in use. Suppose we want to analyze results from a series of edge scans to find the conditions that produce the sharpest edge. Lacking any hardware, we’ll also have to make fake data to analyze. We’ll use three aCalcout records:

  • aCalc1 to compute artificial edge-scan data,
  • aCalc2 to take the derivative of that data,
  • aCalc3 to compute the FWHM of the derivative.

Here are field values that do the job:

aCalc1.CALC = "tanh((ix-a)/b)+c*arndm"
aCalc1.A = <edge position>
aCalc1.B = <edge width control>
aCalc1.C = <amount of noise added to data>
aCalc1.OUT = "aCalc2.AA PP"

aCalc2.CALC = "nderiv(aa,20)"
aCalc2.OUT = "aCalc3.AA PP"

aCalc3.CALC = "fwhm(aa)"

6. Output Parameters

These parameters specify and control the output capabilities of the aCalcout record. They determine when to write the output, where to write it, and what the output will be. The OUT link specifies the Process Variable to which the result will be written. The OOPT field determines the condition that causes the output link to be written to. It’s a menu field that has six choices:

Every Time – write output every time record is processed.

On Change – write output every time VAL changes, i.e., every time the result of the expression changes.

When Zero – when record is processed, write output if VAL is zero.

When Non-zero – when record is processed, write output if VAL is non-zero.

Transition to Zero – when record is processed, write output only if VAL is zero and last value was non-zero.

Transition to Non-zero – when record is processed, write output only if VAL is non-zero and last value was zero.

Never – Don’t write output ever.

The DOPT field determines what data is written to the output link when the output is executed. The field is a menu field with two options: Use CALC or Use OCAL. If Use CALC is specified, when the record writes its output it will write the result of the expression in the CALC field, that is, it will write the value of the VAL [AVAL] field to a scalar [array] destination. If Use OCAL is specified, the record will instead write the result of the expression in the OCAL field, which result is contained in the OVAL field (array result in the OAV field). The OCAL field is exactly analogous to the CALC field and has the same functionality: it can contain an expression which is evaluated at run-time. Thus, if necessary, the record can use the result of the CALC expression to determine if data should be written and can use the result of the OCAL expression as the data to write.

If the OEVT field specifies a non-zero integer and the condition in the OOPT field is met, the record will post a corresponding event. If the ODLY field is non-zero, the record pauses for the specified number of seconds before executing the OUT link or posting the output event. During this waiting period the record is “active” and will not be processed again until the wait is over. The field DLYA is equal to 1 during the delay period. The resolution of the delay entry is one clock tick, where the clock frequency is defined elsewhere (see epicsThreadSleepQuantum() in the EPICS Application Developer’s Guide).

The IVOA field specifies what action to take with the OUT link if the aCalcout record enters an INVALID alarm status. The options are Continue normally, Don't drive outputs, and Set output to IVOV. If the IVOA field is Set output to IVOV, the data entered into the IVOV field is written to the OUT link if the record alarm severity is INVALID.

Field Summary Type DCT Initial Access Modify Rec Proc Monitor PP
OUT Output Specification OUTLINK Yes 0 Yes Yes N/A No
OOPT Output Execute Option Menu Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
DOPT Output Data Option Menu Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
OCAL Output Calculation STRING[36] Yes Null Yes Yes No No
OVAL Output Value DOUBLE No 0 Yes Yes Yes No
OEVT Event To Issue SHORT Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
ODLY Output Execution Delay FLOAT Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
IVOV Invalid Output Action Menu Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
IVOA Invalid Output Value DOUBLE Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
OAV Output array value DOUBLE ARRAY NO 0 Yes Yes Yes No
WAIT Wait for completion? Menu Yes “NoWait” Yes Yes Yes No

The aCalcout record uses device support to write to the OUT link. Soft device supplied with the record is selected with the .dbd specification

field(DTYP,"Soft Channel")

This device support uses the record’s WAIT field to determine whether to wait for completion of processing initiated by the OUT link before causing the record to execute its forward link. The mechanism by which this waiting for completion is performed requires that the OUT link have the attribute CA – i.e., the link text looks something like

xxx:record.field CA NMS

Currently, the record does not try to ensure that WAIT and OUT are compatibly configured. If WAIT == “Wait”, but the link looks like

xxx:record.field PP NMS

for example, then the record will not wait for completion before executing its forward link.

