BAIT: telco command

NAME

telco - telescope controller switchyard

SYNOPSIS

telco fname [verbose] [shell] [string=xxx=yyy] [narrate] [datid]

DESCRIPTION

This program acts as a switch yard, and takes the input request file on the command line and executes different telescope control programs depending on the value of the PROCEDUR keyword.

telco reads up to the END statement in the request file and sets each string into the environment. It then executes the procedure defined in the keyword PROCEDUR. If this occurs with a non-zero exit code, it reads the next (if any) stanzas and executes the appropriate. It increments the STANZA environment variable for each successive stanza. It is possible to supply additional arguments by specifying space delimited fields in the PROCEDUR string. PROCEDUR.

The name of the filename without leading path information or trailing extension is put into the environment as REQID.

Note: the program does not put COMMENT lines into the environment.

OPTIONS

datid - Generates the DATID environment string which is used by photo to assign a unique name for the data file. A unique name is generated for each stanza of the request file from the time of observation.

shell - opens a X-window terminal (with the title of the request file). Commands can then be entered manually into the environment set by TELCO. Entering the command `exit' will close the window. The window will have the title bearing the name of the request file.

string =xxx=yyy - overwrites or adds the string `xxx=yyy' into the environment. This switch is useful for debugging when you want to alter a request file.

narrate - Puts a message similar to:

telco observes xxx.rqs #1 12:34:34 Jan3axqs DF_Tau_I

to stdout. Where the fields are requestfile, #stanza, Universal Time, DATID, and OBJECT name. For ease of analyzing the insgen.log files, all blanks in the object name are replaced with underscores.

SEE ALSO

insgen, mkid, request