ISafetyMonitorV3 Interface

class SafetyMonitor

Bases: ASCOM.DeviceInterface

ASCOM Standard ISafetyMonitor V3 Interface

Methods

SafetyMonitor.Action(ActionName: str, ActionParameters)

Invoke the specified device-specific custom action

Parameters:

• ActionName (str) – A name from SupportedActions that represents the action to be carried out.

• ActionParameters (str) – List of required arguments or empty string if none are required.

Returns:

Action response. The meaning of returned strings is set by the driver author. See notes below.

Return type:

string

Raises:

• MethodNotImplementedException – If no actions at all are supported

• ActionNotImplementedException – If the driver does not support the requested ActionName. The supported action names are listed in SupportedActions.

• NotConnectedException – If the device is not connected

• DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Important

• Must be implemented but may throw MethodNotImplementedException if no custom actions are supported.

• This method, combined with SupportedActions, is the supported mechanic for adding non-standard functionality.

Note

• Action names must be case insensitive, so for example SelectWheel, selectwheel and SELECTWHEEL all refer to the same action.

• An example of a string response: Suppose filter wheels start to appear with automatic wheel changers; new actions could be QueryWheels and SelectWheel. The former returning a formatted list of wheel names and the second taking a wheel name and making the change, returning appropriate values to indicate success or failure.

SafetyMonitor.CommandBlind(Command: str, Raw: bool)

Deprecated since version 3: Use the more flexible Action() and SupportedActions mechanic. See Notes below.

Transmit an arbitrary string to the device and does not wait for a response.

Parameters:

• Command (str) – The literal command string to be transmitted.

• Raw (bool) – If True, command is transmitted ‘as-is’. If False, then protocol framing characters may be added prior to transmission.

Returns:

Nothing

Raises:

• MethodNotImplementedException – If the method is not implemented

• NotConnectedException – If the device is not connected

• DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Deprecated, may result in MethodNotImplementedException

Note

The CommandXXX methods are a historic mechanic that provides clients with direct and unimpeded access to change device hardware configuration. While highly enabling for clients, this mechanic is inherently risky because clients can fundamentally change hardware operation without the driver being aware that a change is taking / has taken place.

The newer Action and SupportedActions mechanic provides discrete, named, functions that can deliver any functionality required.They do need driver authors to make provision for them within the driver, but this approach is much lower risk than using the CommandXXX methods because it enables the driver to resolve conflicts between standard device interface commands and extended commandsprovided as Actions.The driver is always aware of what is happening and can adapt more effectively to client needs.

SafetyMonitor.CommandBool(Command: str, Raw: bool)

Deprecated since version 3: Use the more flexible Action() and SupportedActions mechanic. See Notes below.

Transmit an arbitrary string to the device and wait for a boolean response.

Parameters:

• Command (str) – The literal command string to be transmitted.

• Raw (bool) – If True, command is transmitted ‘as-is’. If False, then protocol framing characters may be added prior to transmission.

Returns:

True/False response from the command

Return type:

boolean

Raises:

• MethodNotImplementedException – If the method is not implemented

• NotConnectedException – If the device is not connected

• DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Deprecated, may result in MethodNotImplementedException

Note

The CommandXXX methods are a historic mechanic that provides clients with direct and unimpeded access to change device hardware configuration. While highly enabling for clients, this mechanic is inherently risky because clients can fundamentally change hardware operation without the driver being aware that a change is taking / has taken place.

The newer Action and SupportedActions mechanic provides discrete, named, functions that can deliver any functionality required.They do need driver authors to make provision for them within the driver, but this approach is much lower risk than using the CommandXXX methods because it enables the driver to resolve conflicts between standard device interface commands and extended commandsprovided as Actions.The driver is always aware of what is happening and can adapt more effectively to client needs.

SafetyMonitor.CommandString(Command: str, Raw: bool)

Deprecated since version 3: Use the more flexible Action() and SupportedActions mechanic. See Notes below.

Transmit an arbitrary string to the device and wait for a string response.

