Experiment framework

The experiment runtime system: task queue/execution engine, loops, sequence editing, timing inspection and run monitoring.

Overview

The experiment framework covers the complete chain from writing an experiment through scheduling to running it:

Experiment scripts: subclass Experiment and implement build / run (for an introduction see Writing your first experiment; for device mapping see Configuring instruments);
Scheduling and execution: the experiment queue (ExperimentQueue) → the execution engine (ExperimentManager) fetches tasks by priority/reservation time; the preparation station and the looper participate in enqueueing;
Editing and monitoring: sequence editing/simulation, FPGA timing inspection, run monitoring, the multithreaded task framework and the base window widgets.

Page	Module	Description
Experiment Queue Manager	`experiment/experiment_queue`	Tabular task queue
Experiment Run Manager	`experiment/experiment_manager`	Execution engine (measurement/sequence/run)
Experiment Run Scheduler	`experiment/`	Overview of the scheduling mechanism
Experiment Preparation	`experiment/prepstation`	Preparation station (stage/push)
Loop Manager	`looper/`	Conditional loop execution
Process Manager	`entries/processmanager`	Process start/stop panel

Page	Module	Description
Sequence Editor	`editors/editor_sequencer`	Code editing + sequence simulation
Timeline Viewer	`entries/experiment_timeline`	FPGA timing visualisation
Run Monitor	`streammonitor/`	Data/message monitoring
Experiment Browser	`browser/`	Main application browser

Page	Module	Description
Data Widgets	`widgets/arg_boxes`	Parameter input widgets
Experiment Parameter Manager	`entries/dashboard`	Default parameter system
Collapsible Sections	`widgets/theexpandables`	Collapsible sections
Preparation Queue Manager	`widgets/models`	Queue/preparation table models
Worker Task Manager	`widgets/browser_workers`	Worker threads
Multithreaded Worker Framework	`widgets/helper_workers`	Worker threads
Auto-save Editor	`editors/auto_save_editor`	Periodic save times
Base Window Widgets	`widgets/quatmQt`	GUI base widgets

Experiment parameter editing widgets: FloatBox/BoolBox/ComboBox, writing changes straight back to the parameter attribute.

GUI base widgets: BWidget/BFrame/BMainWindow and searchable combo boxes, etc.

Experiment code editing and sequence simulation: syntax highlighting, parsing and output-channel timing visualisation.

The core experiment execution engine: takes tasks from the queue and schedules them by measurement/sequence/run level.

The main application browser: file tree, queue/preparation station/looper and MDI experiment windows.

Tabular experiment task queue: task dictionary, priority sorting, pause/termination and reserved execution.

QRunnable multithreaded tasks: callback execution in Worker + WorkerSignals signalling back to the main thread.

Editor for the list of periodic HDF5 auto-save points in time: checkbox + date/time save instants.

FPGA experiment timing visualisation: a step-plot viewer of the DAC/TTL output channels over time.

QRunnable multithreaded worker framework: callback execution in Worker + WorkerSignals signalling back to the main thread.

Conditional loop executor: automatically repeat/jump/terminate a group of tasks based on measurement results.

Table models for prepared tasks (preparation station): the list model PrepModel and the queue ScheduleModel.

The run scheduling mechanism: central enqueueing in the queue, workers fetching tasks by priority/reservation time.

The preparation station: staging, editing, ordering and pushing tasks before they are sent to the queue (prepfile persistence).

Distributed process panel: start/stop background processes grouped as Servers/Driver/GUI/Viewer/Monitor.

The default experiment parameter system: DefaultExp aggregates device parameters, Dashboard edits them grouped by device.

Data-stream monitoring GUI: data/image/command/message multi-tab monitoring and single-stream panels.

Collapsible-section dialog: SectionExpandButton toggling + CollapsibleDialog defining the sections.