# EPICS Library

This provides the ChannelAccess (CA) client library for accessing Process Variables on EPICS IOCs via the network.

## Preferences

There are two main items to configure:

- JCA Context:
  There is a pure Java as well as a JNI implementation available. The pure Java version is the default because it is easier to install and should work "out of the box", while the JNI implementation might provide maximum compatibility with existing EPICS installations.
- addr_list and auto_addr_list:
  If all CA servers (IOCs) are on the same subnet as the computer running the CSS application, you can stay with the default: Empty addr_list, using auto_addr_list. Otherwise, if you need to access PVs on a gateway or in another subnet, list the IP addresses of IOCs or IOC subnets in the addr_list, and un-check the auto_addr_list. For details on this as well as the remaining settings, refer to the EPICS Channel Access reference manual.

Note that changes require a restart of the application, they do not take effect at runtime!

## Default Settings

While each user can specify custom settings for each workspace, a site might have some default choices. Your CSS administrator can refer to the file "preferences.ini" inside the org.csstudio.platform.libs.epics plugin and provide a suitable "plugin_customization.ini" file for your site-specific version of CSS.

## Installation

When using the 'pure java' version, aka. CAJ, no additional steps should be required.

To use the JNI version, you need the operating system specific binaries for JNI. Refer to the README.txt in the org.csstudio.platform.libs.epics plugin for details on the currently included binaries.