v0.5.0

Release v0.5.0 of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! Primary improvements include changes to several simulated devices and improved testing for Alpaca calls. This release contains features for the next major release of the OmniSim with significant improvements for several devices.

Major Change Summary

Dome, FilterWheel, Focuser, Rotator, and Safety Monitor have been completely rewritten to used a new shared driver back end. This allows easy reuse of a lot of common driver code. For example async connects now take a little time to complete, allowing async connect code to be better tested. Each of these devices now support a multiple simulations. The code for these simulated devices has been significantly cleaned up as well.

The updated devices offer a settable interface version. This enables or disables features that are available for each of the released interface versions. This allows clients to test behavior against historical versions of ASCOM devices.

They also support a JSON based API to change simulation settings for each of the updated devices. The OmniSim Swagger page now includes the specification for this API (exact commands are subject to change).

Each of the updated devices now supports independent log levels and generates a device specific log, separate from the main OmniSim log.

After this version has been tested for a while the other device types will receive the same updates.

The OmniSim generated swagger documentation has been greatly improved.

For Windows builds the OmniSim now supports a tray icon to allow the console to be shown or hidden and the web UI to be launched.

Simulation changes

0. Major changes to Dome, FilterWheel, Focuser, Rotator, and Safety Monitor
1. Several bug and function enhancements
2. Safety Monitor - Throws not connected on IsSafe
3. UI now displays all switches
4. Camera - Improvements to sensor FOV
5. Observing Conditions - Dew point changed to Celsius

General Improvements

1. Fixed several UI issues and unhappy paths.
2. Docker issues have been fixed.
3. New command line argument --show-browser will tell the OmniSim to open the browser to the main page, this can be called at start or by calling the main OmniSim binary while a copy is already running.
4. System Tray on Windows allows the console to be shown or hidden and the web UI to be launched
5. Settings now use invariant culture
6. UI supports a dynamic number of devices

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they can display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 8.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). All targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64) as part of Platform 7, Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64), and MacOS (amd64 and arm64).

The zip that ends with .Net 8.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 8.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.

v0.5.0-alpha02

Release v0.5.0-alpha02 of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! Primary improvements include changes to several simulated devices and improved testing for Alpaca calls. This is a test bed for the next major release of the OmniSim with significant improvements for several devices.

Note

This build does not include COM Support as it is meant to focus on new Alpaca features and simulation improvements. COM Support will be re-enabled for a future build.

Version 1.0 Preview Changes

FilterWheel, Focuser and Rotator have been completely rewritten to used a new shared driver back end. This allows easy reuse of a lot of common driver code. For example async connects now take a little time to complete, allowing async connect code to be better tested. Each of these devices now support a second simulation (this will allow a user configurable number of devices for a later release). The code for these simulated devices has been significantly cleaned up as well.

The updated devices offer a settable interface version. This enables or disables features that are available for each of the released interface versions. This allows clients to test behavior against historical versions of ASCOM devices.

They also support a JSON based API to change simulation settings for each of the updated devices. The OmniSim Swagger page now includes the specification for this API (exact commands are subject to change).

Each of the updated devices now supports independent log levels and generates a device specific log, separate from the main OmniSim log.

After this version has been tested for a while the other device types will receive the same updates.

The OmniSim generated swagger documentation has been greatly improved.

Simulation changes

0. Major changes to FilterWheel, Focuser and Rotator
1. Several bug and function enhancements
2. Safety Monitor - Throws not connected on IsSafe
3. UI Now displays all switches
4. Camera - Improvements to sensor FOV
5. Observing Conditions - Dew point changed to Celsius

General Improvements

1. Fixed several UI issues and unhappy paths.
2. Docker issues have been fixed.
3. New command line argument --show-browser will tell the OmniSim to open the browser to the main page, this can be called at start or by calling the main OmniSim binary while a copy is already running.

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they can display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 8.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). All targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64) as part of Platform 7, Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64) and macOS amd64 (Intel or Rosetta 2) binaries.

The zip that ends with .Net 8.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 8.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.

v0.4.0

Release v0.4.0 of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! Primary improvements include changes to several simulated devices and improved testing for Alpaca calls.

Note

If you have installed ASCOM Platform 7 you will already have this release, which is primarily for Platform 6 on Windows and all other operating systems.

Simulation changes

1. Support for Platform 7 interface changes
2. Several bug and function enhancements

General Improvements

1. Optional COM support on Windows systems
2. Updated to .Net 8
3. Updated to latest versions of the ASCOM Libraries
4. Updated to Type 2 AppImages for Linux

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they will display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 8.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). All targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64) as part of Platform 7, Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64) and macOS amd64 (Intel or Rosetta 2) binaries.

The zip that ends with .Net 8.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 8.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.

v0.4.0-alpha01

Release v0.4.0 alpha 1 of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! Primary improvements include changes to several simulated devices and improved testing for Alpaca calls.

Simulation changes

1. Support for Platform 7 interface changes
2. Several bug and function enhancements

General Improvements

1. Optional COM support on Windows systems
2. Updated to .Net 8
3. Updated to latest versions of the ASCOM Libraries
4. Updated to Type 2 AppImages for Linux

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they will display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 8.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). All targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64), Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64) and macOS amd64 (Intel or Rosetta 2) binaries.

