Thanks for reporting this bug, I fixed it in the last commit.

Best,
Stefan

Hi,

I was playing with MIDAS devel branch and I realized that
if I set an ODB INT32 key to a value using new ODB web interface 
it is reported in parenthesis always as (0xFFFFFFFF);

I tested with different browser and result is the same while this 
never happens in OldODB web interface...

Cheers,
Gennaro

The JavaScript function

mjsonrpc_db_save / mjonrpc_db_load

have been dropped from the API because they were not considered safe. Users 
should use now the new function

file_save_ascii()

and

file_load_ascii()

These function have the additional advantage that the file is not loaded 
directly into the ODB but goes into the JavaScript code in the browser, which 
can check or modify it before sending it to the ODB via mjsonrpc_db_paste(). 

Access of these functions is limited to <experiment>/userfiles/* where 
<experiment> is the normal MIDAS experiment directory defined by "exptab" or 
"MIDAS_DIR". This ensures that there is no access to e.g. system-level files. If 
you need to access a directory not under "userfile", us symbolic links.

These files can be combined with file_picker(), which lets you select files on 
the server interactively.

Stefan

> When making a link in the odb (web interface) a nice browser window pop's up. There is however not scrolling possible in the window. As a result, you can not reach a odb key if it is nested to deeply. 
> 
> Trying to type out the Link target in the field only allows for 32 characters

Thanks for reporting the bug with the pop-up not being able to scroll, I fixed that and committed the change.

I do however not understand the issue with 32 characters. The link NAME should not be more than 32 chars (which applies to all ODB keys). 
But if I try I can write more than 32 chars in the link target.

Stefan

Another small user experience request:

When making a link in the odb (web interface) a nice browser window pop's up. There is however not scrolling possible in the window. As a result, you can not reach a odb key if it is nested to deeply. 

Trying to type out the Link target in the field only allows for 32 characters

context: we are setting up a bunch of Links in the History

Thanks for reporting this problem. It has been fixed today, so the start command is only written if it's emtpy.

Stefan

The epics frontend overwrites the "start command" odb after each start:

  // set start command in ODB
   midas::odb efe("/Programs/EPICS Frontend");
   std::string p(__FILE__);
   std::string s("build/epics_fe");
   auto i = p.find("epics_fe.cxx");
   p.replace(i, s.length(), s);
   p = p.substr(0, i + s.length());
   efe["Start command"].set_string_size(p, 256);

this should be set such that it only writes when the key is not there. It causes the following issue: on a pc with multiple experiments defined, you need to start the fe's with a "-e <name>" flag. 

> I believe the original "hide run start / stop" was added specifically for ND280 GSC MIDAS. I do not know 
> why it was removed. "hide pause / resume" is still there. I will restore them. Hiding logger channel 
> section should probably be automatic of there is no /logger/channels, I can check if it works and what 
> happens if there is more than one logger channel. K.O.

Actually one thing is the functionality of the /Experiment/Start-Stop button in status.html, but the other is 
the warning we get from mhttpd:

[mhttpd,ERROR] [mhttpd.cxx:1957:init_mhttpd_odb,ERROR] ODB "/Experiment/Start-Stop Buttons" is obsolete, please 
delete it.

This was added by KO on Nov. 29, 2019 (commit 2366eefc). So we have to decide re-enable this feature (and 
remove the warning above), or keep it dropped and work on changes of status.hmtl.

Stefan

> I believe the original "hide run start / stop" was added specifically for ND280 GSC MIDAS. I do not know 
> why it was removed. "hide pause / resume" is still there. I will restore them. Hiding logger channel 
> section should probably be automatic of there is no /logger/channels, I can check if it works and what 
> happens if there is more than one logger channel. K.O.

Very likely it was "forgotten" when the status page was converted to a dynamic page by Shouyi Ma. Since he is 
not around any more, it's up to us to adapt status.html if needed.

