Remote control – the easy way
netpp is a tiny, embedded C library that handles I/O requests from a communication interface (typically TCP/IP) and performs actions upon such a request. That’s it. What’s different from modbus et al: Instead of raw register values, properties are abstracted by a name. Like: Temperature. Or: Motor.Enable.
The efficiency lays in the design: You, as the designer, think of properties of your device that should be remote controlled. You will have to rely on existing register setups or software libraries from third parties? No problem. You just map a property to a register, or add a handler. This is done using an XML utility, creating a raw skeleton for your application. Below, you see such a configuration in an XML editor.
Work flow
- Define functionality (“Properties”)
- Write handler code in C (getter/setter)
- Run “make”
- Test and iterate through (1)
- Generate documentation and reference manual sections
Using simple intrinsic mechanisms for revision control, software, hardware and documentation are kept in sync. No more mistakes in developer team communication!
Further Features
- One single client for all your networked devices
- Interfacing: Web, SCADA-Browsers (pvbrowser), Python skripting, Java, NI LabVIEW
- Generation of developer documentation
- Simulator and continuous integration tests of your firmware