mhttpd task

mhttpd is the Midas Web Server. It provides Midas DAQ control through the web using any web browser.

This daemon application has to run in order to allow the user to access from a Web browser any Midas experiment running on a given host. Full monitoring and "Almost" full control of a particular experiment can be achieved through this Midas Web server. The color coding is green for present/enabled, red for missing/disabled, yellow for inactive. It is important to note the refresh of the page is not "event driven" but is controlled by a timer (see Config- button). This mean the information at any given time may reflect the experiment state of up to n second in the paste, where n is the timer setting of the refresh parameter. Its basic functionality are:

Run control (start/stop).
Frontend up-to-date status and statistics display.
Logger up-to-date status and statistics display.
Lazylogger up-to-date status and statistics display.
Current connected client listing.
Slow control data display.
Basic access to ODB.
Graphical history data display.
Electronic LogBook recording/retrival messages
Alarm monitoring/control
... and more ...

Each section is further described below:

Start page - Run control page
ODB page - Online Database manipulation (equivalent to ODBedit)
Equipment page (Frontend info)
CNAF page (CAMAC access page)
Message page (Message Log)
Elog page (Electronic Log)
- Internal Elog (Internal)
- External Elog (External)
Program page (Program control)
History page (History display)
Alarm page (Alarm control)
Custom page (User defined Web page)

mhttpd requires as argument the TCP/IP port number in order to listen to the web based request.

Arguments
- [-h ] : help
- [-p port ] : port number, no default, should be 8081 for Example .
- [-D ] : start program as a daemon

Usage
```
  >mhttpd -p 8081 -D
```

Description Once the connection to a given experiment is established, the main Midas status page is displayed with the current ODB information related to this experiment. The page is sub-divised in several sections:

-[Experiment/Date] Current Experiment, current date.

-[Action/Pages buttons] Run control button, Page switch button. At any web page level within the Midas Web page the main status page can be invoked with the <status> button.

[Start... button] Depending on the run state, a single or the two first buttons will be showing the possible action (Start/Pause/Resume/Stop) (see Start page).
[ODB button] Online DataBase access. Depending on the security, R/W access can be granted to operated on any ODB field (see ODB page).
[CNAF button] If one of the equipment is a CAMAC frontend, it is possible to issue CAMAC command through this button. In this case the frontend is acting as a RPC CAMAC server for the request (see CNAF page).
[Messages button] Shows the n last entries of the Midas system message log. The last entry is always present in the status page (see below) (see Message page).
[Elog button] Electronic Log book. Permit to record permanently (file) comments/messages composed by the user (see Elog page).
[Alarms button] Display current Alarm setting for the entire experiment. The activation of an alarm has to be done through ODB under the /Alarms tree (See Alarm System)
[Program button] Display current program (midas application) status. Each program has a specific information record associated to it. This record is tagged as a hyperlink in the listing (see Program page).
[History button] Display History graphs of pre-defined variables. The history setting has to be done through ODB under the /History (see History system , History page).
[Config button] Allows to change the page refresh rate.
[Help button] Help and link to the main Midas web pages.
[User button(s)] If the user define a new tree in ODB named Script than any sub-tree name will appear as a button of that name. Each sub-tree (/Script/<button name>/) should contain at least one string key being the script command to be executed. Further keys will be passed as
- Arguments to the script. Midas Symbolic link are permitted.
- Example : The Example below defines a script names doit with 2 Arguments (run# device) which will be invoked when the button <doit> is pressed.
```
    odbedit
    mkdir Script
    cd Script 
    mkdir doit
    cd doit
    create string cmd
    ln "/runinfo/run number" run
    create string dest
    set dest /dev/hda
```

[Version >= 1.8.3 Alias Hyperlink] This line will be present on the status page only if the ODB tree /Alias. The distinction for spawning a secondary frame with the link request is done by default. For forcing the link in the current frame, add the terminal charater "&" at the end of the link name.

Example : The Example will create a shortcut to the defined location in the ODB.

   odbedit
   ls
   create key Alias       
   cd Alias
   ln /Equipment/Trigger/Common "Trig Setting"
   ln /Analyzer/Output "Analyzer"

   create key "Alias new window"                     <-- Version < 1.8.3
   cd "Alias new window"
   ln /equipment/Scalers/Variables "Scalers Var" 

  or
   cd Alias
   ln /Equipment/Trigger/Common "Trig Setting&"      <-- Version >= 1.8.3

[General info] Current run number, state, General Enable flag for Alarm, Auto restart flag Condition of mlogger.
[Equipment listing] Equipment name (see Equipment page), host on which its running, Statistics for that current run, analyzed percentage by the "analyzer" (The numbers are valid only if the name of the analyser is "Analyzer").
[Logger listing] Logger list. Multiple logger channel can be active (single application). The hyperlink "0" will bring you to the odb tree /Logger/channels/0/Settings. This section is present only when the Midas application mlogger task is running.
[Lazylogger listing] Lazylogger list. Multiple lazy application can be active. This section is present only when the Midas application lazylogger task is running.
[Last system message] Display a single line containing the last system message received at the time of the last display refresh.
[Current client listing] List of the current active Midas application with the hostname on which their running.

