Binospec is a new optical multi-object spectrograph operated at the f/5 focus of the 6.5-m converted MMT telescope at Mt.Hopkins, Arizona commissioned in Nov/2017. Here we describe a software system for the Binospec spectrograph driven by the PostgreSQL relational database that covers all stages of the instrument operations from the slit mask design to the data reduction pipeline and archiving and distribution of raw and reduced datasets. We use an interactive web based front end to design slit masks, which submits the configurations directly into the database, which then are sent to the mask cutting facility. When slit masks are installed into the spectrograph, the process is logged in the same database, which is also connected to the MMT telescope scheduler and Binospec instrument control software. All exposures collected with the instrument are recorded into the database in real time, which allows us to perform automated pipeline data reduction. Finally, the metadata of pipeline reduced products are ingested into the database and the products (along with raw data) are distributed to the PIs. We demonstrate that using currently available technologies and very limited manpower it is possible to build a complete database-driven software system similar to those deployed by major space missions like Chandra, XMM, and HST.
Link to PDF (may not be available yet): P13-1.pdf