- Command Definition Files
- Command Keywords
- COMMAND
- SELECT_COMMAND
- COMMAND Modifiers
- PARAMETER
- APPEND_PARAMETER
- ID_PARAMETER
- APPEND_ID_PARAMETER
- ARRAY_PARAMETER
- APPEND_ARRAY_PARAMETER
- SELECT_PARAMETER
- DELETE_PARAMETER
- HIDDEN
- DISABLED
- DISABLE_MESSAGES
- META
- HAZARDOUS
- PARAMETER Modifiers
- Example File
Command Configuration
Command Definition Files
Command definition files define the command packets that can be sent to COSMOS targets. One large file can be used to define the command packets, or multiple files can be used at the user’s discretion. Command definition files are placed in the target’s cmd_tlm directory and are processed alphabetically. Therefore if you have some command files that depend on others, e.g. they override or extend existing commands, they must be named last. The easist way to do this is to add an extension to an existing file name. For example, if you already have cmd.txt you can create cmd_override.txt for commands that depends on the definitions in cmd.txt. Also note that due to the way the ASCII Table is structured, files beginning with capital letters are processed before lower case letters.
When defining command parameters you can choose from the following data types: INT, UINT, FLOAT, STRING, BLOCK. These correspond to integers, unsigned integers, floating point numbers, strings and binary blocks of data. The only difference between a STRING and BLOCK is when COSMOS reads the binary command log it stops reading a STRING type when it encounters a null byte (0). This shows up in the text log produced by Data Extractor. Note that this does NOT affect the data COSMOS writes as it’s still legal to pass null bytes (0) in STRING parameters.
Command Keywords
COMMAND
Defines a new command packet
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Target | Name of the target this command is associated with | True |
Command | Name of this command. Also referred to as its mnemonic. Must be unique to commands to this target. Ideally will be as short and clear as possible. | True |
Endianness | Indicates if the data in this command is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
True |
Description | Description of this command which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Example Usage:
SELECT_COMMAND
Selects an existing command packet for editing
Typically used in a separate configuration file from where the original command is defined to override or add to the existing command definition
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Target Name | Name of the target this command is associated with | True |
Command Name | Name of the command to select | True |
Example Usage:
COMMAND Modifiers
The following keywords must follow a COMMAND keyword.
PARAMETER
Defines a command parameter in the current command packet
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Name | Name of the parameter. Must be unique within the command. | True |
Bit Offset | Bit offset into the command packet of the Most Significant Bit of this parameter. May be negative to indicate on offset from the end of the packet. Always use a bit offset of 0 for derived parameters. | True |
Bit Size | Bit size of this parameter. Zero or Negative values may be used to indicate that a string fills the packet up to the offset from the end of the packet specified by this value. If Bit Offset is 0 and Bit Size is 0 then this is a derived parameter and the Data Type must be set to ‘DERIVED’. | True |
Data Type | Data Type of this parameter Valid Values: INT, UINT, FLOAT, DERIVED, STRING, BLOCK |
True |
When Data Type is INT, UINT, FLOAT, DERIVED the remaining parameters are:
Minimum Value | Minimum allowed value for this parameter | True |
Maximum Value | Maximum allowed value for this parameter | True |
Default Value | Default value for this parameter. You must provide a default but if you mark the parameter REQUIRED then scripts will be forced to specify a value. | True |
Description | Description for this parameter which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data in this command is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
When Data Type is STRING, BLOCK the remaining parameters are:
Default Value | Default value for this parameter. You must provide a default but if you mark the parameter REQUIRED then scripts will be forced to specify a value. | True |
Description | Description for this parameter which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data in this command is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
Example Usage:
APPEND_PARAMETER
Defines a command parameter in the current command packet
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Name | Name of the parameter. Must be unique within the command. | True |
Bit Size | Bit size of this parameter. Zero or Negative values may be used to indicate that a string fills the packet up to the offset from the end of the packet specified by this value. If Bit Offset is 0 and Bit Size is 0 then this is a derived parameter and the Data Type must be set to ‘DERIVED’. | True |
