EPICS Environment Binary Distribution

This repository provides a pre-built binary distribution of the EPICS environment specifically designed for the Advanced Light Source Upgrade (ALS-U) project.

This distribution simplifies setting up the required EPICS environment for developing and running IOCs and client applications.

Source Repositories

This binary distribution is built from the following core repositories:

• jeonghanlee/EPICS-env
• jeonghanlee/EPICS-env-support

Getting Started & Training

For comprehensive instructions on how to use this distribution, set up your development environment, and build EPICS IOCs, please refer to the full ALS-U EPICS Environment training materials and resources:

• Full Training Website: https://jeonghanlee.github.io/epics-trainings/
• IOC Template Tools: https://github.com/jeonghanlee/EPICS-IOC-template-tools
• IOC Demo Project: https://github.com/jeonghanlee/EPICS-IOC-Demo

These resources cover installation, configuration, and development workflows.

Get the EPICS Environment Binary Distribution

Clone the EPICS environment repository using Git.

Clone the EPICS environment by using git clone

Please use --depth 1, which you only need for this distribution.

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jeonghanlee/EPICS-env-distribution.git 

By cloning the repository, you have the environment at the ${HOME}/epics folder. In most cases, you are ready to use it.

Configure the EPICS enviornment

The EPICS environment supports multiple operating system versions and EPICS versions. Please note that the pre-built binaries included in this environment currently target the Linux x86_64 architecture exclusively.

To select and activate a specific environment version in your current terminal session, you need to source the appropriate setEpicsEnv.bash script corresponding to your operating system and desired EPICS version:

# Example for EPICS 7.0.10 on Debian 13 (x86_64)
source ~/EPICS-env-distribution/1.2.0/debian-12/7.0.10/setEpicsEnv.bash

Sourcing the script sets up necessary environment variables like EPICS_BASE, PATH, and LD_LIBRARY_PATH. The output should resemble this (user and specific paths will vary):

Set the EPICS Environment as follows:
THIS Source NAME    : setEpicsEnv.bash
THIS Source PATH    : /home/jeonglee/EPICS-env-distribution/1.2.0/debian-13/7.0.10
EPICS_BASE          : /home/jeonglee/EPICS-env-distribution/1.2.0/debian-13/7.0.10/base
EPICS_HOST_ARCH     : linux-x86_64
EPICS_MODULES       : /home/jeonglee/EPICS-env-distribution/1.2.0/debian-13/7.0.10/modules
PATH                : /home/jeonglee/EPICS-env-distribution/1.2.0/debian-13/7.0.10/modules/pmac/bin/linux-x86_64:/home/jeonglee/EPICS-env-distribution/1.2.0/debian-13/7.0.10/modules/pvxs/bin/linux-x86_64:/home/jeonglee/EPICS-env-distribution/1.2.0/debian-13/7.0.10/base/bin/linux-x86_64:/home/jeonglee/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/games:/usr/games
LD_LIBRARY_PATH     : /home/jeonglee/EPICS-env-distribution/1.2.0/debian-13/7.0.10/modules/pvxs/bundle/usr/linux-x86_64/lib:/home/jeonglee/EPICS-env-distribution/1.2.0/debian-13/7.0.10/base/lib/linux-x86_64

Enjoy Everlasting EPICS!

Note how the EPICS_HOST_ARCH variable and the paths explicitly mention linux-x86_64.

Testing the Environment

Once the environment is sourced, verify that the EPICS command-line tools are accessible in your PATH:

# Check help output for an EPICS command-line tool (e.g., caput)
$ caput -h

# Verify the location of an EPICS command-line tool (e.g., caget)
$ which caget

If these commands run successfully and show help/path information, you have successfully configured the ALS-U EPICS environment in your current terminal session.