Stefan

Hi

> > > Indeed the ODB settings are obsolete.
> > 
> > I just applied for an account for the wiki.
> > I'll try add a note regarding this change.
> 
> Please coordinate with Ben Smith at TRIUMF <bsmith@triumf.ca>, who coordinates the documentation. 

I will tread lightly. 

> I would not go to change the CSS file. You only can hide some tables. But in a while I'm sure you
> want to ADD new things, which you only can do by editing the status.html file. You don't have to
> change midas/resources/status.html, but can make your own "custom status", name it differently, and
> link /Custom/Default in the ODB to it. This way it does not get overwritten if you pull midas.

We have *many* custom pages. The submenus on the status page:

&#9656; FGD
&#9656; TPC
&#9656; TRIPt

hide custom pages with all sorts of good stuff.

> > The logging channels are easily removed with the css (see attachment), but it might be
> > nice if the string "Run Status" table title was also configurable by css. For this
> > slow control system I'd probably change it to something like "GSC Status". Again
> > this is a minor thing, I could trivially do this by copying the resources/status.html
> > to the experiment directory and editing it.
> 
> See above. I agree that the status.html file is a bit complicated and not so easy to understand
> as the CSS file, but you can do much more by editing it.

I may end up doing this since the events and data columns do not provide particularly
useful information in this instance. But for now, the css route seems like a quick and
fairly clean way to remove irrelevant stuff from a prominent place at the top of the page.
 
> > Lots of fun new stuff migrating from circa 2012 midas to midas-2022-05-c :-)
> 
> I always advise people to frequently pull, they benefit from the newest features and avoid the
> huge amount of work to migrate from a 10 year old version.

The long delay was not my choice. The group responsible for the system departed in 2018, and
and were not replaced by the experiment management. Lack of personnel/expertise resulted in
a "if it's not broken then don't fix it" situation. Eventually, the need to update the PCs/OSs
and the imminent introduction of new sub-detectors resulted people agreeing to the update. 

Cheers,

Nick.

I believe the original "hide run start / stop" was added specifically for ND280 GSC MIDAS. I do not know 
why it was removed. "hide pause / resume" is still there. I will restore them. Hiding logger channel 
section should probably be automatic of there is no /logger/channels, I can check if it works and what 
happens if there is more than one logger channel. K.O.

> Hi Stefan,
> 
> > Indeed the ODB settings are obsolete.
> 
> I just applied for an account for the wiki.
> I'll try add a note regarding this change.

Please coordinate with Ben Smith at TRIUMF <bsmith@triumf.ca>, who coordinates the documentation. 


> Very true. Currently I copied the resources/midas.css into the experiment directory and appended:
> 
> #runNumberCell { display: none;}
> #runStatusStartTime { display: none;}
> #runStatusStopTime { display: none;}
> #runStatusSequencer { display: none;}
> #logChannel { display: none;}
> 
> See screenshot attached. :-)
> 
> But if feels a little clunky to copy the whole file just to add five lines.
> It might be more elegant if status.html looked for a user css file in addition
> to the default ones.

I would not go to change the CSS file. You only can hide some tables. But in a while I'm sure you
want to ADD new things, which you only can do by editing the status.html file. You don't have to
change midas/resources/status.html, but can make your own "custom status", name it differently, and
link /Custom/Default in the ODB to it. This way it does not get overwritten if you pull midas.


> The logging channels are easily removed with the css (see attachment), but it might be
> nice if the string "Run Status" table title was also configurable by css. For this
> slow control system I'd probably change it to something like "GSC Status". Again
> this is a minor thing, I could trivially do this by copying the resources/status.html
> to the experiment directory and editing it.

See above. I agree that the status.html file is a bit complicated and not so easy to understand
as the CSS file, but you can do much more by editing it.

