Socket Interface

Astro Scheduler Engine works in conjunction with STK's Connect module to provide a method for controlling the functions of Astro Scheduler Engine via network-based TCP/IP sockets.

Astro Scheduler Engine contains a series of specialized Astro Scheduler Engine connect commands for this purpose. STK identifies Astro Scheduler Engine commands by the "SCHED /" prefix.

See STK Connect Module Help for more information on using the features of the Connect Module.

The format of the command file used for Command Ingest is such that it can be used with the STK Connect command "ConFile /" when using the socket interface.

In some cases when using a machine name for the remote address 'localhost' and the actual machine ID may produce different IP addresses. When setting up the Astro Scheduler Engine Configuration on a network be sure to use the actual machine ID.

Each time a command is sent, Astro Scheduler Engine returns a string describing the status of the command. If successful the return value will be: "0, Success". If unsuccessful the return value will be a "-1," followed by an error message (e.g., "-1, Invalid Command Format")

Command Logging

For each socket command received, an entry will be made into the Astro Scheduler Engine Log. Any command formatting errors will be recorded in the log along with information about the nature of the error.

Example Programs

The following example programs use the updated TCP socket interface. They can be found in the C:\Program Files\AGI\STK_ODTK 13\Scheduler\Examples\TCP directory, with their subfolder referenced in the table below:

A readme file is included with each code sample.

All file locations are based on the default Astro Scheduler Engine install location. Directory paths may change if you have installed in a non-default location.