This page describes how to launch a set of MOOS applications with pAntler. In theory, a set of N applications may be launched from N terminal windows, but this is cumbersome in practice. The pAntler tool allows a block to be declared in a mission file (.moos file) listing all the apps to be launched in one go.
Where to get more information:
- pAntler: The MOOS Documents page
Basic pAntler Usage
The Antler block is typically the first configuration block in a .moos file, declared with ProcessConfig = ANTLER as below. The MSBetweenLaunches parameter specifies the number of milliseconds between launching processes. Each line thereafter specifies an app to be launched and whether a dedicated console window should be opened for the application.
ProcessConfig = ANTLER { MSBetweenLaunches = 200 Run = MOOSDB @ NewConsole = true/false Run = AnotherApp @ NewConsole = true/false ... Run = AnotherApp @ NewConsole = true/false }
Further options exist beyond the vanilla launch configuration described above, including (a) the ability to launch a given app under an aliased name, (b) specifying command-line arguments to app at launch time and more. See the documentation.
An Example: Launching the MOOSDB along with uXMS
In the example below we use pAntler to launch the MOOSDB and the uXMS Scope from a single mission file. The user preferences for uXMS are provided in its configuration block. Type "uXMS—example" on the command line for further options.
// (wget http://oceanai.mit.edu/2.S998/examples/db_and_uxms.moos) ServerHost = localhost ServerPort = 9000 Community = alpha ProcessConfig = ANTLER { MSBetweenLaunches = 200 Run = MOOSDB @ NewConsole = false Run = uXMS @ NewConsole = true } ProcessConfig = uXMS { AppTick = 4 CommsTick = 4 VAR = DB_CLIENTS, DB_UPTIME, DB_TIME DISPLAY_SOURCE = true DISPLAY_TIME = true COLOR_MAP = DB_CLIENTS,red }
The mission may be launched from the command-line with:
$ pAntler db_and_uxms.moos
This should open a new console window for uXMS displaying the variables posted by the DB, with the (S)ource and (T)ime columns expanded, but not the (C)ommunity column.