> Lots of fun new stuff migrating from circa 2012 midas to midas-2022-05-c :-)

I always advise people to frequently pull, they benefit from the newest features and avoid the
huge amount of work to migrate from a 10 year old version.

Best,
Stefan

Hi Stefan,

> Indeed the ODB settings are obsolete.

I just applied for an account for the wiki.
I'll try add a note regarding this change.

> Now that the status page is fully dynamic 
> (JavaScript), it's much more powerful to modify the status.html page directly. You 
> can not only hide the buttons, but also remove the run numbers, the running time, 
> and so on. This is much more flexible than steering things through the ODB.

Very true. Currently I copied the resources/midas.css into the experiment directory and appended:

#runNumberCell { display: none;}
#runStatusStartTime { display: none;}
#runStatusStopTime { display: none;}
#runStatusSequencer { display: none;}
#logChannel { display: none;}

See screenshot attached. :-)

But if feels a little clunky to copy the whole file just to add five lines.
It might be more elegant if status.html looked for a user css file in addition
to the default ones.

> If there is a general need for that, I can draft a "non-run" based status page, but 
> it's a bit hard to make a one-fits-all. Like some might even remove the logging 
> channels and the clients, but add certain things like if their slow control front-
> end is running etc.

The logging channels are easily removed with the css (see attachment), but it might be
nice if the string "Run Status" table title was also configurable by css. For this
slow control system I'd probably change it to something like "GSC Status". Again
this is a minor thing, I could trivially do this by copying the resources/status.html
to the experiment directory and editing it.

Lots of fun new stuff migrating from circa 2012 midas to midas-2022-05-c :-)

Cheers,

Nick.

Indeed the ODB settings are obsolete. Now that the status page is fully dynamic 
(JavaScript), it's much more powerful to modify the status.html page directly. You 
can not only hide the buttons, but also remove the run numbers, the running time, 
and so on. This is much more flexible than steering things through the ODB.

If there is a general need for that, I can draft a "non-run" based status page, but 
it's a bit hard to make a one-fits-all. Like some might even remove the logging 
channels and the clients, but add certain things like if their slow control front-
end is running etc.

Best,
Stefan

I like the idea of syntax highlighting, but your solution is just for one editor which not everybody
is using. It would be better if the editor built into mhttpd for MSL files would have the possibility.

I looked at highlighting in an HTML <textarea> tag, and found that we can do it with a 

<div contenteditable="true" style="font-family: monospace"> ... </div>

tag where we can change the color of individual words. If you translate your existing rules of syntax
highlighting into JavaScript, I'm happy to put that into the mhttpd sequencer editor. So I would need
a function which receives a MSL text, then replaces all keywords with some color tagging, like

ODBSET -> <span style="color:red">ODBSET</span>

Best,
Stefan

Recently I was trying to read sequencer scripts written by a previous student, and realized it would be easier to 
quickly read/skim sequencer code with some form of syntax highlighting. I've been using Visual Studio Code as my 
editor, so I made myself an extension for VS Code that provides basic syntax highlighting (with help from 
ChatGPT-3.5). It's good enough for my purposes, but is missing some features you'd expect for full language 
support. This got me wondering - does anything like this already exist, perhaps with more complete support?

If it doesn't already exist, and if there is interest, I could to publish mine 
to vscode's "Extension Marketplace" for easy installations (I'd also welcome contributions for 
more features). For now, I've installed it on my computer directly from the .vsix file, which I've put on my own 
github at https://github.com/maia-hw/midas-sequencer-support . There is also a readme with screenshot showing what scripts 
will look like with the highlighting

> Is there now some other mechanism to hide the start and stop buttons?
> Note that this is for a pure slow control system that does not take runs.

Just wanted to add that I realize that this can be done by copying
status.html and/or midas.css to the experiment directory and then modifying
them/it, but wonder if the is some other preferred way.

