Generic IOC Template Repository

This repository is a template for creating a generic IOC in the epics-containers framework. See https://epics-containers.github.io for tutorials and documentation.

Making a new generic IOC

1. Go to the GitHub page and click Use this template -> Create a new repository Then choose a name and organization for your new generic IOC.

2. Change the README.md file to describe your IOC.

3. Change the Dockerfile to compile in the support modules you need in your generic IOC Container.

4. Once you have it working you can update tests/runtests.sh to run your IOC in a container and test it. We recommend creating a Tickit simulation of the device you are controlling and using that to test your IOC. See https://dls-controls.github.io/tickit/typing_extensions/index.html

Working with the IOC

1. A generic IOC with a working Dockerfile can be built with the build script in the root folder. This builds runtime and developer targets. This must be run outside the dev container.

2. Pushing the repo to github and tagging it will release a container image to the GitHub container registry. Gitlab CI is also supported.

3. Launching the project in vscode or other devcontainer IDE will allow you to open a devcontainre and test the IOC locally (including IOCs with system dependencies not available on your host).

4. A Basic test that verifies you have the correct libraries installed in the runtime container is provided in tests/runtests.sh. This must be run outside the dev container.

Developing inside the devcontainer

A few points to note when developing inside the devcontainer:

1. The project folder is mounted at /epics/ioc-template (or equivalent). This means that the devcontainer container correleates closely to how the rutime container looks. Because of this you will have an uncompiled IOC when you first open the devcontainer. The following command will make a working IOC:

   • ibek ioc build

     • adds a templated ioc source tree to /epics/ioc-template/ioc
     • generates a Makefile that includes all the dbds and libs from the support moudules in the container
     • compiles the resulting IOC

2. The ibek tool is preinstalled in the devcontainer. It is used by Dockerfiles to build the IOC but you can also use it on the command line. See ibek --help for more information.

3. You can add additional projects to your workspace that are peers to the ioc-template project. The folder /repos is mounted to the parent of your project folder for this purpose.

4. You can customize bash configuration and also customize a profile that can install additional packages at devcontainer creation time. These are customizations are for developer personalization and can apply to all epics-containes ioc projects. See README.md.