Midas Web server

Start page

Once the Start button is pressed, you will be prompt for experiment specific parameters before starting the run. The minimum set of parameter is the run number, it will be incremented by one relative to the last value from the status page. In the case you have defined the ODB tree /Experiment/Edit on Start all the parameters sitting in this directory will be displayed for possible modification. The Ok button will proceed to the start of the run. The Cancel will abort the start procedure and return you to the status page.

Start run request page. In this case the user has multiple run parameters defined under "/Experiment/Edit on Start"

The title of each field is taken from the ODB key name it self. In the case this label has a poor meaning and extra explanation is required, you can do so by creating a new ODB tree under experiment Parameter Comments/ . Then by creating a string entry named as the one in Edit on Start- you can place the extra information relative to that key (html tags accepted).

This "parameter comment" option is available and visible ONLY under the midas web page, the odbedit start command will not display this extra information.

[local:midas:S]/Experiment>ls -lr
Key name                        Type   #Val  Size  Last Opn Mode Value
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Experiment                      DIR
    Name                        STRING  1     32    17s  0   RWD  midas
    Edit on Start               DIR
        Write data              BOOL    1     4     16m  0   RWD  y
        enable                  BOOL    1     4     16m  0   RWD  n
        nchannels               INT     1     4     16m  0   RWD  0
        dwelling time (ns)      INT     1     4     16m  0   RWD  0
    Parameter Comments          DIR
        Write Data              STRING  1     64    44m  0   RWD  Enable logging
        enable                  STRING  1     64    7m   0   RWD  Scaler for expt B1 only
        nchannels               STRING  1     64    14m  0   RWD  <i>maximum 1024</i>
        dwelling time (ns)      STRING  1     64    8m   0   RWD  <b>Check hardware now</b>

[local:midas:S]Edit on Start>ls -l
Key name                        Type   #Val  Size  Last Opn Mode Value
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Write Data                      LINK    1     19    50m  0   RWD  /logger/Write data
enable                          LINK    1     12    22m  0   RWD  /sis/enable
number of channels              LINK    1     15    22m  0   RWD  /sis/nchannels
dwelling time (ns)              LINK    1     24    12m  0   RWD  /sis/dwelling time (ns)

Start run request page. Extra comment on the run condition is displayed below each entry.

ODB page

The ODB page shows the ODB root tree at first. Clicking on the hyperlink will walk you to the requested ODB field. The Example below show the sequence for changing the variable "PA" under the /equipment/PA/Settings/Channels ODB directory. A possible shortcut

If the ODB is Write protected, a first window will request the web password.

ODB page access.

Equipment page

The equipment names are linked to their respective /Variables sub-tree. This permit to access as a shortcut the current values of the equipment. In the case the equipment is a slow control equipment, the parameters list may be hyperlinked for parameter modification. This option is possible only if the parameter names have a particular name syntax (see History system).

Slow control page.

CNAF page

If one of the active equipment is a CAMAC based data collector, it will be possible to remotely access CAMAC through this web based CAMAC page. The status of the connection is displayed in the top right hand side corner of the window.

CAMAC command pages.

Message page

This page display by block of 100 lines the content of the Midas System log file starting with the most recent messages. The Midas log file resides in the directory defined by the experiment.

Message page.

Elog page

The ELOG page provides access to an electronic logbook. This tool can replace the experimental logbook for daily entries. The main advantage of Elog over paper logbook is the possiblity to access it remotely and provide a general knowledge of the experiment. In the other hand, Elog is not limited strictly to experiments and worldwide Elog implementation can be found on the internet.

Since version 2.0.0, Elog comes in two flavors, i.e Internal Elog where the Elog is built in the mhttpd Midas web interface, or External Elog where the Elog runs independently from the experiment and mhttpd as well. While the internal doesn't requires any setup, the latter requires a proper Elog installation which is fully described on the Elog web site. The External Elog implementation requires to have a dedicated entry in the ODB following the code below. It requires also to have the package Elog previously installed and properly configured. Once the ODB entry is existant, the internal ELOG is disabled.

Internal Elog

By default the mhttpd provides the internal Elog. The entry destination directory is established by the logger key in ODB (see Elog_Dir) The Electronic Log page shows the most recent Log message recorded in the system. The top buttons allows you to either Create/Edit/Reply/Query/Show a message

main Elog page.