Data Type | Data Type of this parameter Valid Values: INT, UINT, FLOAT, DERIVED, STRING, BLOCK |
True |
When Data Type is INT, UINT, FLOAT, DERIVED the remaining parameters are:
Minimum Value | Minimum allowed value for this parameter | True |
Maximum Value | Maximum allowed value for this parameter | True |
Default Value | Default value for this parameter. You must provide a default but if you mark the parameter REQUIRED then scripts will be forced to specify a value. | True |
Description | Description for this parameter which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data in this command is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
When Data Type is STRING, BLOCK the remaining parameters are:
Default Value | Default value for this parameter. You must provide a default but if you mark the parameter REQUIRED then scripts will be forced to specify a value. | True |
Description | Description for this parameter which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data in this command is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
Example Usage:
ID_PARAMETER
Defines an identification command parameter in the current command packet
ID parameters are used to identify the binary block of data as a particular command. A command packet may have one or more ID_PARAMETERs and all must match the binary data for the command to be identified.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Name | Name of the parameter. Must be unique within the command. | True |
Bit Offset | Bit offset into the command packet of the Most Significant Bit of this parameter. May be negative to indicate on offset from the end of the packet. Always use a bit offset of 0 for derived parameters. | True |
Bit Size | Bit size of this parameter. Zero or Negative values may be used to indicate that a string fills the packet up to the offset from the end of the packet specified by this value. If Bit Offset is 0 and Bit Size is 0 then this is a derived parameter and the Data Type must be set to ‘DERIVED’. | True |
Data Type | Data Type of this parameter Valid Values: INT, UINT, FLOAT, DERIVED, STRING, BLOCK |
True |
When Data Type is INT, UINT, FLOAT, DERIVED the remaining parameters are:
Minimum Value | Minimum allowed value for this parameter | True |
Maximum Value | Maximum allowed value for this parameter | True |
ID Value | Identification value for this parameter. The binary data must match this value for the buffer to be identified as this packet. | True |
Description | Description for this parameter which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data in this command is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
When Data Type is STRING, BLOCK the remaining parameters are:
Default Value | Default value for this parameter. You must provide a default but if you mark the parameter REQUIRED then scripts will be forced to specify a value. | True |
Description | Description for this parameter which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data in this command is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
Example Usage:
APPEND_ID_PARAMETER
Defines an identification command parameter in the current command packet
ID parameters are used to identify the binary block of data as a particular command. A command packet may have one or more ID_PARAMETERs and all must match the binary data for the command to be identified.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Name | Name of the parameter. Must be unique within the command. | True |
Bit Size | Bit size of this parameter. Zero or Negative values may be used to indicate that a string fills the packet up to the offset from the end of the packet specified by this value. If Bit Offset is 0 and Bit Size is 0 then this is a derived parameter and the Data Type must be set to ‘DERIVED’. | True |
Data Type | Data Type of this parameter Valid Values: INT, UINT, FLOAT, DERIVED, STRING, BLOCK |
True |
When Data Type is INT, UINT, FLOAT, DERIVED the remaining parameters are:
Minimum Value | Minimum allowed value for this parameter | True |
Maximum Value | Maximum allowed value for this parameter | True |
ID Value | Identification value for this parameter. The binary data must match this value for the buffer to be identified as this packet. | True |
Description | Description for this parameter which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data in this command is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
When Data Type is STRING, BLOCK the remaining parameters are:
Default Value | Default value for this parameter. You must provide a default but if you mark the parameter REQUIRED then scripts will be forced to specify a value. | True |
Description | Description for this parameter which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data in this command is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
Example Usage:
ARRAY_PARAMETER
Defines a command parameter in the current command packet that is an array
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Name | Name of the parameter. Must be unique within the command. | True |
