<s>
ASCOM	B-Application
(	O
an	O
abbreviation	O
for	O
AStronomy	B-Application
Common	I-Application
Object	I-Application
Model	I-Application
)	O
is	O
an	O
open	O
initiative	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
standard	O
interface	O
to	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
astronomy	O
equipment	O
including	O
mounts	O
,	O
focusers	O
and	O
imaging	O
devices	O
in	O
a	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASCOM	B-Application
was	O
invented	O
in	O
late	O
1997	O
and	O
early	O
1998	O
by	O
Bob	O
Denny	O
,	O
when	O
he	O
released	O
two	O
commercial	O
programs	O
and	O
several	O
freeware	B-License
utilities	O
that	O
showcased	O
the	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
induced	O
Doug	O
George	O
to	O
include	O
ASCOM	B-Application
capabilities	O
in	O
commercial	O
CCD	O
camera	O
control	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
observatory	O
to	O
adopt	O
ASCOM	B-Application
was	O
Junk	O
Bond	O
Observatory	O
,	O
in	O
early	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
successful	O
use	O
of	O
ASCOM	B-Application
there	O
was	O
covered	O
in	O
an	O
article	O
in	O
Sky	O
&	O
Telescope	O
magazine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
helped	O
ASCOM	B-Application
to	O
become	O
more	O
widely	O
adopted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ASCOM	B-Application
standards	O
were	O
placed	O
under	O
the	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
ASCOM	B-Application
Initiative	O
,	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
astronomy	O
software	O
developers	O
who	O
volunteered	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
standards	O
further	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under	O
the	O
influence	O
of	O
Denny	O
,	O
George	O
,	O
Tim	O
Long	O
,	O
and	O
others	O
,	O
ASCOM	B-Application
developed	O
into	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
device	O
driver	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2004	O
,	O
over	O
150	O
astronomy-related	O
devices	O
were	O
supported	O
by	O
ASCOM	B-Application
device	O
drivers	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
released	O
as	O
freeware	B-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
drivers	O
are	O
also	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
ASCOM	B-Application
developed	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
became	O
less	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
Component	B-Application
Object	I-Application
Model	I-Application
,	O
and	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
more	O
broadly	O
to	O
describe	O
not	O
only	O
the	O
standards	O
and	O
software	O
based	O
on	O
them	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
to	O
describe	O
an	O
observing	O
system	O
architecture	O
and	O
a	O
robotic	O
telescope	O
design	O
philosophy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2004	O
,	O
ASCOM	B-Application
remained	O
formally	O
a	O
reference	O
to	O
the	O
Component	B-Application
Object	I-Application
Model	I-Application
,	O
but	O
the	O
term	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
stand	O
on	O
its	O
own	O
as	O
new	O
technologies	O
such	O
as	O
Microsoft	O
.NET	B-Application
take	O
over	O
functions	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
Component	B-Application
Object	I-Application
Model	I-Application
,	O
and	O
additional	O
ASCOM	B-Application
projects	O
are	O
adopted	O
that	O
dilute	O
its	O
concentration	O
on	O
device	O
drivers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jonathan	O
Fay	O
contributed	O
to	O
the	O
ASCOM	B-Application
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
his	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
WorldWide	B-Application
Telescope	I-Application
ASCOM	B-Application
client	O
he	O
created	O
the	O
reference	O
.NET	B-Application
Framework	I-Application
prototype	O
classes	O
that	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
ASCOM	B-Application
Version	O
5	O
redesign	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
release	O
of	O
version	O
6	O
of	O
the	O
ASCOM	B-Application
Platform	O
in	O
June	O
2011	O
marked	O
a	O
transition	O
to	O
an	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
development	O
paradigm	O
,	O
with	O
several	O
developers	O
contributing	O
to	O
the	O
effort	O
and	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
platform	O
source	O
code	O
being	O
made	O
available	O
under	O
a	O
Creative	O
Commons	O
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012	O
,	O
due	O
in	O
part	O
to	O
differences	O
in	O
development	O
style	O
,	O
TiGra	O
Networks	O
 '	O
involvement	O
with	O
the	O
software	O
development	O
effort	O
ceased	O
and	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
was	O
relocated	O
to	O
SourceForge	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ascom	B-Application
Platform	O
is	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
computer	O
drivers	O
for	O
different	O
astronomy-related	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
