Russell Owen

Astronomy Department
University of Washington in Seattle

Our engineering group builds large research telescopes and instrumentation for Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. I primarily do control system programming, but also designed the optical fibers for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey fiber fed spectrograph. I also maintain the Astronomical Python page.

Contents

• Python: code and information for the Python programming language, with an emphasis on Tkinter programming and basic utilities.
• Miscellaneous: environment variables for MacOS X, RPN function sets, ROFM CGI.
• Dance: a database of contradances and one for dance camp registration.

Python

Software:

• RO Python Package: a package of Python utilities including astronomical math, an interface to the ds9 image viewer, enhanced Tkinter widgets, Tkinter-friendly TCP/IP sockets, an implementation of application preferences, extensive support for sexagesimal (i.e. h:mm:ss) input and output and various useful algorithms.
• PyGuide. Find and centroid stars. Works on partial images of stars such as might be found on a slitviewer or coherent fiber bundle. A Python implementation of algorithms developed by Jim Gunn.
• TUI: the new telescope user interface for the APO 3.5m telescope.
• edtport: Python code to read an EDT PCD parallel port card.

Information:

• Astronomical Python: resources for using Python in Astronomy.
• Tkinter summary. A quick reference for Tkinter. Includes pointers to other documentation and a fairly extensive section on the use of callback functions.
• Tkinter folklore describes various odds and ends that tripped me up or for which I had trouble finding documentation.
• Installing Python and Tkinter on MacOS X: instructions for installing Python and the Tkinter GUI interface on macOS X.
• Building Matplotlib for MacOS X: instructions for building a universal version of matplotlib for MacOS X (and a binary installer).

Miscellaneous

• Environment Variables for Aqua Applications in MacOS X: how to define environment variables in MacOS X so that native applications (such as BBEdit and the framework build of Python) can see them.
• RPN calculator function sets ("scripts") for Palm OS. RO Scientific offers the basic scientific functions in one panel. RO Bases offers easy conversions between decimal, hexadecimal and binary. RPN is an excellent calculator by Russ Webb. I find the built-in scientific and base-conversion functions overly complex, so I use these instead.
• Tricks for Using xpa to Command ds9: tricks and techniques for commanding the ds9 image viewer via its xpa communication mechanism.
• syncclock: linux interface for PCI-SyncClock32 timing card.

Dance

• American Country Dances On Line, a searchable database of squares, contras and similar dances. This combines my love of dancing and dance calling with my interest in databases.
• FileMaker Pro databases for dance. They should run on Macs and PCs, though some features will only work on Macs. (Caution: I don't have time to offer support for these databases; you'll have to take them "as is"). If you have any trouble downloading these with your web browser, please try an ftp client and tranfer as binary (rather than text).
  • ACDOL.zip: the database behind American Country Dances On Line (though the served version may be more current). Includes layouts for viewing and printing dances and tables of contents, plus various useful sorting and searching scripts. Also includes a (Mac-only) script to copy the current dance to the clipboard (very handy when emailing a dance to somebody!).
  • NWNYCReg.zip: an empty copy of the database I use for NW New Year's Camp registration, along with a brief user's manual. A few of the scripts (such as automatically acknowledging registration by email) will only run on Macs. This is a well polished database after many years of refinement, yet I hope will not be too difficult to adapt to your own needs.

Russell Owen
University of Washington
PO Box 351580
Seattle, WA 98195-1580
rowen u washington edu
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