Bit Offset | Bit offset into the command packet of the Most Significant Bit of this parameter. May be negative to indicate on offset from the end of the packet. Always use a bit offset of 0 for derived parameters. | True |
Item Bit Size | Bit size of each array item | True |
Item Data Type | Data Type of each array item Valid Values: INT, UINT, FLOAT, STRING, BLOCK, DERIVED |
True |
Array Bit Size | Total Bit Size of the Array. Zero or Negative values may be used to indicate the array fills the packet up to the offset from the end of the packet specified by this value. | True |
Description | Description which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
Example Usage:
APPEND_ARRAY_PARAMETER
Defines a command parameter in the current command packet that is an array
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Name | Name of the parameter. Must be unique within the command. | True |
Item Bit Size | Bit size of each array item | True |
Item Data Type | Data Type of each array item Valid Values: INT, UINT, FLOAT, STRING, BLOCK, DERIVED |
True |
Array Bit Size | Total Bit Size of the Array. Zero or Negative values may be used to indicate the array fills the packet up to the offset from the end of the packet specified by this value. | True |
Description | Description which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
Endianness | Indicates if the data is to be sent in Big Endian or Little Endian format Valid Values: BIG_ENDIAN, LITTLE_ENDIAN |
False |
Example Usage:
SELECT_PARAMETER
Selects an existing command parameter for editing
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Parameter | Name of the parameter to select for modification | True |
Example Usage:
DELETE_PARAMETER
Deletes an existing command parameter from the packet definition
Deleting a parameter from the command definition does not remove the defined space for that parameter. Thus unless you redefine a new parameter, there will be a “hole” in the packet where the data is not accessible. You can use SELECT_COMMAND and then PARAMETER to define a new parameter.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Parameter | Name of the parameter to delete | True |
Example Usage:
HIDDEN
Hides this command from all COSMOS tools such as Command Sender and Handbook Creator
Hidden commands do not appear in the Script Runner popup helper when writing scripts. The command still exists in the system and can be sent by scripts.
DISABLED
Disables this command from being sent
Hides the command and also disables it from being sent by scripts. Attempts to send DISABLED commands result in an error message.
DISABLE_MESSAGES
Disable the Server from printing cmd(…) messages. Commands are still logged.
META
Stores metadata for the current command
Meta data is user specific data that can be used by custom tools for various purposes. One example is to store additional information needed to generate source code header files.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Meta Name | Name of the metadata to store | True |
Meta Values | One or more values to be stored for this Meta Name | False |
Example Usage:
HAZARDOUS
Designates the current command as hazardous
Sending a hazardous command causes a dialog asking for confirmation before sending the command
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Description | Description for why the command is hazardous which must be enclosed with quotes | False |
PARAMETER Modifiers
The following keywords must follow a PARAMETER keyword.
FORMAT_STRING
Adds printf style formatting
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Format | How to format using printf syntax. For example, ‘0x%0X’ will display the value in hex. | True |
Example Usage:
UNITS
Add displayed units
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Full Name | Full name of the units type, e.g. Celsius | True |
Abbreviated | Abbreviation for the units, e.g. C | True |
Example Usage:
DESCRIPTION
Override the defined description
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Value | The new description | True |
META
Stores custom user metadata
Meta data is user specific data that can be used by custom tools for various purposes. One example is to store additional information needed to generate source code header files.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Meta Name | Name of the metadata to store | True |
Meta Values | One or more values to be stored for this Meta Name | False |
Example Usage:
OVERLAP
This item is allowed to overlap other items in the packet
If an item’s bit offset overlaps another item, COSMOS issues a warning. This keyword explicitly allows an item to overlap another and supresses the warning message.
REQUIRED
Parameter is required to be populated in scripts
When sending the command via Script Runner a value must always be given for the current command parameter. This prevents the user from relying on a default value. Note that this does not affect Command Sender which will still populate the field with the default value provided in the PARAMETER definition.