The format of the message log can be written in HTML format.

HTML Elog message.

A feature of the Elog entry page is the Shift Check button, this permit for the experimenter in shift to go through a check list and record his findings in the Elog system. The check list is user defined and can be found in the ODB under /Elog

HTML Elog message.

The code below generates the above screen. The key Gas Handling contains all the information for a given form. There is no limit to the number of entries. By specifying an entry with the name Attachment0,Attachment1,... and filling it with a fix file name, its content will be attached to the Elog entry for every shift report.

[local:myexpt:Running]/>cd /Elog/
[local:myexpt:Running]/Elog>mkdir Forms
[local:myexpt:Running]/Elog>cd Forms/
[local:myexpt:Running]Forms>mkdir "Gas Handling"
[local:myexpt:Running]Forms>cd "Gas Handling"
[local:myexpt:Running]Gas Handling>create string "N2 Pressure"
String length [32]: 
[local:myexpt:Running]Gas Handling>create string "Vessel Temperature"
String length [32]: 
[local:myexpt:Running]Gas Handling>ls
N2 pressure              
Vessel Temperature              
[local:myexpt:Running]Gas Handling>
[local:xenon:Running]Gas Handling>create string Attachment0 
String length [32]: 64
[local:xenon:Running]Gas Handling>set Attachment0 Gaslog.txt

The runlog button display the content of the file runlog.txt which is expected to be in the data directory specified by the ODB key /Logger/Data Dir. Regardless of its content, it will be displayed in the web page. Its common uses is to append lines after every run. The task appending this run information can be any of the midas application. Example is available in the examples/experiment/analyzer.c which at each end-of-run (EOR) will write to the runlog.txt some statistical informations.

Elog page, Runlog display.

When composing a new entry into the Elog, several fields are available to specify the nature of the message i.e: Author, Type, System, Subject. Under Type and System a pulldown menu provides multiple category. These categories are user definable through the odb under the tree /Elog/Types, /Elog/Systems. The number of category is fixed to 20 maximum but any remaining field can be left empty.

Elog page, New Elog entry form.

External Elog

The advantage of using the external Elog over the built-in version is its felxibility. This package is used worldwide and impovement is constantly added. A full features documentations and standalone installation can be found at the Elog web site.

It's installation requires requires several steps described below.

Download the Elog package from the mentioned web site.

Windows, Linux, Mac version can be found there. Simple installation procedures are also described. Its installation can be done at the system level or at the user level. The Elog can service multiple Electronic logbooks in parallel and therefore an extra entry in its configuration file can provide specific experimental elog in a similar fashion as the internal one.
You need to take note of several consideration for its installation. You need to determine several locations for the different files that elog deals with.
- elog resource directory ( ex: /elog_installation_dir where elog is installed)
- logbook directory (ex: /myexpt/logbook where the pwd and elog entries are stored). The pwd file uses encryption for the user password.

As this Elog installation is tailored towards an experiment, a restriction applies i.e: Ensure that the mhttpd and elog applications shares at least the same file system. This means that either both applications runs on the same machine or a nsf mount provides file sharing.

You need to now the node and ports for both application. As mhttpd, elogd requires a port number for communication through the web (ex: NodeA:mhttpd -p 8080, NodeB:elogd -p 8081.

copy the default midas/src/elogd.cfg from the midas distrbution to your operating directory.

modify the elogd.cfg to reflect your configuration

  # This is a simple elogd configuration file to work with Midas
  # $Id: elogd.cfg 3218 2006-08-01 23:39:53Z ritt $ 

  [global]
  ; port under which elogd should run
  port = 8081                             
  ; password file, created under 'logbook dir'
  password file = elog.pwd                
  ; directory under which elog was installed (themes etc.)
  resource dir = /elog_installation_dir     
  ; directory where the password file will end up
  logbook dir = /myexpt/logbook     
  ; anyone can create it's own account
  self register = 1                       
  ; URL under which elogd is accessible
  url = http://ladd00.triumf.ca:8081      
  ; the "main" tab will bring you back to mhttpd
  main tab = Xenon                        
  ; this is the URL of mhttpd which must run on a different port
  main tab url = http://NodeA:8080
  ; only needed for email notifications
  smtp host = your.smtp.host              
  ; Define one logbook for online use. Severl logbooks can be defined here
  [MyOnline]
  ; directory where the logfiles will be written to
  Data dir = /myexpt/logbook            
  Comment = My MIDAS Experiment Electronic Logbook
  ; mimic old mhttpd behaviour
  Attributes = Run number, Author, Type, System, Subject     
  Options Type = Routine, Shift Summary, Minor Error, Severe Error, Fix, Question, Info, Modification, Alarm, Test, Other, 
  Options System = General, DAQ, Detector, Electronics, Target, Beamline
  Extendable Options = Type, System
  ; This substitution will enter the current run number
  Preset Run number = $shell(odbedit -e myexpt -h NodeA -d Runinfo -c 'ls -v \"run number\"')    
  Preset Author = $long_name
  Required Attributes = Type, Subject
  ; Run number and Author cannot be changed
  Locked Attributes = Run number, Author  
  Page Title = ELOG - $subject
  Reverse sort = 1
  Quick filter = Date, Type, Author
  ; Don't send any emails
  Suppress email to users = 1

