Common Software for the ALMA project

TL;DR

The paper describes the ALMA Common Software (ACS), a shared control system infrastructure using object-oriented design and CORBA for the ALMA telescope array, with potential applications beyond astronomy.

Contribution

It introduces a reusable, component-based software infrastructure for large-scale telescopes, leveraging CORBA and code generation for control system components.

Findings

ACS provides a common control framework for ALMA.

It uses CORBA for distributed object management.

The software is adaptable for other large distributed systems.

Abstract

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is a joint project between astronomical organizations in Europe, USA and Japan. ALMA will consist of at least 64 12-meter antennas operating in the millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength range, with baselines up to 10 km. It will be located at an altitude above 5000m in the Chilean Atacama desert[1]. The ALMA Common Software (ACS) provides a software infrastructure common to all partners and consists of a documented collection of common patterns in control systems and of components, which implement those patterns. The heart of ACS is an object model of controlled devices, called Distributed Objects (DOs), implemented as CORBA network objects. Components such as antenna mount, power supply, etc. are defined by means of DOs. A code generator creates Java Bean components for each DO. Programmers can write Java client applications by connecting those Beans with data-manipulation and visualization Beans using commercial visual development tools or programmatically. ACS is based on the experience accumulated with similar projects in the astronomical and particle accelerator contexts, reusing and extending concepts and components. Although designed for ALMA, ACS has the potential for being used in other new control systems and other distributed software projects, since it implements proven design patterns using state of the art, stable and reliable technology.