On Sun, Jul 3, 2016 at 10:18 PM, David McClain <dbm@refined-audiometrics.com> wrote:

Hi Ken,

I think I see what you are recommending. But one of the facts of these external programs is the lack of multi-processing in their JS interpreters.

JS is always single-threaded. (But CLJS can fake threads -- they really are doing some good work.)

If I sent over one program to maintain state and issue periodic nudges, that would tie up the JS interface for all other possible needs.

The "program" is just a bunch of code and data waiting on events. It is not tying up anything except RAM.

Instead, by offering periodic snippets to the JS engine, I leave it mostly available for all other uses. The nudges themselves take only a fraction of a second, issued once per minute.

Sure, this whole thing works that way: http://tiltonsalgebra.com

btw, controlling telescopes and cameras? I'm jealous! :)

-kt