Graphical user interface of RFX control and data acquisition system

The paper presents the user interface aspects of the control and data acquisition system (SIGMA) of the RFX nuclear fusion experiment. SIGMA uses programmable controllers (PLCs) for slow signals and VAX based CAMAC for the fast data acquisition and timing tasks. The paper briefly summarises the technical aspects of the user interface: PLC based systems use operating consoles which employ IBM PC/AT compatibles running a commercial plant supervision package. The VAX based part employs VAXstations as user consoles with an extensive graphical user interface (initially DECwindows, now Motif). The use of these tools is illustrated by presenting the entire operation sequence for an RFX shot.