Rapid and painless development of python INDI drivers to elegant and responsive web GUIs

Abstract

In this paper we present pyINDI, a web-friendly python port of the widely adopted Instrument Neutral Distributed Interface (INDI) protocol. The INDI model separates the GUI or "client"from the software that communicates directly with the hardware or "driver."pyINDI includes tools for building a client or driver and is compatible with any INDI compliant software. On the client side, a JavaScript library communicates with the INDI driver. The client side also includes HTML and CSS tools to auto generate a GUI based on the INDI properties. A developer could also use the HTML and CSS tools to build a custom GUI. The driver and client APIs utilize python's asyncio library for low overhead concurrency. We will summarize the range of current pyINDI drivers and clients at the Bok, Kuiper and MMT observatories. We will then pivot to potential uses and expansions of pyINDI. © COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.