kPyQt

You should use the kPyQt module to streamline interactions with KTL keywords. The sphinx documentation for the module is here, including a working example similar to the complete example below:

https://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/software/kPyQt/

https://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/software/kPyQt/examples.html

Old Method:

Monitoring a keyword

Support we want to connect the monitoring of a keyword to a status text field.

The basic steps are:


# this part creates a thread not in Python but in the QT system
# the thread is used to create a KTL monitoring of the keyword fname from the
# server kbes. When the keyword changes, the filter_callback function is called

class keywordMonitor(QThread):
    filter = pyqtSignal('QString')
  
    def __init__(self):
        QThread.__init__(self)
        
    def __del__(self):
        self.wait()
        
    def run(self):
        # this is the callback function that is triggered when the filter changes
        # it "emits" a signal to the main thread, and sends the value of the 
        # keyword
        def filter_callback(keyword):
            value = keyword['binary']
            self.filter.emit(str(value))
        # this is the connection to ktl
        filter = ktl.cache('kbes','fname')
        filter.callback(filter_callback)
        filter.monitor()
        # this makes sure that the thread does not exit
        while True:
            self.sleep(1)
            
# here we are defining the main graphic window
class MyWindow(QWidget):
    def __init__(self, *args):
        super().__init__()
        self.init_ui()
        self.setWindowTitle("Example")
        # here we start thread that monitors the keyword monitor, the one 
        # we have created at the beginning of this program
        self.start_keyword_monitor()
        
    def init_ui(self):
        # create the labels and arrange them in a small window
        self.label_filter = QLabel("Filter")
        self.label_filter_result = QLabel("")
        layout = QVBoxLayout()
        layout.addWidget(self.label_filter)
        layout.addWidget(self.label_filter_result)
        self.setLayout(layout)
    
    # this is called as part of the init procedure
    # note that the connection is between filter.emit (further up)
    # and filter.connect. Filter.emit sends a new value of the 
    # filter when it is received, filter.connect tells the main thread what to do
    def start_keyword_monitor(self):
        self.keyword_thread = keywordMonitor()
        self.keyword_thread.filter.connect(self.update_filter)
        set.keyword_thread.start()
       
    # and this is the "what to do": once the signa is emitted and then received
    # we trigger the function setText.
    # this is not necessary. We could decide to send an email or anything else... 
    def update_filter(self, value):
        self.label_filter_result.setText(value) 
        

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app = QApplication(sys.argv)
    w = MyWindow()
    w.show()
    sys.exit(app.exec_())

Building PyQt5 GUIs for Keck Instruments

kPyQt

Old Method:

Monitoring a keyword