I just checked in a new program, make_service.py, that installs PyTrain as a service on Raspberry Pis. What does this mean and why should you care? One of my goals is to make the Pi as much as "an appliance" as I can. When you turn on the main power to your layout, it is important to me that all of the embedded Pis in the control panels boot up and start running the PyTrain software with no fuss or further configuration. Lionel's Base 2 and Base 3 do the same thing. Even though they are really special purpose computers with custom programming, when you flip on the main power, they just turn on and start working (most of the time 😉)
The way you make this happen on a computer, like the Pi, is to install your program as a system service. This commit adds the program make_service.py , which creates a system service to run PyTrain as either a server or a client. Once this is done, PyTrain will just fire up every time you power on your control panel(s). The client instances will even wait for your PyTrain server to launch, and the server will wait for the Base 3 to boot.
My goal is to have it all just work!
-- Dave
