path: root/doc/kstars/dcop.docbook

<chapter id="dcop">
<title>Scripting KStars: The DCOP Interface</title>
<para>
One of the goals of &kstars; is to provide the ability to playback
complicated behaviors from a script.  This will allow you to
create <quote>virtual tours</quote> of the heavens, and will enable
teachers to construct classroom demos to illustrate certain
astronomical concepts.  It is already possible to write such scripts
for &kstars;, although not all of the desired functions have been
included.  Also, while we will eventually have a GUI-based script
builder tool, the scripts must currently be written by hand.  This
chapter will explain how to write &kstars; scripts.
</para>
<para>
The &kde; architecture provides the necessary framework for scriptable
applications via the <abbrev>DCOP</abbrev> interface.
<abbrev>DCOP</abbrev> stands for <quote>Desktop Communication
Protocol</quote>; through <abbrev>DCOP</abbrev>, &kde; applications
can be controlled by other applications, from a terminal prompt, or
through a text script.
</para>

<sect1 id="dcop-interface">
<title>DCOP Functions</title>
<para>
The &kstars; <abbrev>DCOP</abbrev> Interface includes the following
functions:

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para><function>
lookTowards( const QString direction )</function>:
Point the display focus in a direction specified by the argument.
This can be the name of any object in the sky, or one of the following
directional words or abbreviations: zenith (or z), north (n),
northeast (ne), east (e), southeast (se), south (s), southwest(sw),
west(w), northwest (nw).
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
setRaDec( double ra, double dec )</function>:
Point the display focus at the specified equatorial coordinates.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
setAltAz(double alt, double az)</function>:
Point the display focus at the specified horizontal coordinates.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
zoomIn()</function>:
Increase the display's Zoom level.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
zoomOut()</function>:
Decrease the display's Zoom level.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
defaultZoom()</function>:
Reset the display to Zoom level = 3 (the default).
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
setLocalTime(int yr, int mth, int day, int hr, int min, int sec)</function>:
Set the simulation clock to the specified date and time.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
waitFor( double t )</function>:
Pause for t seconds before continuing with subsequent script commands.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
waitForKey( const QString k )</function>:
Halt the script execution until the user presses the specified key.
At this point, you cannot specify combination keystrokes (such as
<keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>C</keycap></keycombo>); just use
simple keys.  You can type <quote>space</quote> to indicate the
spacebar.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
setTracking( bool track )</function>:
Toggle whether tracking mode is engaged.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
changeViewOption( const QString option, const QString value )</function>:
Adjust a view option.  There are dozens and dozens of options available;
basically everything you can change in the <guilabel>Configure &kstars;
Window</guilabel> can be changed here as well.  The first argument is
the name of the option (the names are taken from the
<filename>kstarsrc</filename> configuration file), and the second
argument is the desired value.  The argument parser is designed to be
robust, so if you accidentally send it bad data it should fail
gracefully.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
setGeoLocation( const QString city, const QString province,
const QString country )</function>:
Change the observing location to the specified city.  If no city matching
the argument strings is found, then nothing happens.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
stop()</function> [clock]:
Halt the simulation clock.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
start()</function> [clock]:
Start the simulation clock.
</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><function>
setScale(float s)</function> [clock]:
Set the rate of the simulation clock.  s=1.0 corresponds to real time;
2.0 is twice as fast as real-time, etc.
</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="dcop-test">
<title>Testing the DCOP Functions</title>
<para>
You can try out the DCOP functions very easily using the
<application>kdcop</application> program.  When you run
<application>kdcop</application>, you will see a tree-list of all
running programs; if &kstars; is running it will be listed.  Most of
the <abbrev>DCOP</abbrev> functions are listed under the
<quote>KStarsInterface</quote> heading, but the clock functions are
listed under <quote>clock</quote>.  Double-click on any function to
execute it.  If the function requires arguments, a window will open
in which you can input the values.
</para>
</sect1>

<sect1 id="dcop-script">
<title>Writing a DCOP Script</title>
<para>
<abbrev>DCOP</abbrev> functions can also be called from the UNIX
command line, and these can be encapsulated in a script.  We will
create an example script that switches to Equatorial coordinates,
points the display at the Moon, zooms in a bit, and accelerates
the clock to 1 hour per second.  After tracking the Moon
for 20 seconds, the clock is paused and the display zooms out.
You can use this script as a template for making new scripts.
I will list the entire script first, and then explain its various
parts.
</para>
<para>
<programlisting>
#!/bin/bash
#KStars script: Track the Moon!
#
KSTARS=`dcopfind -a 'kstars*'`
MAIN=KStarsInterface
CLOCK=clock#1
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  changeViewOption UseAltAz false
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  lookTowards Moon
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  defaultZoom
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  zoomIn
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  zoomIn
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  zoomIn
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  zoomIn
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  zoomIn
dcop $KSTARS $CLOCK setScale 3600.
dcop $KSTARS $CLOCK start
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  waitFor  20.
dcop $KSTARS $CLOCK stop
dcop $KSTARS $MAIN  defaultZoom
##
</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
Save this script to a file.  The filename can be anything you like; I
suggest something descriptive like
<filename>trackmoon.kstars</filename>.  Then type the following command
to make the script executable:
<userinput><command>chmod</command> <option>a+x</option>
<parameter>trackmoon.kstars</parameter>
</userinput>.  The script can then be executed at any time by typing
<userinput><command>./trackmoon.kstars</command></userinput> in the
folder which contains the script.  Note that the script will only
work if an instance of &kstars; is already running.  You can use the
<command>dcopstart</command> command in a script to launch a new instance
&kstars;.
</para>
<para>
Now to the explanation of the script.  The top line identifies the file
as a <command>BASH</command> shell script.  The following two lines
are <firstterm>comments</firstterm> (any line beginning with
<quote>#</quote> is a comment, and is ignored by the shell).  The next
three lines define some convenience variables that will be used later.
The <varname>KSTARS</varname> variable identifies the currently-running
&kstars; process, using the <command>dcopfind</command> command.
<varname>MAIN</varname> and <varname>CLOCK</varname> identify the
two <abbrev>DCOP</abbrev> interfaces associated with &kstars;.
</para>
<para>
The remainder of the script is the actual list of <abbrev>DCOP</abbrev>
calls.  The first command sets the display to use Equatorial
coordinates by setting the <quote>UseAltAz</quote> option to
<quote>false</quote> (again, you can see a list of all options that
<quote>changeViewOption</quote> can use by examining your
<filename>kstarsrc</filename> configuration file).  The next command
centers the display on the Moon, and automatically engages tracking.
We then set the default zoom level, and then zoom in five times.
Next, the clock's timescale is set to 1 hour per second (3600 seconds
is one hour), and the clock is started (in case it was not already
running).  The next line pauses the script for 20 seconds while we
track the Moon as it moves across the sky.  Finally, we stop the clock
and reset the zoom level to its default setting.
</para>
<para>
We hope you enjoy the scripting abilities of KStars.  If you create an
interesting script, please email it to
<email>[email protected]</email>; we would like to see what you have done,
and may post some scripts on our webpage.  Also, if you have any
ideas for how to improve scripting (or any part of &kstars;), let us
know at <email>[email protected]</email> or submit a
wishlist item to bugzilla.
</para>
</sect1>
</chapter>