DiXP: a Python-based GUI for controlling a powder diffractometer via the Internet

DiXP is a multi-platform data collection program decoupled from low-level basic hardware management and based on the idea of client/server remote control. The main function of DiXP is the sequential coordination of those basic operations, allowing different strategies for the collection, archiving and graphical representation of measured data. DiXP and the control software reside, in general, on different computers and communicate with one another via the Internet using TCP sockets. The disconnection between low-level handling and the measurement process makes DiXP of general use for controlling a two-circle diffractometer, and this approach can be easily extended to more complex goniometers.