QDGLasers

A gui for performing simple functions of the ILX Lightwave laser diode controllers in the lab. Note that this requires an instance of the multiplexer-server to be active on the lab network.

Installation

The project is installable directly from gitea using either https, which will ask for your gitea username and password when attempting to download the program:

pip install git+https://qdg-code.phas.ubc.ca:2633/Felix/qdglasers.git@latest

or using ssh, provided that you have properly set up an ssh key on the gitea server:

pip install git+ssh://gitea-qdg-code@qdg-code.phas.ubc.ca:7743/Felix/qdglasers.git@latest

It is strongly recommended to install this application inside of a conda or virtual environment to prevent accidentally breaking the python base environment. This is more of a problem in Linux environments than on windows, but it is good practice in both cases.

Creating desktop shortcuts

Since this is a graphical program you may want to setup a desktop shortcut for running the program without needing a terminal window to be open.

Windows (PowerShell)

After activating the appropriate environment (if applicable) locate where the module is installed using:

gcm qdglasers

Once the path to the executable is known a shortcut can be created:

1. Right-click on the desktop select New and then Shortcut. This should open a new window.
2. Set the target in the "Type the location of the item" to the path obtained when running gcm qdglasers:
3. Click Next, give it a name, and click Finish.

Linux (GNOME Debian)

To make the GUI visible in the app launcher, create qdglasers.desktop file in ~/.local/share/applications:

touch ~/.local/share/applications/qdglasers.desktop

Edit the file to add the following content:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=QDGLasers
Type=Application
Comment=A GUI for controlling the ILX laser diode controllers.
Exec=conda run -n qdglasers qdglasers

Note that the entry for Exec will change based on how the program is installed (i.e. if you use a conda environment or venv).

Development

To install the repository for development first clone the repository:

git clone ssh://gitea-qdg-code@qdg-code.phas.ubc.ca:7743/Felix/qdglasers.git

and then use pip to install the repository in an editable configuration using the -e flag:

pip install -e ./qdglasers