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Open MCT API
The Open MCT framework public api can be utilized by building the application
(gulp install) and then copying the file from dist/main.js to your
directory of choice.
Open MCT supports AMD, CommonJS, and loading via a script tag; it's easy to use
in your project. The [openmct]{@link module:openmct} module is exported
via AMD and CommonJS, and is also exposed as openmct in the global scope
if loaded via a script tag.
Overview
Open MCT's goal is to allow you to browse, create, edit, and visualize all of the domain knowledge you need on a daily basis.
To do this, the main building block provided by Open MCT is the domain object. The temperature sensor on the starboard solar panel, an overlay plot comparing the results of all temperature sensor, the command dictionary for a spacecraft, the individual commands in that dictionary, your "my documents" folder: All of these things are domain objects.
Domain objects have Types, so a specific instrument temperature sensor is a "Telemetry Point," and turning on a drill for a certain duration of time is an "Activity". Types allow you to form an ontology of knowledge and provide an abstraction for grouping, visualizing, and interpreting data.
And then we have Views. Views allow you to visualize domain objects. Views can apply to specific domain objects; they may also apply to certain types of domain objects, or they may apply to everything. Views are simply a method of visualizing domain objects.
Regions allow you to specify what views are displayed for specific types of domain objects in response to different user actions. For instance, you may want to display a different view while editing, or you may want to update the toolbar display when objects are selected. Regions allow you to map views to specific user actions.
Domain objects can be mutated and persisted, developers can create custom actions and apply them to domain objects, and many more things can be done. For more information, read on!
Running Open MCT
Once the [openmct](@link module:openmct) module has been loaded, you can
simply invoke [start]{@link module:openmct.MCT#start} to run Open MCT:
openmct.start();
Generally, however, you will want to configure Open MCT by adding plugins
before starting it. It is important to install plugins and configure Open MCT
before calling [start]{@link module:openmct.MCT#start}; Open MCT is not
designed to be reconfigured once started.
Configuring Open MCT
The [openmct]{@link module:openmct} module (more specifically, the
[MCT](@link module:openmct.MCT} class, of which openmct is an instance)
exposes a variety of methods to allow the application to be configured,
extended, and customized before running.