Looking for Software Solutions C#, VB, .NET, VBA, C/Cpp?

Recently we've got a question from a customer:
"Did you have some sample code on how to access your HartDLL from C# using P/Invoke?  I can not find the code on your website, and thought I found it there previously.".

The answer was: "If you download the Trial Version of the new HartDLL 7.0 and install it you will have access to the code of an example named 'GetCyclicData'. If you need some information quickly you should have a look into the manual. The example description is placed on pages 9 and 10 in the user's manual.
BTW, I recommend that you are not using Invoke but to use BeginInvoke. Invoke is based of the Windows function Sendmessage(), which is returning after the message was processed. This may delay the calling thread in an unacceptable way. BeginInvoke is based on PostMessage() thus not generating any delay to the invoking thread.".

The customer's reply was: "Just what I was looking for!  Thank you very much.", and furthermore: "Thank you for providing code that is easy to use and well documented.".

Please feel free to use our example software which is available in the free of charge trial of our HartDLL or the TinyHartCPrDLL as coding examples for C#, VB, .NET, VBA and C/Cpp programming.

New Products Available

HartDLL 7.0

We are providing a new version of the HART tools Software to be used with all windows versions (including Windows 7) and all versions of HART communication implementations including the support of all universal functionality in Hart 6 and Hart 7. The new product is named HartDLL 7.0.

The new package is no more subdivided in smaller pieces. There is only one software bundle available containing:

• Hart DLL with Master, Slave and Burst Messages Interface,

• .NET Component for Microsoft .NET 2.0 and

• FrameAlyst for Diagnostics and Analysis of the Hart Protocol Services.

For testing purposes a free trial version is provided for download:
Download Free Trial of HartDLL 7.0.
The user's manual contains a very detailed description of the functions:
Open HartDLL 7.0 User's Manual.
A printable quotation for the product is also available right here:
Open Printable Quotation for HartDLL 7.0.

The software package HartDLL 6.0 is no longer actively supported.

TinyHartCPrDLL 7.0

This is a low cost version of the Hart Protocol driver DLL mentioned above. TinyHartCPrDLL 7.0 has a reduced set of functions compared to HartDLL 7.0. The software does not expose any Hart commands to the user interface but is working with functions like GetAllPVs. A list of the properties and functionalities is contained in the quotation.
Open Printable Quotation for TinyHartCPrDLL 7.0.
It is self-evident that a free of charge trial version is available:
Download Free Trial of TinyHartCPrDLL 7.0.
A detailed description of the functions can be found in the user's manual:
Open TinyHartCPrDLL 7.0 User's Manual.

Problems with Hart Modems on USB Com Ports?

That a device is certified for Hart does not play a role under certain circumstances. The combination of the Hart driver and the USB connection may not be conform to the Hart timing specifications even if the driver is certified. Hart is a very time critical protocol especially if taking the two master mode into account. Thus a timing with a granularity of ms is required for these cases. To achieve this was even difficult with real com ports. These com ports at present are almost totally replaced by modems connected through USB. This implies different timing behaviors for the Hart driver, which is only connected to a 'virtual' com port. Behind this com port a usb driver is implemented which is provided by the manufacturer of the modem. It could be the case that the usb driver is delaying the transport of octets. Some of the usb drivers can be configured others not. And even if the usb driver is configurable in most cases the user does not know this.

Therefore we introduced some extra settings in our Hart driver two years ago to solve timing problems generated by various usb driver implementations.

Last year we delivered a Hart driver for Windows CE to a customer. The driver was targeted to be used with a Hart modem connected through Blue Tooth. We had trouble to set it into proper operation. Finally it turned out that the Blue Tooth communication driver in the iPod was delaying the protocol by about 20 ms. The manufacturer of the modem had to change the driver implementation.

If a device is not correctly working in certain environments it may be caused by a gap time out in the protocol. In those cases we recommend to configure the driver with an additional gap time out.

BHDrv_GetConfiguration(hDrv, &strConfiguration);   strConfiguration.usAddGapTime = 10;   BHDrv_SetConfiguration(hDrv, &strConfiguration);

New Emphasis at Borst Automation

Microcontrollers are becoming more powerful each year, the on chip memory is increasing thus the functionality in the applications is increasing too. The need for the implementation of several field buses, different device descriptions and other standards like SIL contribute to the higher complexity.

The quality of software for embedded systems therefore became a key issue in the recent years. While Borst Automation was concentrated to communication technique in the past we changed our direction more to the topic test of firmware and software. This year we introduce products for the test of firmware and software as a useful enlargement of our product portfolio and for the benefit of our customers.

Test Tools

CADItest 1.0

CADI stands for Component And Device Integration. CADItest is a software package which enables the user to build automated tests for embedded systems very easily. It supports different styles of reporting (e.g. HTML and other XML documents) and different styles of assertions. CADItest is realized as a set of library functions and it is based on .NET 2.0. The user's tests may be written in C, C# and Visual Basic.

CADItest is providing interfaces to Microsoft Visual Studio 8.0 and NUnit.

CADItest is a key element for realizing agile principles with very low development efforts. Please send us an email if you like to get more information of this new product.

CADIsim 1.0

CADIsim is a software framework which is used to realize a PC simulation by using the original embedded device source code. CADIsim is based on .NET 2.0 and ready for Windows 7.

With CADIsim the user can develop almost 95 % of the source code for an embedded device in Microsoft Visual Studio. Please send us an email if you are interested into more details of this new product.

Contact:
Borst Automation, Im Wingert 4, DE-65626 Fachingen, GERMANY
Fon: +49 (0) 6432 989176, Fax: +49 (0) 6432 989129
Mail: info@borst-automation.de, Home: http://borst-automation.com

Notes:
  HART is a registered trademark of the HART Communication Foundation.

News

Welcome to our new internet presence!

Interesting issues at a glance are:

• Test Tools and Services

• Tiny Hart Tools

• Hart Multiplexer Software

• HartDLL 7.0

• Support of HartDLL 6.0 discontinued