Reworking the pynetstation module for python 2.7 and OpenSesame usage
Reworking the pynetstation module for python 2.7 and OpenSesame usage
Note: I’m not the original author of PyNetstation, but that person doesn’t seem to be keeping up with this code so I’ve been maintaining it for a few years now. If you are the original author nm13 please contact me for overdue thanks and questions on extensibility.
The quick way to test this out is by running the “example_psychopy.py” script within PsychoPy Coder, or if you’re more knowledgeable, run it from your favorite Python environment which also includes PsychoPy.
Out of timeliness sake, I’ll just include the major lines of code from “example_psychopy.py” that relate to the module in particular. If you want to see how it fits together with a PsychoPy experiment, read the full script.
# # This will import the debugging version of the PyNetStation module,
# # which will not actually attempt a connection but will check to make sure
# # your code is properly functioning.
import egi.fake as egi # FOR TESTING WITHOUT CONNECTION TO NETSTATION COMPUTER
# # This will import the single-threaded version of the PyNetStation module
# import egi.simple as egi # FOR RUNNING CONNECTED TO NETSTATION COMPUTER -- USE THIS IN A REAL EXPERIMENT
# # Create a proper timing object to reference. To retrieve the time you want later,
# # call this method using ms_localtime(), it returns the time in a millisecond format
# # appropriate for the NetStation TCP/IP protocol.
# # This is only necessary if you are in need of direct contact with the clock object that NetStation is utilizing,
# # which you don't actually need since it's working behind the scenes in the egi module.
# ms_localtime = egi.ms_localtime
# # Create the NetStation event-sending object. After this you can call
# # the methods via the object instance, in this case 'ns'.
ns = egi.Netstation()
# # The next line is for connecting the actual, single-threaded module version to the computer.
ns.connect('11.0.0.42', 55513) # sample address and port -- change according to your network settings
# # This sends some initialization info to NetStation for recording events.
ns.BeginSession()
# # This synchronizes the clocks of the stim computer and the NetStation computer.
ns.sync()
# # This starts the recording in NetStation acquisition. Equivalent to pressing the Record button.
# # If at some point you pause the experiment using the "StopRecording()" method,
# # just call this method again to restart the recording.
ns.StartRecording()
# # This re-aligns the clocks between the stim computer and the NetStation computer.
# # Best to put at the start of each trial for maximal timing accuracy.
ns.sync()
# # This line takes a variable amount of arguments, but I find it best practice to define
# # each variable and value so as to avoid unexpected results in the events.
# # See the end of this file for detailed description of each field.
# # Make sure to use 'timestamp=None' as this will default to capturing timestamp when event is being sent.
# # To make sure this is working properly, check the event info in NetStation (or the console if you're
# # using the egi.fake module) and make sure 'evt_' is occurring every 1000ms (or 1 second, specified in
# # the "if" statement above).
# # When sending events, if you want events to be paired to your screen flip (typically the case) then place
# # the function call "ns.send_event()" within your window's "callOnFlip()" function. To do this, just
# # replace "myWin" with your psychopy created window's instance name and edit the following parameters to
# # suit your needs. I've attached the documentation for this function at the bottom of this script.
myWin.callOnFlip(ns.send_event, key='evt_', timestamp=None, label="event", description="More Info",
table={'fld1': 123, 'fld2': "abc", 'fld3': 0.042, 'FPS_': fps_value}, pad=False)
""" This documentation is take directly from the code file "simple.py" Remember to leave "timestamp=None" so it
defaults to creating a timestamp when the function is called.
Send an event ; note that before sending any events a sync() has to be called
to make the sent events effective .
Arguments:
-- 'id' -- a four-character identifier of the event ;
-- 'timestamp' -- the local time when event has happened, in milliseconds ;
note that the "clock" used to produce the timestamp should be the same
as for the sync() method, and, ideally,
should be obtained via a call to the same function ;
if 'timestamp' is None, a time.time() wrapper is used .
-- 'label' -- a string with any additional information, up to 256 characters .
-- 'description' -- more additional information can go here ( same limit applies ) .
-- 'table' -- a standart Python dictionary, where keys are 4-byte identifiers,
not more than 256 in total ;
there are no special conditions on the values,
but the size of every value entry in bytes should not exceed 2 ^ 16 .
Note A: due to peculiarity of the implementation, our particular version of NetStation
was not able to record more than 2^15 events per session .
Note B: it is *strongly* recommended to send as less data as possible .
"""
# # This method is misleading, as it merely pauses the recording in NetStation. Equivalent to the pause button.
# # It is not actually stopping the recording session. That is done by the 'EndSession()' method.
ns.StopRecording()
# # I don't typically use this, as it is closes the current "Session" in NetStation.
# # I find it easier to just pause the recording using "StopRecording()" and then
# # get ending impedance measurements before manually closing NetStation.
# ns.EndSession()
# # This line ends the connection via the ns object, and should then be destroying the object itself.
# # It is good practice to use so as not to waste memory or leave TCP/IP links open, which could lead to being
# # unable to reconnect without restarting the computer running the experiment.
ns.disconnect()
If you have questions (I’m sure you will) contact me at joshua.e.zosky@gmail.com