Observing scripts

There were some problems with a wrong observing script being executed as an old and new version had the same name though they were in different directories. The main problem occurs when script made by an observer has the same name as one of the system scripts we provide. The observer should be able to run his/her own script, while an other observer should be executing the system script when using the same name. As each observer is assigned his/her own script directory the system was set-up such that it will only look in the current directory and the system script directories, where scripts in the current directory take precedence.

Some problems were reported with observers finding and (trying to) use old BIAS scripts in the sequencer. All these scripts were located in the different instrument directories and moved to separate directories. To avoid any accidental use, all these files will be saved to a DVD and removed from the system.

In the Talker log the execution of any command is noted but it is often not clear if the commands were executed manually or from a script. To improve this, specific instructions were provided on what should be added to scripts to let it note the start and end of the execution of the script in the log. This was specifically added to all system scripts.

Thomas Augusteijn 2012-02-21