start the elog daemon. -x is for the shell substitution of the command Preset Run number = $shell(... The argument invokes the odbedit remotely if needed to retrieve the current run number. You will have to ensure the proper path to the odbedit and the proper -e, -h argments for the experiment and host. You may want to verify this command from the console.
```
  NodeB:~>/installation_elog_dir/elogd -c elogd.cfg -x
```
start the mhttpd at its correct port and possibly in the daemon form.
```
  NodeA:~>mhttpd -p 8080 -D 
```

At this point the Elog from the Midas web page is accessing the internal Elog. To activate the external Elog, include in the ODB two entries such as:

   NodeX:> odbedit -e myexpt -h NodeA
   [NodeX:myexpt:Running]/>cd elog
   [NodeX:myexpt:Running]/Elog>create string Url
   String length [32]: 64
   [NodeX:myexpt:Running]/Elog>set Url http://NodeB:8081/MyOnline
   [NodeX:myexpt:Running]
   [NodeX:myexpt:Running]/Elog>create string "Logbook Dir"
   String length [32]: 64
   [NodeX:myexpt:Running]/Elog>set "Logbook Dir" /myexpt/logbook

   [NodeX:myexpt:Running]/Elog>ls
Logbook Dir                     /home/myexpt/ElogBook
Url                             http://NodeB:8081/MyOnline

Confirm proper operation of the external Elog by creating an entry. You will be prompt for a username and password. Click on New registration. Full control of these features are described in the Elog documentation.

Stop and restart the Elogd in the background.

   NodeB:~>/installation_elog_dir/elogd -c elogd.cfg -x -D

In the event you had previous entry under the internal elog, you can convert the internal to external using the elconv tool.

   NodeB:~> cp internal/elog_logbook/*.log /myexpt/logbook/.
   NodeB:~> cd /myexpt/logbook
   NodeB:~> /installation_elog_dir/elconv

Program page

This page present the current active list of the task attached to the given experiment. On the right hand side a dedicated button allows to stop the program which is equivalent to the ODBedit command odbedit> sh <task name> .

The task name hyperlink pops a new window pointing to the ODB section related to that program. The ODB structure for each program permit to apply alarm on the task presence condition and automatic spawning at either the begining or the end of a run.

Program page.

History page

This page reflects the History system settings (CVS r1.271). It lists on the top of the page the possible group names containing a list of panels defined in the ODB. Next a serie of buttons defines the time scale of the graph with predefined time window, "<<","<" "+" "-" ">" ">>" buttons permit the shifting of the graph in the time direction. Other buttons will allow graph resizing, Elog attachment creation, configuration of the panel and custom time frame graph display. By default a single group is created "Default" containing the trigger rate for the "Trigger" equipment.

The configuration options for a given panel consists in:

Zooming capability, run markers, logarithmic scale.
Data query in time.
Time scale in date format.
Web based page creation ("new" button) for up to 10 history channels per page.

History page.

History channel selection Page.

Alarm page

This page reflects the Alarm System settings. It presents the four type of alarms:

[Evaluated alarms] Triggered by ODB value on given arithmetical condition.
[Program alarms] Triggered on condition of the state of the defined task.
[Internal alarms] Trigger on internal (program) alarm setting through the use of the al_...() functions.
[Periodic alarms] Triggered by timeout condition defined in the alarm setting.

Custom page

The Custom page is available since version 1.8.3. It has been improved during version 1.9.5 (mhttpd.c CVS-1.288).

This custom web page provides to the user a mean of creating a secondary personal web page activated within the standard Midas web interface. This custom page can contain specific links to the ODB and therefore present in a more compact way the essential parameter of the controlled experiment. Two mode of operations are available:

Internal HTML document. : The html code is fully stored in the Online Database (ODB). This page is web editable.
External referenced HTML document. : ODB contains a link to an external html document.
Custom Script usage. : External html code with custom script option.

Internal HTML document.

This page reflects the html content of a given ODB key under the /Custom/ key. If keys are defined in the ODB under the /Custom/ the name of the key will appear in the main status page as the Alias keys. By clicking on the Custom page name, the content of the /Custom/<page> is interpreted as html content.

Custom web page with history graph.