The zip that ends with .Net 8.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 8.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.

v0.3.1

Release v0.3.1 of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! Primary improvements include changes to several simulated devices and improved testing for Alpaca calls.

Simulation changes

1. Fixes for Alt/Az mode and offsets
2. PulseGuide and RightAscensionRate match specification
3. MoveAxis works for all alignments and hemispheres

Bug fixes

1. Longitude minutes incorrectly referenced latitude in UI on errors
2. ServerTransactionID started at 0 instead of 1
3. Invalid capitalization for optional properties would return an error
4. Suppressed the optional DriverException return

General Improvements

1. Updated the ASCOM libraries
2. Swashbuckle documentation no longer requires special builds of the ASCOM Libraries

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they will display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 6.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). All targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64), Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64) and macOS amd64 (Intel or Rosetta 2) binaries.

The zip that ends with .Net 6.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 6.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.

v0.3.0

Release v0.3.0 of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! Primary improvements include changes to several simulated devices and much better enforcement of Alpaca calls.

Simulation changes

1. FilterWheel hardware simulator now correctly logs
2. Fixed issue with focuser reporting position while in relative mode
3. Fixed issue with Telescope RightAscensionRate
4. The Camera simulator now correctly returns InvalidOperation instead of NotConnected when in certain states

New features

1. Improved strict mode for API calls
2. Allows unknown keys but enforces capitalization of known keys for Alpaca calls
3. Self signed auto-generated TLS support (experimental)

Bug fixes

1. Fixed possible crash when start browser fails
2. General failures are now logged to console

General Improvements

1. Updated the ASCOM libraries
2. Removed System.Drawing
3. Package and build updates
4. Changes for Windows Single File Deployments (all Windows build are now Single File Deployments in this release)
5. Removed extra language packs
6. New method of detecting already running OmniSim instances on Windows
7. Updated dependencies

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they will display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 6.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). All targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64), Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64) and macOS amd64 (Intel or Rosetta 2) binaries.

The zip that ends with .Net 6.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 6.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.

v0.3.0-preview03

The third preview build of v0.3.0 of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! This supports all Alpaca device types.

Some changes since the first preview

1. Allows unknown keys but enforces capitalization of known keys
2. Updated the ASCOM libraries
3. FilterWheel hardware simulator now correctly logs
4. Removed System.Drawing

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they will display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 6.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). All targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64), Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64) and macOS amd64 (Intel or Rosetta 2) binaries.

The zip that ends with .Net 6.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 6.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.

v0.3.0-preview02

The second preview build of v0.3.0 of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! This supports all Alpaca device types.

Some changes since the first preview

1. Fixed issue with focuser reporting position while in relative mode
2. Fixed issue with Telescope RightAscensionRate
3. Improved strict mode for API calls
4. Package and build updates

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they will display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 6.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). All targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64), Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64) and macOS amd64 (Intel or Rosetta 2) binaries.

The zip that ends with .Net 6.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 6.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.

v0.3.0-preview01

The first preview build of v0.3.0 of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! This supports all Alpaca device types.

Some changes since 0.2.0

1. Self signed auto-generated TLS support (experimental)
2. Changes for Windows Single File Deployments (all Windows build are now Single File Deployments in this release)
3. Reduction of extra language packs
4. Improved logging for startup errors
5. New method of detecting already running OmniSim instances on Windows
6. Updated dependencies

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they will display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 6.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). All targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64), Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64) and macOS amd64 (Intel or Rosetta 2) binaries.

The zip that ends with .Net 6.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 6.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.

v0.2.0

The second release (v0.2.0) of the ASCOM Alpaca Simulators project! This supports all Alpaca device types.

Some changes since 0.1.4

1. Fixed east/west pulse guide inversion
2. Added strict url case mode (default)
3. Added check for updates
4. Added experimental Reset API for devices (OmniSim simulation management only, not part of Alpaca)
5. Added experimental Reload API for devices (OmniSim simulation management only, not part of Alpaca)
6. Added experimental Get XML Settings for devices (OmniSim simulation management only, not part of Alpaca)
7. Improved response and logging for 400 errors
8. Added logging for invalid paths
9. Added required tag for all device numbers
10. Fixed incorrect attributes on some client ids
11. Updated version of ASCOM Library

The binaries can be started directly or from the command line. Either way they will display a terminal for output / testing. These releases are simple zip / tar.xz files containing the output. For each the main binary is named ascom.alpaca.simulators.

Each OS dependent package was built as a Self Contained (does not require .Net 6.0 to be installed) and Trimmed (size reduced by removing unused platform code). Non Windows targets are Ready to Run AOT Compiled (whatever code can be fully compiled was).

This release includes Windows (x86 and amd64), Linux (amd64, armhf, and aarch64) and macOS amd64 (Intel or Rosetta 2) binaries.

The zip that ends with .Net 6.0 is a release build that is much smaller but it requires .Net 6.0 to be installed on the system. It can be unzipped and started by calling "dotnet .\ascom.alpaca.simulators.dll" or by running the exe on Windows.

Linux builds also offer experimental AppImage packages, which have AppImage in the file name.