From: G.Filippi
                                                        Date: 14 Oct 1998


          VLT COMMON SOFTWARE "OCT98" - OVERVIEW
          ======================================

OCT98 release includes changes and fixes defined after UT1 First Light 
and now. Beside being used for many project now under development,
OCT98 has been installed and tested during the month of October
at the ESO VLT Observatory located in Cerro Paranal (Chile)
on the following operative systems: VLT Unit telescope 1,
VLT Astronomical Site Monitor, VLT Test Camera "A".

Taking experience from the real operations, installation instructions
have been made more restrictive, to follow the operational requirements.

In addition, OCT98 provides support to two new features:
 
  - CCSlite has been extended to include many of the features 
    of the full CCS version, mainly the support of the database,
    and now it is meant to be an alternative to the  full CCS 
    for projects non requiring the functionality and the performance 
    of the full version.

  - LCC, many drivers, the Motor Library, the CCD SW  have been ported
    to PowerPC board. Even if still running on the current 68k board type,
    LCU applications should conform since now to the portability rules 
    (see LCC Release Notes) in order to allow future migrations to
    the new fastes hardware.

IMPORTANT: both new developments have to be intended as preliminary
    releases. Although included in the distribution tape, usage
    of the new features shall be agreed in advance with ESO on a project 
    basis.


Supported Platforms
--------------------

               O.S.        TORNADO       RTAP
   CCS      HP-UX 10.20     1.0.1         6.7
   CCS      Sun    5.4      1.0.1         6.6

   CCSlite  HP-UX 10.20     1.0.1          
   CCSlite  Sun    5.5.1    1.0.1         

   NOCCS    HP-UX 10.20         
   NOCCS    Sun    5.5.1        


  - GNU tools are the same as NOV97

  - TcltTk tools are the same as for NOV97 

  - MIDAS is 98NOV patch level 4


OCT98 will be distributed as upgrade kit to all sites that 
received NOV97 and as complete kit to new entitled sites.
Delivery will be completed within the first half of November.

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