The access to the ODB field is then possible using specific HTML tags:

<odb src="odb field"> Display ODB field.
<odb src="odb field" edit=1> Display and Editable ODB field.
<form method="GET" action="http://hostname.domain:port/CS/<Custom_page_key>"> Define method for key access.
<meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="60"> Standard page refresh in second.
<input type=submit name=cmd value=<Midas_page>> Define button for accessing Midas web pages. Valid values are the standard midas buttons (Start, Pause, Resume, Stop, ODB, Elog, Alarms, History, Programs, etc).
<img src="http://hostname.domain:port/HS/Meterdis.gif&scale=12h&width=300"> Reference to an history page.

ODB /Custom/ html field.

The insertion of a new Custom page requires the following steps:

Create an initial html file using your favorite HTML editor.
Insert the ODB HTML tags at your wish.
Invoke ODBedit, create the Custom directory, import the html file.

Example of loading the file mcustom.html into odb.

  Tue> odbedit
  [local:midas:Stopped]/>ls
  System                          
  Programs                        
  Experiment                      
  Logger                          
  Runinfo                         
  Alarms                          
  Equipment                       
  [local:midas:Stopped]/>mkdir Custom
  [local:midas:Stopped]/>cd Custom/
  [local:midas:Stopped]/Custom>import mcustom.html
  Key name: Test&
  [local:midas:Stopped]/Custom>

Once the file is load into ODB, you can ONLY edit it through the web (as long as the mhttpd is active). Clicking on the ODB(button) ... Custom(Key) ... Edit(Hyperlink at the bottom of the key). The Custom page can also be exported back to a ASCII file using the ODBedit command "export"
```
  Tue> odbedit
  [local:midas:Stopped]/>cd Custom/
  [local:midas:Stopped]/Custom>export test&
  File name: mcustom.html
  [local:midas:Stopped]/Custom>
```

The character "&" at the end of the custom key name forces the page to be open within the current frame. If this character is omitted, the page will be spawned into a new frame (default).

If the custom page name is set to Status (no "&") it will become the default midas Web page!

html code Example mcustom.html

<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
<html>
 <head>
 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
 <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Mozilla/4.76 [en] (Windows NT 5.0; U) [Netscape]">
 <meta name="Author" content="Pierre-André Amaudruz">
 <title>Set value</title>
 </head>
 <body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFCC" link="#FF0000" vlink="#800080" alink="#0000FF">
 <form method="GET" action="http://host.domain:port/CS/WebLtno&">
 <input type=hidden name=exp value="ltno">
  <center><table CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 COLS=3 WIDTH="100%" BGCOLOR="#99FF99" >
  <caption><b><font face="Georgia"><font color="#000099"><font size=+2>LTNO
     Custom Web Page</font></font></font></b></caption>
  <tr BGCOLOR="#FFCC99">
  <td><b><font color="#FF0000">Actions: </font></b>
  <input type=submit name=cmd value=Status>
  <input type=submit name=cmd value=Start>
  <input type=submit name=cmd value=Stop>
  <td>
  <input type=submit name=cmd value=ODB>
  <input type=submit name=cmd value=History>
  <input type=submit name=cmd value=Elog></td>
  <td><div align=right><b>LTNO experiment </b></div>
  </td></tr>
  <tr><td><b>Cryostat section:</b>
  <br>LN2 Bath Level : <odb src="/equipment/cryostat/variables/measured[12]">
  <br>Run# : <odb src="/runinfo/run number" edit=1>
  <br>Run#: <odb src="/runinfo/run number"></td>
  <td WIDTH="100%" BGCOLOR="#009900"><b>RF source section:</b>
  <br>Run#: <odb src="/runinfo/run number"></td>
  <td WIDTH="50%" BGCOLOR="#FF6600"><b>Run section:</b>
  <br>Start Time: <odb src="/runinfo/start time">
  <br>Stop Time: <odb src="/runinfo/stop time">
  <br>Run#: <odb src="/runinfo/run number"></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
  <td BGCOLOR="#CC6600"><b>Sucon magnet section:</b>
  <br>Run#: <odb src="/runinfo/run number"></td>

  <td BGCOLOR="#FFCC33"><b>Scalers section:</b>
  <br>Beam Current: <odb src="/equipment/epics/variables/measured[10]">
  <br>Run#: <odb src="/runinfo/run number"></td>

  <td BGCOLOR="#66FFFF"><b>Polarity section:</b>
  <br>Run#: <odb src="/runinfo/run number"></td>
  </tr>
  </table></center>

  <img src="http://host.domain:port/HS/Meterdis.gif?exp=ltno&scale=12h&width=400">
  <img src="http://host.domain:port/HS/Bridge.gif?exp=ltno&scale=12h&width=400">
  <b><i><font color="#000099"><a href="http://host.domain/index.html">
  <br> LTNO help</a></font></i></b>
  </body>
</html>

External referenced HTML document.