7. Display Parameters

These parameters are used to present meaningful data to the operator. Some are also meant to represent the status of the record at run-time. An example of an interactive MEDM display screen that displays the status of the aCalcout record is located here.

The EGU field contains a string of up to 16 characters which is supplied by the user and which describes the values being operated upon. The string is retrieved whenever the routine get_units is called. The EGU string is solely for an operator’s sake and does not have to be used.

The HOPR and LOPR fields only refer to the limits of the VAL, HIHI, HIGH, LOW, and LOLO fields. PREC controls the precision of the VAL field.

The INAV-INLV and IAAV-ILLV fields indicate the status of the link to the PVs specified in the INPA-INPL and INAA-INLL fields, respectively. The fields can have three possible values.

The OUTV field indicates the status of the OUT link. It has the same possible values as the INAV-INLV fields.

The CLCV and OLCV fields indicate the validity of the expression in the CALC and OCAL fields, respectively. If the expression is invalid, the field is set to one.

The DLYA field is set to one during the delay interval specified in ODLY.

See the EPICS Record Reference Manual, for more on the record name (NAME) and description (DESC) fields.

Field Summary Type DCT Initial Access Modify Rec Proc Monitor PP
EGU Engineering Units STRING [16] Yes Null Yes Yes No No
PREC Display Precision SHORT Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
HOPR High Operating Range FLOAT Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
LOPR Low Operating Range FLOAT Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
INAV Link Status of INPA Menu No 1 Yes No No No
INBV Link Status of INPB Menu No 1 Yes No No No
… … … … … … … … …
INLV Link Status of INPL Menu No 1 Yes No No No
OUTV OUT PV Status Menu No 0 Yes No No No
CLCV CALC Valid LONG No 0 Yes Yes No No
OCLV OCAL Valid LONG No 0 Yes Yes No No
DLYA Output Delay Active USHORT No 0 Yes No No No
NAME Record Name STRING [29] Yes 0 Yes No No No
DESC Description STRING [29] Yes Null Yes Yes No No
IAAV Link Status of INAA Menu No 1 Yes No No No
IBBV Link Status of INBB Menu No 1 Yes No No No
… … … … … … … … …
ILLV Link Status of INLL Menu No 1 Yes No No No

8. Alarm Parameters

The possible alarm conditions for the aCalcout record are the SCAN, READ, Calculation, and limit alarms. The SCAN and READ alarms are called by the record support routines. The Calculation alarm is called by the record processing routine when the CALC expression is an invalid one, upon which an error message is generated.

The following alarm parameters which are configured by the user define the limit alarms for the VAL field and the severity corresponding to those conditions.

The HYST field defines an alarm deadband for each limit. See the EPICS Record Reference Manual for a complete explanation of alarms and these fields.

Field Summary Type DCT Initial Access Modify Rec Proc Monitor PP
HIHI Hihi Alarm Limit FLOAT Yes 0 Yes Yes No Yes
HIGH High Alarm Limit FLOAT Yes 0 Yes Yes No Yes
LOW Low Alarm Limit FLOAT Yes 0 Yes Yes No Yes
LOLO Lolo Alarm Limit FLOAT Yes 0 Yes Yes No Yes
HHSV Severity for a Hihi Alarm Menu Yes 0 Yes Yes No Yes
HSV Severity for a High Alarm Menu Yes 0 Yes Yes No Yes
LSV Severity for a Low Alarm Menu Yes 0 Yes Yes No Yes
LLSV Severity for a Lolo Alarm Menu Yes 0 Yes Yes No Yes
HYST Alarm Deadband DOUBLE Yes 0 Yes Yes No No

9. Monitor Parameters

These parameters are used to determine when to send monitors for the value fields. The monitors are sent when the value field exceeds the last monitored field by the appropriate deadband, the ADEL for archiver monitors and the MDEL field for all other types of monitors. If these fields have a value of zero, every time the value changes, monitors are triggered; if they have a value of -1, every time the record is scanned, monitors are triggered.

