ATM Linux Port of scope.exe

[Archer Sully <archer@meer.net>]

This is a non-trivial job.

1.  The display is very much centered around DOS screen update calls,
and would need to get converted to curses.  This is the easy part.

2.  The code that does the work runs in a tight loop that takes
over the machine.  This is the (very) hard part.  This must be
done in the 

If I were tackling this job, I would use RTLinux or some other
such project as a base.  I would write a module that handled
output to the parallel port based on parameters that get updated
asynchronously from user level.  This would allow me to set
a fixed update rate that I could control.  The disadvantage
of this approach is that it would require more horsepower than
scope does, because there will be significant overhead in 
switching between tasks.  The good part is that there would
be little difficulty in running scope, CCD control and planetarium
software on the same laptop. 

It should be far easier to make the servo control work, as I
don't believe that the real-time requirements would be so
stiff.

If anyone wants to fund me on this project I'll start tomorrow ;-).

Archer Sully
Boulder, CO