Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System

"Gregory J. Nawrocki" <[email protected]> · Mon, 16 Dec 1996 14:53:12 -0600

I have read, with interest, some of the tech-talk traffic
regarding Hideos. I would like to relate some of my experiences.

First off, I found Hideos to be a very clean interface for writing
IP device driver software. I was amazed at the ease in which I was
able to get a new IP running out of the box.

I often have the unfortunate task of writing odd RS232 device 
support for instruments that don't follow the typical command -
response methodology. Just when I think that I have written
every kind of RS232 device support one could imagine, someone
comes to me with a new instrument requiring a completely new
kind of interface. Hideos has really been a time saver for me.
The functionality that Jim provides allows me to concentrate on
the device support and not have to worry about any of the 
intricasies of the way the messages are handled.

Message based (RS232, GPIB, etc...) I/O is a perfect example of where
it is nice to have extra processing power to handle the communication
overhead so the MVME167 doesn't have to deal with it. What surprises
me is the other applications where the extra MVME162 processing
power comes in handy. For instance, I recently wrote a device driver
for the Acromag 16 bit analog IP module. I have an application
where I self calibrate the module once every 10 seconds, all handled
by the 162. When I read a value I take an average of 100 separate
reads of the AD converter, once again, all handled by the 162.

One thing that dismays me about this whole "debate" is that the
biggest complaint seems to be the "lack of Hideos experts". The
more people that take the time to learn and use Hideos the more
"experts" there will be. EPICS is a collaboration, that implies
give as well as take. If you want a turn key solution by all
means pass Hideos by. If you want to be part of an elegant solution 
for your IP device drivers I suggest you give Hideos a spin and
contribute to impovements.

-- Greg Nawrocki

Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System

Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System