The new External referenced HTML document. feature remove the html code size restriction and support multiple custom web page. In addition, to each html document, a dynamic ODB linked image extend the display presentation capability of the controlled experiment.

In the case the custom web page is rather large and complex, it becomes easier to handle such file through normal html editor and skip the reloading of the file in the ODB. (import/export). This is now possible by providing an external reference of the web page in the /Custom directory of the ODB. In addition special ODB settings are available to allow GIF image insertion and ODB fields bars and fillup area superimposed on the image. This powerful new extention brings the mhttpd capability closer to other experiment web control similar to EPICS.

The HTML examples below should operate in conjunction of the standard demo midas example found in midas/examples/experiment. myexpt.html, xcumstom.odb and myexpt.gif can be found in the midas/examples/custom directory.

Using your favorite html editor, you can create a custom page including any of the options described in the Internal HTML document.. Once the mhttpd application is started and connected to a valid Midas experiment, you can activate this page as follow:

[local:Default:Stopped]/>pwd
/
[local:Default:Stopped]/>mkdir Custom
[local:Default:Stopped]/>cd Custom
[local:Default:Stopped]/Custom>create string Dewpoint&
String length [32]: 256
[local:Default:Stopped]/Custom>set Dewpoint& \doc\cooling\dewpoint.html

Note: This link refers to a local html document. In the case an external HTML is requires, the definition should be placed under /Alias (see also ODB /Alias Tree).

[local:Default:Stopped]/>mkdir Alias
[local:Default:Stopped]/>cd alias
[local:Default:Stopped]/alias>create string WebDewpoint&
String length [32]: 256
[local:Default:Stopped]/alias>set WebDewpoint& "http://www.decatur.de/javascript/dew/index.html"

After refreshing the Midas status web page, the link Dewpoint should be visible in the top area of the page. The "&" is to prevent a new frame to be displayed (see ODB /Alias Tree). Clicking on it will bring you to your custom html documentation. In the case you want to extend the flexibility of your page by including features such as:

"live" ODB values position in a particular location of the page.
"bar level" showing graphically levels or rate etc.
"color level" where color is used as level indicator. you need to setup specific ODB tree related to a particular page. This overlay of the requested features is done on a GIF file representing you background experimental layout for example. myexpt.html can be found in the examples/custom directory. For the full operation of this custom demo, you'll need to have the frontend "sample frontend" (midas/example/experiment/frontend.c), mlogger, mhttpd running.

Html document myexpt.html

<html>
 <head>
  <title>MyExperiment Demo Status</title>
  <meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="30">
 </head>
 <body>
   <form name="form1" method="Get" action="/CS/MyExpt&">
   <table border=3 cellpadding=2>
  <tr><th bgcolor="#A0A0FF">Demo Experiment<th bgcolor="#A0A0FF">Custom Monitor/Control</tr> 
  <tr><td> <b><font color="#ff0000">Actions: </font></b><input
      value="Status" name="cmd" type="submit"> <input type="submit"
      name="cmd" value="Start"><input type="submit" name="cmd" value="Stop">
  </td><td>
  <center> <a href="http://midas.triumf.ca/doc/html/index.html"> Help </a></center>
  </td></tr>
  <td>Current run #: <b><odb src="/Runinfo/run number"></b></td>
  <td>#events: <b><odb src="/Equipment/Trigger/Statistics/Events sent"></b></td>
  </tr><tr>
  <td>Event Rate [/sec]: <b><odb src="/Equipment/Trigger/Statistics/Events per sec."></b></td>
  <td>Data Rate [kB/s]: <b><odb src="/Equipment/Trigger/Statistics/kBytes per sec."></b></td>
  </tr><tr>
  <td>Cell Pressure: <b><odb src="/Equipment/NewEpics/Variables/CellPressure"></b></td>
  <td>FaradayCup   : <b><odb src="/Equipment/NewEpics/Variables/ChargeFaradayCup"></b></td>
  </tr><tr>
  <td>Q1 Setpoint: <b><odb src="/Equipment/NewEpics/Variables/EpicsVars[17]" edit=1></b></td>
  <td>Q2 Setpoint: <b><odb src="/Equipment/NewEpics/Variables/EpicsVars[19]" edit=1></b></td>
  </tr><tr>
  <th> <img src="http://localhost:8080/HS/Default/Trigger%20rate.gif?
                  exp=default&amp;scale=12h&amp;width=250">
  </th>
  <th> <img src="http://localhost:8080/HS/Default/Scaler%20rate.gif?
                  exp=default&amp;scale=10m&amp;width=250"></th>
  </tr>
  <tr><td colspan=2>
  <map name="myexpt.map">
     <area shape=rect coords="140,70, 420,170" 
     href="http://midas.triumf.ca/doc/html/index.html" title="Midas Doc">
     <area shape=rect coords="200,200,400,400"
     href="http://localhost:8080" title="Switch pump">
     <area shape=rect coords="230,515,325,600"
     href="http://localhost:8080" title="Logger in color level (using Fill)">
  <img src="myexpt.gif" border=1 usemap="#myexpt.map">
  </map>
  </td></tr>
   </table></form>
  </body>
</html>

