Those myriads of driver files set to become a relic of the past
June 2002
SCADA/HMI
Addi-Data's ADDIPACK universal software has now been used successfully for over one year, and is proving to be flexible, maintenance-free and future-oriented.
Up until recently, to implement an application one had to install and run drivers for each single board separately. When exchanging a board, one had to perform a complete new installation and adapt one's application to the new component. Each board was supplied with its own API (a function library). Two different types of boards with the same functionality, for example - 'digital input channels' were supplied with two different sets of driver functions. Why not one function for the same functionality?
The ADDIPACK software is now supplied with the new Addi-Data boards for the PCI bus.
The ADDIPACK software is based on the principle of a virtual board: the functions of all the Addi-Data boards that are installed in the system (for example digital input, analog output, timer, etc) are interpreted as the functions of one single (virtual) board. Instead of one function for each board, ADDIPACK offers only one function for all boards with the same functionality.
This function library is considered as a 'virtual board', ie a pool of functions from which functions can be called up without directly controlling a specific board.
Dynamic management
The Addi-Data virtual board can be managed dynamically. The user can control the number of functions and types in his application - functions like b_ADDIDATA_ GetNumberOfDigitalInputs can return this information. New boards can therefore be added or exchanged and their resources used by the virtual board. As far as the application is concerned, it is not important to know from which board the resources are taken.
The link between the hardware boards and the virtual board is made through the program ADDEVICE-Manager (included in ADDIPACK), which displays the number and types of the available resources.
Almost all functionalities of the Addi-Data product range are supported:
* Digital I/O.
* Analog I/O.
* Temperature measurement.
* Resistance measurement.
* Timer.
* Watchdog.
* Counter.
ADDIPACK will be further developed along with new Addi-Data boards. New functions will be added; the program will however remain downward compatible. With the universal software ADDIPACK, a new type of product comes on the measuring and control engineering market.
Users can implement, program and also modify their application in a fast and easy way. New technologies can also be used faster and easier; new functions can be supplied as update without hardware modification. The result is less programming time and a significant gain in flexibility. These are most important factors today in order to keep up with the technological development.
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