Parameters:

• Command (str) – The literal command string to be transmitted.

• Raw (bool) – If True, command is transmitted ‘as-is’. If False, then protocol framing characters may be added prior to transmission.

Returns:

String response from the command

Return type:

string

Raises:

• MethodNotImplementedException – If the method is not implemented

• NotConnectedException – If the device is not connected

• DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Deprecated, may result in MethodNotImplementedException

Note

The CommandXXX methods are a historic mechanic that provides clients with direct and unimpeded access to change device hardware configuration. While highly enabling for clients, this mechanic is inherently risky because clients can fundamentally change hardware operation without the driver being aware that a change is taking / has taken place.

The newer Action and SupportedActions mechanic provides discrete, named, functions that can deliver any functionality required.They do need driver authors to make provision for them within the driver, but this approach is much lower risk than using the CommandXXX methods because it enables the driver to resolve conflicts between standard device interface commands and extended commandsprovided as Actions.The driver is always aware of what is happening and can adapt more effectively to client needs.

async SafetyMonitor.Connect()

Added in version 3: Preferred asynchronous connection mechanic. See Important section below.

Connect to the device asynchronously. Use this to connect to a device rather than setting Connected to True.

Returns:

Nothing

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Important

• Non-Blocking. On return, Connecting must be True unless already connected. Connection has successfully completed when Connecting becomes (or is) False.

• This is a mandatory method and must not throw a MethodNotConnectedException.

• Use this to connect yo a device rather than setting Connected to True.

async SafetyMonitor.Disconnect()

Added in version 3: Preferred asynchronous connection mechanic. See Important section below.

Disconnect from the device asynchronously. Use this to disconnect from a device rather than setting Connected to False.

Returns:

Nothing

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Important

• Non-Blocking. On return, Connecting must be True unless already disconnected. Disconnect has successfully completed when Connecting becomes (or is) False.

• This is a mandatory method and must not throw a MethodNotImplementedException.

• Use this to disconnect from a device rather than setting Connected to False.

SafetyMonitor.SetupDialog()

Launches a configuration dialogue box for the driver. The call will not return until the user clicks OK or cancels manually.

Please note that this method is only valid for COM drivers. Alpaca devices should provide configuration through the Alpaca HTML endpoints and should not implement a SetupDialog endpoint.

Returns:

Nothing

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Must be implemented, must not throw a MethodNotImplementedException

Note

• Blocking It is permissible that the configuration dialog is modal, and for the driver not to respond to other calls while this dialog is open.

Properties

property SafetyMonitor.Connected: boolean

Changed in version 3: Writing to change connection state superseded by asynchronous Connect(), Disconnect(), and Connecting.

(Read/Write) Retrieve or set the connected state of the device. Writing is deprecated, use the newer Connect() and Disconnect() methods, and the newer Connecting property. See remarks below.

Set True to connect to the device hardware. Set False to disconnect from the device hardware. You can also read the property to check whether it is connected. This reports the current hardware state. See Notes below.

Returns:

True if connected to the hardware, else false.

Return type:

boolean

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Deprecation Notice

Property-write is deprecated as of SafetyMonitor V3. Starting with Platform 7 and the interface revisions contained therein, writing to Connected is discouraged. To connect and disconnect, use the newer non-blocking Connect() and Disconnect() methods, with the new Connecting property serving as the completion property.

Attention

Must be implemented

Note

• Do not use a NotConnectedException here, that exception is for use in other methods that require a connection in order to succeed.

• The Connected property sets and reports the state of connection to the device hardware. For a hub this means that Connected will be True when the first driver connects and will only be set to False when all drivers have disconnected. A second driver may find that Connected is already True and setting Connected to False does not report Connected as False. This is not an error because the physical state is that the hardware connection is still True.

• Multiple calls setting Connected to True or False will not cause an error.

property SafetyMonitor.Connecting: Boolean

Added in version 3: Preferred asynchronous connection mechanic. See Important section below.

