Running multiple processes at the same time?

[joelshort]

I've been wondering, is it possible to run two or more processes at the same time?  For example, would it be possible to run one instance of CosmeticCorrection on the RED channel subs, and a second instance of CosmeticCorrection on the BLUE channel subs?

[Geoff]

I guess you could run two or more instances of PixInsight simultaneously

[joelshort]

I guess you could run two or more instances of PixInsight simultaneously

How do you do that?  If I try to start a second instance it just reverts to the already open instance.

[pfile]

http://pixinsight.com.ar/en/docs/109/pixinsight-second-instance.html

rob

[joelshort]

http://pixinsight.com.ar/en/docs/109/pixinsight-second-instance.html

rob

Cool, that worked.  Now, is there a way to automate this, something like a process icon on the PI desktop that when executed opens the second instance?

[Niall Saunders]

Hi Joel,

Why two "instances" of PI instead of the already available multiple "Workspaces" (each of which stores and thus uses and saves its own dedicated group of Process Icons)

[joelshort]

Hi Joel,

Why two "instances" of PI instead of the already available multiple "Workspaces" (each of which stores and thus uses and saves its own dedicated group of Process Icons)

Because you can't run more than one process at a time in the same instance of PI.  There are times when I'm processing data sets that I can work on one color channel on one instance and another color channel in another instance of PI. 

[Juan Conejero]

On PixInsight >= 1.8.6, you can run multiple instances in a much easier way using JavaScript. For example, to run a new application instance, enter this command in Process Console:

j CoreApplication.launchInstance()

You can run up to 255 instances concurrently on the same local machine. This works the same way on all platforms.

You can also run a specific instance by passing an integer parameter from 1 to 256; for example:

j CoreApplication.launchInstance( 42 )

Bear in mind that each instance keeps its own set of application settings in a completely independent way. That is, each instance is completely different in terms of preferences, etc.

You can also know if a particular instance is running:

j CoreApplication.isInstanceRunning( 2 )

Alternatively, on platforms where a terminal is available, you can launch multiple instances from the command line. For example, on FreeBSD and Linux:

$ PixInsight -n

On macOS:

$ /Applications/PixInsight/PixInsight.app/Contents/MacOS/PixInsight -n=2

On macOS you have to specify the instance number for technical reasons beyond scope here.