made gpib ctype optional

Author: prathameshnium

README.md

@@ -163,6 +163,11 @@ PICA is structured as a standard Python package.
     pip install .
     ```
 
+    *Note: The base installation of PICA does not include `gpib-ctypes`, which is only required for specific GPIB hardware on Linux systems (e.g., linux-gpib). If you need this functionality, install it separately:*
+    ```bash
+    pip install .[gpib]
+    ```
+
     *Note: Ensure you have the NI-VISA drivers installed on your host machine to allow `PyVISA` to communicate with the hardware.*
 
 ## Running the Software

docs/User_Manual.md

@@ -99,6 +99,11 @@ python -m venv venv
 
 # Install Python dependencies
 pip install -r requirements.txt
+
+# The base installation does not include gpib-ctypes, which is only required for 
+# specific GPIB hardware on Linux systems (e.g., linux-gpib). 
+# If you need this functionality, install it separately:
+pip install .[gpib]
 ```
 
 ### 3.3 Execution

pyproject.toml

@@ -25,11 +25,13 @@ dependencies = [ # Pinned to match requirements.txt for stability
     "PyVISA>=1.12.0",
     "PyMeasure>=0.10.0",
     "pyvisa-py>=0.5.3",
-    "gpib-ctypes>=0.3.0",
     "scipy",
     "Pillow>=10.3.0"
 ]
 
+[project.optional-dependencies]
+gpib = ["gpib-ctypes>=0.3.0"]
+
 [project.urls]
 "Homepage" = "https://github.com/prathameshnium/PICA-Python-Instrument-Control-and-Automation"
 "Bug Tracker" = "https://github.com/prathameshnium/PICA-Python-Instrument-Control-and-Automation/issues"

requirements.txt

@@ -4,6 +4,5 @@ matplotlib>=3.5.2
 pymeasure>=0.10.0
 pyvisa>=1.12.0
 pyvisa-py>=0.5.3
-gpib-ctypes>=0.3.0
 pillow>=10.3.0
 scipy