Field Summary Type DCT Initial Access Modify Rec Proc Monitor PP
ADEL Archive Deadband DOUBLE Yes 0 Yes Yes No No
MDEL Monitor, i.e. value change, Deadband DOUBLE Yes 0 Yes Yes No No

10. Run-time Parameters

These fields are not configurable using a configuration tool and none are modifiable at run-time. They are used to process the record.

The LALM field is used to implement the hysteresis factor for the alarm limits.

The LA-LL fields are used to decide when to trigger monitors for the corresponding fields. For instance, if LA does not equal the value for A, monitors for A are triggered. The MLST and MLST fields are used in the same manner for the VAL field.

Field Summary Type DCT Initial Access Modify Rec Proc Monitor PP
LALM Last Alarmed Value DOUBLE No 0 Yes No No No
ALST Archive Last Value DOUBLE No 0 Yes No No No
MLST Monitor Last Value DOUBLE No 0 Yes No No No
LA Previous Input Value for A DOUBLE No 0 Yes No No No
LB Previous Input Value for B DOUBLE No 0 Yes No No No
… … … … … … … … …
LL Previous Input Value for A DOUBLE No 0 Yes No No No
LAA Previous Input Value for AA DOUBLE ARRAY No 0 Yes No No No
LBB Previous Input Value for BB DOUBLE ARRAY No 0 Yes No No No
… … … … … … … … …
LLL Previous Input Value for LL DOUBLE ARRAY No 0 Yes No No No

11. Record Support Routines

init_record

For each constant input link, the corresponding value field is initialized with the constant value if the input link is CONSTANT or a channel access link is created if the input link is PV_LINK.

A routine postfix is called to convert the infix expression in CALC and OCAL to reverse polish notation. The result is stored in RPCL and ORPC, respectively.

process

See section 12.

special

This is called if CALC or OCAL is changed. special calls aCalcPostfix.

get_value

Fills in the values of struct valueDes so that they refer to VAL.

get_units

Retrieves EGU.

get_precision

Retrieves PREC.

get_graphic_double

Sets the upper display and lower display limits for a field. If the field is VAL, HIHI, HIGH, LOW, or LOLO, the limits are set to HOPR and LOPR, else if the field has upper and lower limits defined they will be used, else the upper and lower maximum values for the field type will be used.

get_control_double

Sets the upper control and the lower control limits for a field. If the field is VAL, HIHI, HIGH, LOW, or LOLO, the limits are set to HOPR and LOPR, else if the field has upper and lower limits defined they will be used, else the upper and lower maximum values for the field type will be used.

get_alarm_double

Sets the following values:

  • upper_alarm_limit = HIHI
  • upper_warning_limit = HIGH
  • lower_warning_limit = LOW
  • lower_alarm_limit = LOLO

12. Record Processing

12.1. process()

The process() routine implements the following algorithm:

  1. Fetch all arguments.

  2. Call routine aCalcPerform(), which calculates VAL from the postfix version of the expression given in CALC. If aCalcPerform() returns success, UDF is set to FALSE.

  3. Check alarms. This routine checks to see if the new VAL causes the alarm status and severity to change. If so, NSEV, NSTA and LALM are set. It also honors the alarm hysteresis factor (HYST). Thus the value must change by at least HYST before the alarm status and severity changes.

  4. Determine if the Output Execution Option (OOPT) is met. If it is met, either execute the output link (and output event) immediately (if ODLY = 0), or schedule a callback to do so after the specified interval. See the explanation for the execOutput() routine below.

  5. Check to see if monitors should be invoked.

    • Alarm monitors are invoked if the alarm status or severity has changed.
    • Archive and value change monitors are invoked if ADEL and MDEL conditions are met.
    • Monitors for A-L and AA-LL are checked whenever other monitors are invoked.
    • NSEV and NSTA are reset to 0.

  6. If no output delay was specified, scan forward link if necessary, set PACT FALSE, and return.

12.2. execOutput()

  1. If DOPT field specifies the use of OCAL, call the routine aCalcPerform for the postfix version of the expression in OCAL. Otherwise, use VAL.

  2. If the Alarm Severity is INVALID, follow the option as designated by the field IVOA.

  3. If the Alarm Severity is not INVALID or IVOA specifies “Continue Normally”, call device support to write the value of OVAL to device or PV specified by the OUT link, and post the event in OEVT (if non-zero).

  4. If an output delay was implemented, process the forward link.

Tim Mooney