Returns:

Returns True while the device is undertaking an asynchronous connect or disconnect operation.

Return type:

boolean

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Must be implemented, must not throw a PropertyNotImplementedException

Note

• This is the correct property for determing when the non-blocking methods Connect() or Disconnect() have completed. Completion is when Connecting becomes False after calling either of these methods.

property SafetyMonitor.Description: String

Returns:

Description of the device such as manufacturer and model number. Any ASCII characters may be used.

Return type:

string

Raises:

• NotConnectedException – If the device is not connected

• DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Must be implemented, must not throw a PropertyNotImplementedException

Note

• This describes the device, not the driver. See the DriverInfo property for information on the ASCOM driver.

• The description length must be a maximum of 64 characters so that it can be used in FITS image headers, which are limited to 80 characters including the header name.

property SafetyMonitor.DeviceState: List[StateValue]

Added in version 3: To allow reduction of status polling

Returns:

List of StateValue objects representing the operational properties of this device. See What is the “read all” feature and what are its rules?.

Return type:

List

This device must return the following operational properties if they are known:

• IsSafe

• TimeStamp

Note

• For more info see What is the “read all” feature and what are its rules?.

• Available only for the SafetyMonitor Interface Version 4 and later.

property SafetyMonitor.DriverInfo: String

Returns:

Descriptive and version information about the ASCOM driver

Return type:

string

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Must be implemented, must not throw a PropertyNotImplementedException

Note

This string may contain line endings and may be hundreds to thousands of characters long.It is intended to display detailed information on the ASCOM driver, including version and copyright data. See the Description property for information on the device itself.To get the driver version in a parse-able string, use the DriverVersion property.

property SafetyMonitor.DriverVersion: String

Returns:

String containing only the major and minor version of the driver.

Return type:

string

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Must be implemented, must not throw a PropertyNotImplementedException

Note

• This must be in the form “n.n”. It should not to be confused with the InterfaceVersion property, which is the version of this specification supported by the driver.

• On systems with a comma as the decimal point you may need to make accommodations to parse the value.

property SafetyMonitor.InterfaceVersion: Short

Returns:

ASCOM Device interface definition version that this device supports. Should return 4 for this interface version.

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Must be implemented, must not throw a PropertyNotImplementedException

Note

• This is a single “short” integer indicating the version of this specific ASCOM universal interface definition. For example, for ICameraV4, this will be 4. It should not to be confused with the DriverVersion property, which is the major.minor version of the driver for this device.

property SafetyMonitor.IsSafe: Boolean

The monitored state is safe for use.

Raises:

• NotConnectedException – If the device is not connected

• DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes hardware or communication errors.

Attention

Must be implemented and must not throw a PropertyNotImplementedException

property SafetyMonitor.Name: String

Returns:

The short name of the driver, for display purposes.

Return type:

string

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Must be implemented, must not throw a PropertyNotImplementedException

Note

The Description property is used to return info about the device rather than the driver.

property SafetyMonitor.SupportedActions: COM: ArrayList of String elements, Alpaca: Array of String

Returns the list of custom action names supported by this driver, to be used with Action(),

Returns:

The list of custom action names supported by this driver

Return type:

COM: ArrayList of String elements, Alpaca: Array of String

Raises:

DriverException – An error occurred that is not described by one of the more specific ASCOM exceptions. Include sufficient detail in the message text to enable the issue to be accurately diagnosed by someone other than yourself. Includes communication errors.

Attention

Must be implemented, must not throw a PropertyNotImplementedException

Note

• This method, combined with Action(), is the supported mechanic for adding non-standard functionality.

• SupportedActions is a “discovery” mechanism that enables clients to know which Actions a device supports without having to exercise the Actions themselves. This mechanism is necessary because there could be people / equipment safety issues if actions are called unexpectedly or out of a defined process sequence. It follows from this that SupportedActions must return names that match the spelling of custom action names exactly, without additional descriptive text. However, returned names may use any casing because the ActionName parameter of Action() is case insensitive.