3. Extended Syntax Commands

A list of the GDA ‘Extended Syntax’ commands which are available on all beamlines:

foo(x)

Return a line of text input from the user.

list()

lists all the types of objects representing hardware on this beamline

list <interfacename>

lists all the objects of the given type (interface) on this beamline

pos()

lists all Scannables and Detectors i.e. the objects which can be used in scans

pos <object>

returns the position of the Scannable object

pos <object> <position>

moves the Scannable to the given position

pos <object> <position> <object> <position>

concurrent move of multiple Scannables

inc <object> <amount>

relative move version of the pos command

inc <object> <amount> <object> <amount>

concurrent relative move of multiple Scannables

help()

lists the extended syntax commands

help <object>

gives a description of the object if available

run <script_name>

runs the given script as if it were opened and run from the JythonEditor. Note that the script must be located in the /dls/iXX/scripts folder.

pause()

checks to see if one of the pause/resume or halt buttons in the JythonTerminal panel have been pressed. Use this in long scripts to have a convenient place to pause/resume/abort the script.

reset_namepsace()

restarts the GDA Jython environment without the need to restart the entire GDA software. This is useful if you have a problem with the namespace. Note: this will not rebuild connections to hardware.

alias <method_name>

add the given function to the extended syntax so that you do not have to add ()’s to call the function. Useful for very commonly used methods on the beamline.

watch <object>

opens a pop-up box in the JythonTerminal panel and shows a constantly refreshed value of the Scannable

history()

list the history of commands typed into that terminal

!<command_string>

repeat the latest command which starts the same as the given string.

record [on|off]

starts/stops recording all terminal output to a file placed in the scripts directory

level <object>

returns the level attribute for this Scannable. Levels are used to provide ordering when moving Scannables during scans

level <object> <value>

changes the level value for this Scannable. 5 is the default for Scannable objects and 10 is default for Detectors.

list_defaults()

lists the Scannables and detectors whose positions and outputs will be included in scans by default without including them when typing a scan command

add_default <object>

adds a Scannable or detector to the list of defaults

remove_default <object>

removes a Scannable or Detector from the list of defaults

The format of commands related to scanning are listed later. There are also more commands available from Scannable objects which are also listed later.