ExEngine: an execution engine for microscope and laboratory hardware control

ExEngine is a pure Python toolkit for building microscopy and laboratory hardware control software. Unlike application-specific software that provide tightly integrated device access, control logic, and user interfaces,ExEngine is a flexible intermediary which enables mixing and matching of components from different frameworks within a single application. This approach allows researchers to build custom software that meets their specific needs, without being limited to vertically integrated software stacks.

Key Features:

1. Configurable Device Backends: Supports hundreds of hardware devices, including those provided by Micro-Manager, as well as an extensible framework for easy integration of new devices and device types.

2. Adaptable to Multiple Frontends: Compatible with GUIs, scripts, networked automated labs, and AI-integrated microscopy

3. Powerful Threading Capabilities: Utilities for parallelization, asynchronous execution, and complex, multi-device workflows.

4. Modality Agnosticism: Adaptable to diverse microscopy techniques thanks to general purpose design.

5. Modular, Reusable Device Instructions: Building blocks that can be combined to create complex workflows, in order to promote code reuse and simplify experiment design

Contents:

• Design
• Usage
  • Installation and Setup
  • Backends
    • Device Backends
    • Storage Backends
  • Key features
    • Devices
    • Events
    • Futures
    • Notifications
    • Data
• Extending ExEngine
  • Adding New Device Backends
    • Code Organization and packaging
    • Implementing a New Device
  • Creating Custom Events
    • Basic Event Creation
    • Adding Notifications
    • Implementing Capabilities
  • Creating Custom Notifications
  • Adding New Storage Backends
    • Code Organization and Packaging
    • Implementing a New Storage Backend
  • Threading in ExEngine
    • The Challenge: Balancing Simplicity and Performance
    • ExEngine’s Solution for Thread-Safe Device Control
    • Direct Use of the ExecutionEngine
    • Using the @on_thread Decorator
• API Reference
  • ExecutionEngine
    • ExecutionEngine
    • ExecutionFuture
    • Device
    • ExecutorEvent
    • Notification
  • Data
    • DataStorage
    • DataCoordinates
    • DataCoordinatesIterator
    • DataHandler
  • Micro-Manager Devices
  • Standard Events
    • Detector Events
    • Positioner Events
    • Property Events
    • Miscellaneous Events
    • Multi-Dimensional Acquisition Events