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Diffstat (limited to 'ACE/bin/LabVIEW_RT/README')
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diff --git a/ACE/bin/LabVIEW_RT/README b/ACE/bin/LabVIEW_RT/README new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..f79c607704e --- /dev/null +++ b/ACE/bin/LabVIEW_RT/README @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +# $Id$ + +This directory contains utilities for running the ACE+TAO test suite on +a LabVIEW RT 8 / Phar Lap ETS target. Although it's running Phar Lap ETS, +and thus would normally be able to run programs, this environment is +different than plain Phar Lap ETS in that the LabVIEW RT layer takes up +the only process able to run on Phar Lap. Thus, everything executed needs +to be done via LabVIEW RT facilities. Thus, we have the following +restrictions: + +1. There's no NFS, no SMB; there's a target filesystem but no direct access. +2. No executables can be directly executed. + +This yields the following: + +- All test "programs" are built as DLLs instead of executables. The DLL has + a known "main" entrypoint. To run the test, the DLL must be copied down + to the target, explicitly loaded, and its entrypoint called. MPC will + automatically build these DLLs when an executable is specified in the MPC + file by basing the MPC project on the labviewrt_dll.mpb base. This is done + by supplying "-base labviewrt_dll" on the MPC command line. + +- There is a test-controlling DLL that lives on the LabVIEW RT target, and is + loaded when the target boots. This DLL spawns a thread that listens on a + TCP port for connections; it runs a text-based protocol by which it can + be directed to load and run test DLLs and report results. This DLL is in + the labview_test_controller subdirectory; see its ReadMe.txt file for + more details. + +- The Perl test framework in PerlACE has a ProcessLVRT.pm and + TestTarget_LVRT.pm that know how to run the test protocol, get the log file + back from the target, etc. in order to integrate the LabVIEW RT scheme into + the ACE+TAO testing framework. + +- If a test encounters any significant errors that would produce something akin + to a crash or significant leak on a multi-process OS, it will probably + render the LabVIEW RT target unuseable and unresponsive. There are two + utilities in this directory that will help in this sort of situation: + + 1. Reboot_Target.exe: A Windows executable that runs a LabVIEW VI to + reboot a local target box. If the box is alive enough to be contacted + and run the LabVIEW VI that triggers the reboot, this works fine. + However, if the box is unresponsive, as it usually is, this doesn't + work. The advantage of this utility is that it doesn't require any + additional hardware or software. + + 2. PXI_Reset.exe: A Windows executable that runs a LabVIEW VI to + trigger a hardware reset on the target box. This utility works all + the time since it does a hardware reset. However, it requires an + additional piece of hardware that connects to the host PC via USB + and connects to the DB9 on the back of the PXI target. This little + hardware box was custom-made by Lockheed Martin, so you can't just + go buy one at Radio Shack. + + If neither of these utilities is workable for you, you can probably use a + programmable power strip that can cycle the power on the target, and write + a utility that drives it. |