To activate this HTML document, it has to be defined in the ODB as follow:

[local:Default:Stopped]/>cd /Custom
[local:Default:Stopped]/Custom>create string Myexpt&
String length [32]: 256
[local:Default:Stopped]/Custom>set Myexpt& \midas\examples\custom\myexpt.html

After refresh, the ODB values will be displayed, the mapping is still not active. as no reference to the gif location has been given yet.

[local:Default:Stopped]/Custom>mkdir Images
[local:Default:Stopped]/Custom>cd Images/
[local:Default:Stopped]Images>mkdir myexpt.gif
[local:Default:Stopped]Images>cd myexpt.gif/
[local:Default:Stopped]myexpt.gif>create string Background
String length [32]: 256
[local:Default:Stopped]myexpt.gif>set Background \midas\examples\custom\myexpt.gif

After refresh, the file myexpt.gif should by visible. The mapping based on myexpt.map is active, hovering the mouse over the boxes will display the associated titles (Midas Doc, Switch pump, etc), By clicking on either box the browser will go to the defined html page specified by the map.

Custom web page with external reference to html document.

In addition of these initial features, multiple ODB values can be superimposed at define location on the image. Each entry will have a ODB tree associated to it defining the ODB variable, X/Y position, color, etc...

[local:Default:Stopped]myexpt.gif>mkdir Labels
[local:Default:Stopped]myexpt.gif>cd labels
[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>mkdir Rate

>>>>>>>> Refresh web page <<<<<<<<

12:32:38 [mhttpd] [mhttpd.c:5508:show_custom_gif] Empty Src key for label "Rate"

Creating "Labels/<label name>" sub-directory under the gif file name, will automatically at the next web page refresh complete its filling with default value for the structure for that label.

[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>cd Rate/
[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>ls -l
Key name                        Type    #Val  Size  Last Opn Mode Value
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Src                             STRING  1     256   2m   0   RWD
Format                          STRING  1     32    2m   0   RWD  %1.1f
Font                            STRING  1     32    2m   0   RWD  Medium
X                               INT     1     4     2m   0   RWD  0
Y                               INT     1     4     2m   0   RWD  0
Align                           INT     1     4     2m   0   RWD  0
FGColor                         STRING  1     8     2m   0   RWD  000000
BGColor                         STRING  1     8     2m   0   RWD  FFFFFF

The Src should point to a valid ODB Key variable. The X,Y fields position the top left corner of the label. The other fields associated to this label are self-explanatory.

[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>set src "/Equipment/Trigger/statistics/kbytes per sec."
[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>set x 330
[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>set y 250 
[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>set format "Rate:%1.1f kB/s"

Once the initial label is created, the simplest way to extent to multiple labels is to copy the existing label sub-tree and modify the label parameters.

[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>cd .. 
[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>copy Rate Event
[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>cd Events/
[local:Default:Stopped]Event>set src "/Equipment/Trigger/statistics/events per sec."
[local:Default:Stopped]Event>set Format "Rate:%1.1f evt/s"
[local:Default:Stopped]Event>set y 170
[local:Default:Stopped]Event>set x 250

In the same manner, you can create bars used for level representation. This code will setup two ODB values defined by the fields src.

[local:Default:Stopped]myexpt.gif>pwd
/Custom/Images/myexpt.gif
[local:Default:Stopped]myexpt.gif>mkdir Bars
[local:Default:Stopped]myexpt.gif>cd bars/
[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>mkdir Rate

>>>>>>>> Refresh web page <<<<<<<<

14:05:58 [mhttpd] [mhttpd.c:5508:show_custom_gif] Empty Src key for bars "Rate"
[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>cd Rate/
[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>set src "/Equipment/Trigger/statistics/kbytes per sec."
[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>set x 4640

[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>set y 210 
[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>set max 1e6 
[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>cd .. 
[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>copy Rate Events
[local:Default:Stopped]Labels>cd Events/
[local:Default:Stopped]Event>set src "/logger/channles/0/statistics/events written"
[local:Default:Stopped]Event>set direction 1
[local:Default:Stopped]Event>set y 240
[local:Default:Stopped]Event>set x 450
[local:Default:Stopped]Rate>set max 1e6

Following the same principle as for the labels, by creating Bars/<bar name>, the structure for the rate will be filled with a default setting after refreshing the custom midas page. The different parameters are self-explanatory.

