Sensoray 618 - Manual (Page 11)

Sensoray Model 618/619 Smart A/D 9 Programming
5 Programming
The Smart A/D board is programmed by means of a
small, yet powerful built-in command set. Commands are
issued to the board by a client, which can be any PCI
master. Some commands cause the board to respond by
returning data to the client.
This chapter details the embedded Smart A/D command
set and the programming interface which encapsulates
the command access methods.
5.1 Standardized Interface
Because of the complexity of both the PCI interface and
the native Smart A/D command set, a standardized
application programming interface (API) has been
developed. This API enables access to Smart A/D
commands while maintaining consistency across various
operating system and hardware platforms.
5.1.1 Distribution Diskette
The API consists of several software components that are
distributed on floppy diskette with the Smart A/D board.
The files on the distribution diskette include:
• SmartAD.dll—Windows 95/98/NT dynamic link
library for Sensoray Smart A/D boards. Use this if you
are developing a Windows application.
• ClsSmartAD.hpp—platform-independent C++
class for Sensoray Smart A/D boards. Use this if you
are developing a non-Windows application.
• Application programming examples and demonstration
programs.
• ReadMe.txt—contains information about the latest
release and explains how to install and use the software
components contained on the diskette.
5.1.2 API Functions
The remainder of this chapter focuses on the functional
characteristics of each API function by discussing what
happens on the Smart A/D board when an API function is
executed, and the meaning of any values that are passed
to or received from a function.
In some cases, arguments that are passed to or from an
API function are specified as void. These arguments
employ nomenclature borrowed from the C/C++
languages to indicate that no parameter value is passed.
Similarly, an argument that is prefixed with an asterisk
(“*”) is indicative of a pointer.
You should refer to the documentation on the distribution
diskette for detailed, up-to-date information about the
current API release. This is recommended because:
• API arguments and return values shown in this
document are only representative of the actual
parameter values and ordering used.
• API functions usually include additional arguments
that are not discussed here.
• The current version of the API may not include all
functions or sensor types listed in this document.
• The API may contain additional functions, not
mentioned here, that are essential to the creation of
working application programs.
5.1.3 Channel Numbering Convention
Many of the API functions require a sensor channel
number as a parameter. By convention, channel numbers
on Smart A/D boards always begin at zero.
Channel numbers range from 0 to 7 on the model 618,
and from 0 to 15 on the model 619.
5.2 Board Configuration Functions
5.2.1 ResetBoard
This function, which invokes a “soft reset,” provides a
means for forcing the Smart A/D to its reset state without
altering the states of any other boards in the system. A
soft reset has the same effect on the Smart A/D board as a
hard system reset.
After executing this function, the Smart A/D is in its
default state. See Section 3.4 for detailed information
about the default state of the Smart A/D board.
5.2.2 GetFaultFlags
The Smart A/D board employs a hardware status register
to provide rapid access to the states of various hardware
fault conditions. In addition, the API maintains a log of
fault events that have occurred in the API software
functions. The status of all of these fault conditions, both
Arguments: void
Returns: void
Arguments: void
Returns: FaultFlags