The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has made a considerable progress in the implementation of a new software framework, the Instrument Control System Framework (IFW) tailored to facilitate the development of upcoming astronomical instruments at the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). This framework offers a complete, scalable, and adaptable infrastructure to support the diverse needs of instrument control. The framework’s architecture is strongly based on ESO's extensive experience in operating and maintaining VLT instruments while integrating the technological innovations specified by the ELT project. It presents a unified approach to instrument control, fostering the coordination of various heterogenous instruments subsystems and tasks, ranging from the control of instrument hardware functions and data visualization to the execution of science observations and instrument calibrations. The framework is primarily targeted to instrument developers from ESO partner institutes who are currently working on the first-generation ELT instruments. ESO extended the framework's application in 2019 to all new instruments within its optical telescopes. This strategy aims to reduce maintenance costs and promote ELT-VLT integrated operations, embracing future VLT instruments. The framework is being elaborated following the ELT Development Process, a sort of scrum like process supported by the tools Jenkins, Gitlab and Jira. This paper provides an overview of the design principles, key features, as well as details of the development process and main technologies employed in its construction.
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