ASCOM	B-Application
driver	O
acts	O
as	O
an	O
abstraction	O
layer	O
between	O
the	O
client	O
and	O
hardware	O
thus	O
removing	O
any	O
hardware	O
dependency	O
in	O
the	O
client	O
,	O
and	O
making	O
the	O
client	O
automatically	O
compatible	O
with	O
all	O
devices	O
that	O
supports	O
the	O
minimum	O
required	O
properties	O
and	O
methods	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
this	O
abstraction	O
allows	O
an	O
ASCOM	B-Application
client	O
to	O
use	O
an	O
imaging	O
device	O
without	O
needing	O
to	O
know	O
whether	O
the	O
device	O
is	O
attached	O
via	O
a	O
serial	O
or	O
network	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASCOM	B-Application
defines	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
required	O
Properties	O
and	O
Methods	O
that	O
ASCOM	B-Application
compliant	O
software	O
can	O
use	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
an	O
ASCOM	B-Application
compliant	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASCOM	B-Application
also	O
defines	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
optional	O
Properties	O
and	O
Methods	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
common	O
features	O
that	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
available	O
for	O
every	O
manufacturer	O
's	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
testing	O
various	O
properties	O
an	O
ASCOM	B-Application
client	O
application	O
can	O
determine	O
what	O
features	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Properties	O
and	O
Methods	O
are	O
accessible	O
via	O
scripting	O
interfaces	O
,	O
allowing	O
control	O
of	O
devices	O
by	O
standard	O
scripting	O
applications	O
such	O
as	O
VBScript	B-Application
and	O
JavaScript	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
fact	O
any	O
language	O
that	O
supports	O
access	O
to	O
Microsoft	O
COM	B-Application
objects	I-Application
can	O
interface	O
with	O
ASCOM	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
ASCOM	B-Application
Platform	O
software	O
package	O
is	O
available	O
for	O
download	O
which	O
installs	O
some	O
common	O
libraries	O
and	O
documentation	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
ASCOM	B-Application
drivers	O
for	O
a	O
broad	O
range	O
of	O
equipment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
ASCOM	B-Application
drivers	O
for	O
devices	O
not	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
ASCOM	B-Application
Platform	O
package	O
can	O
be	O
downloaded	O
and	O
installed	O
separately	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
ASCOM	B-Application
is	O
predominantly	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
amateur	O
community	O
,	O
because	O
the	O
standard	O
is	O
freely	O
available	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
some	O
professional	O
installations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
no	O
particular	O
licensing	O
requirements	O
other	O
than	O
that	O
the	O
ASCOM	B-Application
logo	O
may	O
only	O
be	O
used	O
if	O
the	O
client	O
application	O
is	O
ASCOM	B-Application
compatible	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
ASCOM	B-Application
driver	O
must	O
implement	O
all	O
the	O
required	O
properties	O
and	O
methods	O
(	O
but	O
need	O
not	O
implement	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
optional	O
properties	O
and	O
methods	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
an	O
astronomer	O
's	O
point	O
of	O
view	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
a	O
simple	O
matter	O
of	O
installing	O
the	O
ASCOM	B-Application
platform	O
and	O
suitable	O
client	O
software	O
;	O
no	O
programming	O
is	O
required	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASCOM	B-Application
drivers	O
allow	O
computer-based	O
control	O
of	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
planetarium	O
software	O
to	O
direct	O
a	O
telescope	O
to	O
point	O
at	O
a	O
selected	O
object	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
mount	O
,	O
focuser	O
and	O
imaging	O
device	O
ASCOM	B-Application
drivers	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
fully	O
automated	O
environment	O
for	O
deep	O
sky	O
imaging	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
can	O
enhance	O
the	O
power	O
of	O
ASCOM	B-Application
by	O
writing	O
their	O
own	O
clients	O
using	O
the	O
scripting	O
or	O
object	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Recent	O
initiative	O
called	O
ASCOM	B-Application
Alpaca	O
is	O
currently	O
under	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Alpaca	O
API	B-Application
uses	O
RESTful	B-Protocol
techniques	O
and	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
to	O
enable	O
ASCOM	B-Application
applications	O
and	O
devices	O
to	O
communicate	O
across	O
modern	O
network	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
will	O
enable	O
ASCOM	B-Application
compatible	O
devices	O
to	O
work	O
across	O
all	O
the	O
different	O
operating	O
systems	O
including	O
Linux	O
and	O
Mac	O
OSX	O
in	O
near	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
