Schedule Operations

A Revolution schedule is a sequence of steps. Each step is an operation: move a plate, run a device, wait for a signal, branch on a condition. This section documents every operation the schedule editor offers, and every value each one asks you for.

How to read these pages

Each operation lists its parameters with a type and a description. A parameter marked with a red ✱ is one the operation cannot run without; the editor shows the same marker beside the field.

Descriptions here are the same text the editor shows in a field’s tooltip. They are generated from the operation definitions themselves, so a description you read here is the description you will see when you build the schedule.

The shapes of operation

Moving labware. Transfer is the operation most schedules are built around: it moves labware between locations, stores and device pools, and can read a barcode or remove a lid on the way.

Running a device. Run Device Operation runs one of a device’s own operations — shake, seal, read, incubate. Which operations are offered depends on the device you pick, and each device’s own page lists them under Operations.

Control flow. Schedules are not only straight lines. If..Else and While.. branch and repeat on a condition, Loop repeats a fixed number of times, and For Each walks a set of locations or labware.

Running things side by side. A schedule can run several threads at once. Run Schedule Thread starts one, Join Schedule Thread waits for one to finish, and the merge and signal operations let two threads meet at an agreed point. Mutex Sequence keeps two threads out of the same critical section.

Setting the system up. Fill Store, Clear Store and the at location operations put the system into a known state before a run, which is what makes a setup schedule repeatable.

Every operation

Each operation has its own page, grouped by family in the sidebar. For all of them at a glance, see all schedule operations.