Introduction
This section deals with configuring and launching applications for Trebuchet.
Contents
Configuring and Launching Apps
This section goes over two examples of adding an app to the configuration file: a Python script and an executable; both with arguments.
Python File
Within the IASDK, there are several example scripts for connecting to the radar and pulling some kind of data.
To start, it is recommended that the relevant files be copied into Trebuchet’s executable directory, in a folder called Apps. For this example, they will be placed in <Trebuchet exe directory/Apps/Python/.
Open the apps appConfiguration.json, and add a new entry to the TrebuchetApps list, in the following format:
"TrebuchetApps": [
<Current App list>,
{
"Name": "",
"Description": "",
"LaunchCommand": "",
"ExePath": "",
"ParameterGroups": [],
"MutualExclusiveGroups": [],
"ExecutionEnv": null
}
]
In this example, add the read_azimuth_of_fft_data.py script to the launcher. This is placed in Apps\Python\Python_radar_client\read_azimuth_of_fft_data.py. Set the name of the app to Read Single FFT Azimuth, and give an appropriate description. Since the “app” is a python script, we must provide a launch command. In this case, that command is python. Finally, set the ExePath field to Apps\\Python\\Python_radar_client\\read_azimuth_of_fft_data.py.
Note the double slash - this is required for Trebuchet to correctly parse the path.
The configuration entry will now look like this:
{
"Name": "Read Single FFT Azimuth",
"Description": "Connects to a radar and reads a single azimuth of data",
"LaunchCommand": "python",
"ExePath": "Apps\\Python\\Python_radar_client\\read_azimuth_of_fft_data.py”,
"ParameterGroups": [],
"MutualExclusiveGroups": [],
"ExecutionEnv": null
}
When the app is next launched, there will be a corresponding entry in the Trebuchet Launcher, but with no arguments:
You can add parameters (in parameter groups) to the ParameterGroups or MutaulExclusiveGroups lists, with the format:
“ParameterGroups”: [
…
{
"GroupName": "",
"Parameters": [
…
{
"ShortForm": "",
"LongForm": "",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "",
"HasArguments": true
}
]
}
]
Where “…” indicates other elements that may be in the lists.
To find which parameters the script requires, you can run the script with the “-h” option, using python.
python
Apps\\Python\\python_radar_client\\usage_examples\\read_azimuth_of_fft_data.py
Alternatively, you can look inside the script to get the arguments:
This script only takes two arguments: ip_address and port. These are both global options, and are represented by putting them in a group with a blank group name. For example:
{
"GroupName": "",
"Parameters": [
{
"ShortForm": "i",
"LongForm": "ip_address",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "192.168.0.1",
"HasArguments": true
},
{
"ShortForm": "p",
"LongForm": "port",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "6317",
"HasArguments": true
}
]
}
So, the final configuration entry for this app looks like this:
{
"Name": "Read Single FFT Azimuth",
"Description": "Connects to a radar and reads a single azimuth of data",
"LaunchCommand": "python",
"ExePath": "Apps\\Python\\Python_radar_client\\read_azimuth_of_fft_data.py",
"ParameterGroups": [
{
"GroupName": "",
"Parameters": [
{
"ShortForm": "i",
"LongForm": "ip_address",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "192.168.0.1",
"HasArguments": true
},
{
"ShortForm": "p",
"LongForm": "port",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "6317",
"HasArguments": true
}
]
}
],
"MutualExclusiveGroups": [],
"ExecutionEnv": null
}
This creates an entry in the Trebuchet app:
As they are global fields, ip_address and port have been translated to Hostname and Port in the connection details pane. Their default values have also been ignored.
Pressing Launch on the app, with parameters filled out, will launch the python script in a new window.
Executable App
This example will go over adding the video_adjuster.exe application from the IASDK. First, copy the application executable into the Apps/Radar Utilities folder within the Trebuchet app directory.
In appConfiguration.json (also located in the trebuchet app directory), add a new, blank entry to the Trebuchet App List:
"TrebuchetApps": [
<Current App list>,
{
"Name": "",
"Description": "",
"LaunchCommand": "",
"ExePath": "",
"ParameterGroups": [],
"MutualExclusiveGroups": [],
"ExecutionEnv": null
}
]
Name this app Radar Video Adjuster, and set the ExePath to the location of the copied executable. Unlike the python example, no launch command is required:
{
"Name": "Radar Video Adjuster",
"Description": "Relays incoming 16-bit FFT messages as 8-bit",
"LaunchCommand": "",
"ExePath": "Apps\\Radar Utilities\\video_adjuster.exe",
"ParameterGroups": [],
"MutualExclusiveGroups": [],
"ExecutionEnv": null
}
Note the “//” in the ExePath. This is so that Trebuchet’s config parser can correctly interpret the file path.
When Trebuchet is next launched, it will contain the new app, with no parameters:
You can add parameters to the ParameterGroups or MutualExclusiveGroups lists in the configuration file for them to appear in the App Parameters panel. This will usually take the form:
“ParameterGroups”: [
…
{
"GroupName": "",
"Parameters": [
…
{
"ShortForm": "",
"LongForm": "",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "",
"HasArguments": true
}
]
}
]
Where “…” represents other entries that may be in the list.
The radar video adjuster has two parameter groups: radar and server, where each group contains ipaddress and port parameters. This is represented in the config as follows:
"ParameterGroups": [
{
"GroupName": "radar",
"Parameters": [
{
"ShortForm": "i",
"LongForm": "ipaddress",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "127.0.0.1",
"HasArguments": true
},
{
"ShortForm": "p",
"LongForm": "port",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "6317",
"HasArguments": true
}
]
},
{
"GroupName": "server",
"Parameters": [
{
"ShortForm": "i",
"LongForm": "ipaddress",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "127.0.0.1",
"HasArguments": true
},
{
"ShortForm": "p",
"LongForm": "port",
"Required": false,
"DefaultValue": "6317",
"HasArguments": true
}
]
}
],
When the launcher next starts, the new Radar Video Adjuster output will look like this:
Note that the radar ipaddress and port parameters have been recognised as radar connection parameters, and so have been linked to the Hostname and Port fields.
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