MINIMUM_VALUE
Override the defined minimum value
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Value | The new minimum value for the parameter | True |
MAXIMUM_VALUE
Override the defined maximum value
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Value | The new maximum value for the parameter | True |
DEFAULT_VALUE
Override the defined default value
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Value | The new default value for the parameter | True |
STATE
Defines a key/value pair for the current command parameter
Key value pairs allow for user friendly strings. For example, you might define states for ON = 1 and OFF = 0. This allows the word ON to be used rather than the number 1 when sending the command parameter and allows for much greater clarity and less chance for user error.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Key | The string state name | True |
Value | The numerical state value | True |
Hazardous | Indicates the state is hazardous. This will cause a popup to ask for user confirmation when sending this command. Valid Values: HAZARDOUS |
False |
Hazardous Description | String describing why this state is hazardous | False |
Example Usage:
WRITE_CONVERSION
Applies a conversion when writing the current command parameter
Conversions are implemented in a custom Ruby file which should be located in the target’s lib folder and required by the target’s target.txt file (see REQUIRE). The class must require ‘cosmos/conversions/conversion’ and inherit from Conversion. It must implement the initialize method if it takes extra parameters and must always implement the call method. The conversion factor is applied to the value entered by the user before it is written into the binary command packet and sent.
Multiple write conversions on command parameters
When a command is built, each item gets written (and write conversions are run) to set the default value. Then items are written (again write conversions are run) with user provided values. Thus write conversions can be run twice. Also there are no guarantees which parameters have already been written. The packet itself has a given_values() method which can be used to retrieve a hash of the user provided values to the command. That can be used to check parameter values passed in.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Class Filename | The filename which contains the Ruby class. The filename must be named after the class such that the class is a CamelCase version of the underscored filename. For example, ‘the_great_conversion.rb’ should contain ‘class TheGreatConversion’. | True |
Parameter | Additional parameter values for the conversion which are passed to the class constructor. | False |
Example Usage:
POLY_WRITE_CONVERSION
Adds a polynomial conversion factor to the current command parameter
The conversion factor is applied to the value entered by the user before it is written into the binary command packet and sent.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
C0 | Coefficient | True |
Cx | Additional coefficient values for the conversion. Any order polynomial conversion may be used so the value of ‘x’ will vary with the order of the polynomial. Note that larger order polynomials take longer to process than shorter order polynomials, but are sometimes more accurate. | False |
Example Usage:
SEG_POLY_WRITE_CONVERSION
Adds a segmented polynomial conversion factor to the current command parameter
This conversion factor is applied to the value entered by the user before it is written into the binary command packet and sent.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Lower Bound | Defines the lower bound of the range of values that this segmented polynomial applies to. Is ignored for the segment with the smallest lower bound. | True |
C0 | Coefficient | True |
Cx | Additional coefficient values for the conversion. Any order polynomial conversion may be used so the value of ‘x’ will vary with the order of the polynomial. Note that larger order polynomials take longer to process than shorter order polynomials, but are sometimes more accurate. | False |
Example Usage:
GENERIC_WRITE_CONVERSION_START
Start a generic write conversion
Adds a generic conversion function to the current command parameter. This conversion factor is applied to the value entered by the user before it is written into the binary command packet and sent. The conversion is specified as ruby code that receives two implied parameters. ‘value’ which is the raw value being written and ‘packet’ which is a reference to the command packet class (Note, referencing the packet as ‘myself’ is still supported for backwards compatibility). The last line of ruby code given should return the converted value. The GENERIC_WRITE_CONVERSION_END keyword specifies that all lines of ruby code for the conversion have been given.
Multiple write conversions on command parameters
When a command is built, each item gets written (and write conversions are run) to set the default value. Then items are written (again write conversions are run) with user provided values. Thus write conversions can be run twice. Also there are no guarantees which parameters have already been written. The packet itself has a given_values() method which can be used to retrieve a hash of the user provided values to the command. That can be used to check parameter values passed in.
Generic conversions are not a good long term solution. Consider creating a conversion class and using WRITE_CONVERSION instead. WRITE_CONVERSION is easier to debug and higher performance.
Example Usage:
GENERIC_WRITE_CONVERSION_END
Complete a generic write conversion
OVERFLOW
Set the behavior when writing a value overflows the type
By default COSMOS throws an error if you try to write a value which overflows its specified type, e.g. writing 255 to a 8 bit signed value. Setting the overflow behavior also allows for COSMOS to ‘TRUNCATE’ the value by eliminating any high order bits. You can also set ‘SATURATE’ which causes COSMOS to replace the value with the maximum or minimum allowable value for that type. Finally you can specify ‘ERROR_ALLOW_HEX’ which will allow for a maximum hex value to be writen, e.g. you can successfully write 255 to a 8 bit signed value.