The wiki documents an odb variable to enable the hiding of the Start and Stop buttons on the mhttpd status page
https://daq00.triumf.ca/MidasWiki/index.php//Experiment_ODB_tree#Start-Stop_Buttons

However mhttpd states this option is obsolete. See commit:
https://bitbucket.org/tmidas/midas/commits/2366eefc6a216dc45154bc4594e329420500dcf7

I note that that commit also made mhttpd report that the "Pause-Resume Buttons" variable is also obsolete, however that code seems to have since been removed.

Is there now some other mechanism to hide the start and stop buttons?
Note that this is for a pure slow control system that does not take runs.

Dear All, 

A final reminder about the MIDAS workshop in 6 days.  A (hopefully) finalized agenda is posted here:

https://indico.psi.ch/event/15025/timetable/

In the overview section of the indico page you will find the zoom link for the workshop.

We plan for the workshop to have a lot of time for discussion. This means that the exact schedule of the workshop is a little uncertain; hence the actual start 
time of each talk will also have some uncertainty.  We have scheduled that each day's session will be around 3.5 hours, but it is possible that the sessions will 
be a little longer in reality.  Stefan and Pierre will try to ensure that we stay roughly on schedule.

Looking forward to seeing people there.

Cheers,
Thomas

> Dear All,
> 
> A quick update on the MIDAS workshop.  Based on the number of planned talks we have made the decision to switch to a two day workshop on Sept 12 and 13 
> (rather than just Sept 13).  We decided 4 hours was not enough time to hear all the reports and have fruitful discussions; having a much longer meeting 
> on a single day was a bad idea given the time zones involved.
> 
> We have a tentative agenda planned for the workshop, which you can see here:
> 
> https://indico.psi.ch/event/15025/timetable/
> 
> We are still confirming some talks, so the agenda may still change a bit.  But the baseline plan will be that the workshop will be 
> 
> 8:30AM-12:30PM (PDT) / 5:30PM-9:30PM (CEST)
> 
> on Sept 12-13.  We hope that these times still work for everyone planning to attend.
> 
> Cheers,
> Thomas
> 
> 
> > Hi All,
> > 
> > Thanks to everyone who filled out the doodle poll.  
> > 
> > Based on the results we will plan to have this workshop on September 13, at 9AM-1PM (Vancouver) / 6PM-10PM (Geneva).  Apologies to 
> > those for whom this is a bad time/day; in particular for MIDAS users in Asia.
> > 
> > If you would like to present a report at the workshop on your experiment's MIDAS experience, then please email me (lindner@triumf.ca).  
> > It would be great to know this in advance so that we can start preparing an agenda.  Feel free to also email me if there are topics 
> > that you would like addressed at the workshop.
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > Thomas
> > 
> > 
> > > Dear MIDAS users,
> > > 
> > > We would like to arrange another MIDAS workshop, following on from previous successful workshops in 2015, 2017 and 2019.  The 
> > > goals of the workshop would include:
> > > 
> > > - Getting updates from MIDAS developers on new features and other changes.
> > > - Getting reports from MIDAS users on how they are using MIDAS, what is working and what is not
> > > - Making plans for future MIDAS changes and improvements
> > > 
> > > This would be a one-day virtual workshop, planned for about 4 hours length.  The workshop will probably be after another of 
> > > Stefan's visits to TRIUMF.
> > > 
> > > If you would be interested in participating in such a workshop, please help us choose the date by filling out this doodle poll:
> > > 
> > > https://doodle.com/meeting/organize/id/dBPVMQJa
> > > 
> > > Please fill in the poll by June 9, if you are interested.  We will announce the date soon after that.
> > > 
> > > Thanks,
> > > Thomas

Still get the same error with the latest version:

3:28 [mhttpd,ERROR] [history_schema.cxx:2913:FileHistory::read_data,ERROR] Cannot read 
'/data2/history/mhf_1692391703_20230818_hv_tc.dat', read() errno 2 (No such file or directory)

Stefan