The last option available is the Fills where an area can be filled with different colors depending on the given ODB value (src parameter). The color selection is mapped by correspondance of the index of the Limit array to the Fillcolor array. Presently the structure is not pre-defined and need to be entered by hand.

[/Custom/Images/myexpt.gif/Fills/Level]
Src = STRING : [256] /equipment/Trigger/statistics/events sent
X = INT : 250
Y = INT : 550
Limits = DOUBLE[4] :
[0] 0
[1] 10
[2] 10000
[3] 100000
Fillcolors = STRING[4] :
[8] 00FF00
[8] AAFF00
[8] AA0000
[8] FF0000

Custom web page with external reference to html document.

Custom Script usage.

From 1.9.5, a new feature has been implemented for the creation of secondary web page activated by an internal or external custom page. This permit to have truly custom page for specific scripts or data display. Use of a new odb key is required CustomScript following the same Script syntax.

To be noted that <script> language within the .html source file is possible.

In order to provide a new frame holding input parameters with start script button using the inputs parameters as arguments the setup is the following:

Create the mybutton.html code as described in the Internal HTML document..
Create a new custom (internal or External) in ODB under /Custom/mybutton&
Create a new custom script (with argument as described in the myscript.html) in ODB under /CustomScript/myscript&

These operations will implement a new button <mybutton> in the main Status Midas web page (same lne as alias). By clicking <mybutton> a new frame will be created as described in the mybutton.html. By clicking on the <myscript> of tht new frame, execution of the script using all the argument above will be performed.

mybutton.html code

<!--Custom web page for runall. 
This webpage displays some experiment data,
allows the user to enter some experiment parameters,
and then uses these parameters to run a custom script.-->

<html>
        <head>
        <meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="10">
        <title>RUNALL</title>
        </head>

        <body>
        <form method="GET" action="http://<host>:<port>/CS/mybutton&">
        <input type=hidden name=exp value="default">

        <table border ="3" cellpadding ="5" width ="40%">
        <tr align ="center"<th bgcolor =#A0A0FF>
        MIDAS experiment "default"</th>
        <th bgcolor =#A0A0FF>

 <script>
        var mydate=new Date()
        var year=mydate.getYear()
        if (year < 1000)
          year+=1900
        var day=mydate.getDay()
        var month=mydate.getMonth()
        var daym=mydate.getDate()
        var hour=mydate.getHours()
        var min=mydate.getMinutes()
        var sec=mydate.getSeconds()
        if (daym<10)
          daym="0"+daym
        if (hour<10)
          hour="0"+hour
        if (min<10)
          min="0"+min
        if (sec<10)
          sec="0"+sec
        var dayarray=new Array("Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thur","Fri","Sat")
        var montharray=new Array("Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","June","July",
        "Aug","Sept","Oct","Nov","Dec")
        document.writeln(dayarray[day], " ", montharray[month], " ", daym," ", 
        hour, ":", min, ":", sec," ", year);    
        </script>
  </th>
  </tr>

        <tr align ="center"<th colspan ="2" bgcolor=#A0A0A0>
        <input type=submit name=cmd value=Status>       
        <input type=submit name=cmd value=ODB></th></tr>
        <tr align ="center"><th colspan = "2" bgcolor=#CCCCFF>
        End of Run Parameters</th></tr>
        <tr align ="center"><th> Key </th>  <th>Value </th></tr>
        <tr align ="center"><td><b>Run number</b></td>
        <td><odb src="/runinfo/run number"></td></tr>
        <tr align ="center"><td><b>Number of Runs</b></td>
        <td><odb src="/customscript/myscript/Number of Runs" edit=1></td></tr>
        <tr align ="center"><td><b>Duration in Hours</b></td>
        <td><odb src="/customscript/myscript/Duration in Hours" edit=1></td></tr>
        <tr align ="center"<th colspan ="2" bgcolor=#D0D0D0>
        <input type=submit name=customscript value="myscript">
        </th></tr>
        </table>
        </form> 
        </body>
</html>

CustomScript usage.

Utilities - Top - Data format

Midas DOC Version 1.9.5 ---- PSI Stefan Ritt ----
Contributions: Pierre-Andre Amaudruz - Sergio Ballestrero - Suzannah Daviel - Doxygen - Peter Green - Qing Gu - Greg Hackman - Gertjan Hofman - Paul Knowles - Rudi Meier - Glenn Moloney - Dave Morris - John M O'Donnell - Konstantin Olchanski - Renee Poutissou - Tamsen Schurman - Andreas Suter - Jan M.Wouters - Piotr Adam Zolnierczuk