Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System

Marty Kraimer <[email protected]> · Thu, 22 Aug 1996 08:08:02 -0500

Gabor Csuka wrote:

>   - add a new IO type (in link.h such as VXI_IO or VME_IO)
>   - add a new member of the union of input/output descriptor
>     in link.h  (The field contain the all module dependent information)
>   - modify dct to handle this IO types.
>   - use some common transport mechanisme standardise to writing
>     the the device support routines.
> 
>  The status of this:
>  ===================
>  Interface:   Since:  IO           DevSup for records  Transport SCAN support
>  SEDAC IP    1993   SEDAC_IO     ai/ao li/lo mbbi/mbbo CDI       time
>  CAN IP      1995   FIELD_BUS_IO ai/ao wi/wo mbbi/mbbo CDI       time IO_INT
>  H1          1995   FIELD_BUS_IO ai/ao wi/wo mbbi/mbbo CDI       time IO_INT
>                                  longin/longout
>  Profibus IP 1996   FIELD_BUS_IO same DevSup as H1     CDI       time IO_INT
> 
> For the IRM we use drvSupport routine as a fastest access to the IP board.
> >From thid list is clear, we are the way somehow to use a common methode
> for connecting a complicated interface for EPICS.
> 
> Now we are planning:
> ====================
> 1.Modify dbStaticLib to handle the DESY IO types, and useing dbLoadRecord
>  functionality.
> 2.Paralell with this adding the same functionality to gdct
> 3.Useing the epics library (On Sun) adding the same functionality
>  for our Oracle database application.

I strongly encourage you to make these changes in R3.13.0beta1.
For R3.13 only dbStaticLib and link.h will need changes.
Also I have still been making changes to dbStaticLib as a result
of problems John Anderson discovered while working on a tcl/tk
replacement for DCT. I also made some changes as a result of Gabor
sending me an E-mail message about DESY adding new link types.
I did this to make it easier to add new link types.

I would also like to make the following suggestions:

1) Add only generic link types. Thus actual bus types like Profibus
and FieldBus are obvious new link types. Don't add link types, however,
for specialized purposes. Instead use the INST_IO which just allows
a character string that specialized device support can interpet.

2) Come up with a nicer syntax for hardware link specifications.
For example instead of:

   #L0 A2 C0 S0 @whatever

   It would have been better to use something like
    AB(0,2,0,0,"whatever")

   For camac it would be

    CAMAC(b,c,n,a,f,"whatever")

   where b,c,n,a,f are all integer values

At the present time it is difficult for dbStaticLib to determine
the link type given the link specification. If we add more link types
and use a syntax similar to that for existing links it may become
impossible.

Marty Kraimer

Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System

Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System