Gathering Data from the Fermilab Linac Using
Object-Oriented Methodology

Elliott McCrory
Fermilab, Batavia, IL

For a number of years, a simple set of objects in C++ have been available to the Fermilab Linac group for accessing the data from the Linac control system. This suite of classes makes for a simple and powerful way to access this system. The objects are based on the way in which the accelerator data are stored in the local control stations and on the protocol through which these data are transmitted on the network. This paper describes the objects and some of the ways in which they have been used. In particular, several multi-purpose UNIX-style data acquisition tools have been written, along with an interface to pre-existing software packages.