The ground test accelerator control system database: configuration, run-time operation, and access

A database is used to implement the interface between the control system and the accelerator and to provide flexibility in configuring the I/O (input/output). This flexibility is necessary to allow the control system to keep pace with the changing requirements inherent in an experimental environment. It is noted that this is not achieved without cost. Problems often associated with using databases are painful data entry, poor performance, and knowledge of the database structure embedded in code throughout the control system. The author describes how the database configuration, access, conversion, and execution in the Ground Test Accelerator (GTA) Control System overcome these problems. The database is configured using an interactive tool that requires minimal training. The configuration tool provides a variety of modification and reporting facilities to aid the application engineers. Database access routines provide a run-time binding to the database and remove the need for code to know the structure of the database in order to access the data. The routines provide the interface with a minimum of overhead. Database scan routines are compiled with knowledge of the database structure to efficiently process the I/O. Attention to the potential problems of using a database along with increased processor bandwidth has results in flexibility and excellent performance