Parameter | Description | Required |
---|---|---|
Behavior | How COSMOS treats an overflow value. Only applies to signed and unsigned integer data types. Valid Values: ERROR, ERROR_ALLOW_HEX, TRUNCATE, SATURATE |
True |
Example Usage:
Example File
Example File: TARGET/cmd_tlm/cmd.txt
COMMAND TARGET COLLECT_DATA BIG_ENDIAN "Commands my target to collect data"
PARAMETER CCSDSVER 0 3 UINT 0 0 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER VERSION NUMBER"
PARAMETER CCSDSTYPE 3 1 UINT 1 1 1 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER PACKET TYPE"
PARAMETER CCSDSSHF 4 1 UINT 0 0 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER SECONDARY HEADER FLAG"
ID_PARAMETER CCSDSAPID 5 11 UINT 0 2047 100 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER APPLICATION ID"
PARAMETER CCSDSSEQFLAGS 16 2 UINT 3 3 3 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER SEQUENCE FLAGS"
PARAMETER CCSDSSEQCNT 18 14 UINT 0 16383 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER SEQUENCE COUNT"
PARAMETER CCSDSLENGTH 32 16 UINT 4 4 4 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER PACKET LENGTH"
PARAMETER ANGLE 48 32 FLOAT -180.0 180.0 0.0 "ANGLE OF INSTRUMENT IN DEGREES"
POLY_WRITE_CONVERSION 0 0.01745 0 0
PARAMETER MODE 80 8 UINT 0 1 0 "DATA COLLECTION MODE"
STATE NORMAL 0
STATE DIAG 1
COMMAND TARGET NOOP BIG_ENDIAN "Do Nothing"
PARAMETER CCSDSVER 0 3 UINT 0 0 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER VERSION NUMBER"
PARAMETER CCSDSTYPE 3 1 UINT 1 1 1 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER PACKET TYPE"
PARAMETER CCSDSSHF 4 1 UINT 0 0 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER SECONDARY HEADER FLAG"
ID_PARAMETER CCSDSAPID 5 11 UINT 0 2047 101 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER APPLICATION ID"
PARAMETER CCSDSSEQFLAGS 16 2 UINT 3 3 3 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER SEQUENCE FLAGS"
PARAMETER CCSDSSEQCNT 18 14 UINT 0 16383 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER SEQUENCE COUNT"
PARAMETER CCSDSLENGTH 32 16 UINT 0 0 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER PACKET LENGTH"
PARAMETER DUMMY 48 8 UINT 0 0 0 "DUMMY PARAMETER BECAUSE CCSDS REQUIRES 1 BYTE OF DATA"
COMMAND TARGET SETTINGS BIG_ENDIAN "Set the Settings"
PARAMETER CCSDSVER 0 3 UINT 0 0 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER VERSION NUMBER"
PARAMETER CCSDSTYPE 3 1 UINT 1 1 1 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER PACKET TYPE"
PARAMETER CCSDSSHF 4 1 UINT 0 0 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER SECONDARY HEADER FLAG"
ID_PARAMETER CCSDSAPID 5 11 UINT 0 2047 102 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER APPLICATION ID"
PARAMETER CCSDSSEQFLAGS 16 2 UINT 3 3 3 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER SEQUENCE FLAGS"
PARAMETER CCSDSSEQCNT 18 14 UINT 0 16383 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER SEQUENCE COUNT"
PARAMETER CCSDSLENGTH 32 16 UINT 0 0 0 "CCSDS PRIMARY HEADER PACKET LENGTH"
<% 5.times do |x| %>
APPEND_PARAMETER SETTING<%= x %> 16 UINT 0 5 0 "Setting <%= x %>"
<% end %>