RE: PC to RS485 bridge

["Neil Wrightson" <neilw@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Gerry,

If Java is required, then you can leave me out of the equation. I have
absolutely no knowledge of Java at all.
But, Having a piece of software that supports one platform is better than
having nothing at all!

Note - I have not seen anybody put up their hand for the PC interface yet.


Regards,

Neil Wrightson.
-----Original Message-----
From: Gerry Duprey [mailto:gerry@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, 11 February 2005 6:06 AM
To: ukha_xpl@xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ukha_xpl] PC to RS485 bridge



Howdy,

> In what regard are you referring to with cross platform? I program in
Delphi

In the sense that, at a minimum, the source code can be easily copied to an
alternate platform and recompiled or ideal, that the
"binary"/compiled form
can run on multiple platforms.

I also use Delphi and have developed a few apps in Kylix (Delphi for
Linux).
While I like certain aspects, it leaves Mac users out in the cold as well
as
solaris users and others.

There are Java and perl frameworks (I think python too) that would be able
to
run on many platforms.  There are also C based ones that could be ported
(with
a slight bit or work) to multiple platforms (ones not dependent on .net or
windows, but using posix interfaces).

My concern is this -- an automation protocol as powerful as xPL needs to be
widely available for many different platforms in order to be embraced by
the
embedded device market on any sort of scale.  While Windows lock-in (or any
platform lockin) may be OK in a commercial software world, for embedded
control, it's much more limiting.

Worse, because something written only for a specific platform may have a
general audience (hubs, CM12 interface, Homevision, etc), you'll often see
multiple, slightly incompatible incarnations of the same tool for each
platforms.  As a result, vendors cannot depend on a given service working
with
their product because depending on the target client platform, the
protocol/behavior/etc of the software may vary enough to break it.

Finally, there is so much effort poured into some of these great xPL apps
that
it really bums me out to see it only available for a single platform.  If
another platform is needed, all that previously spent talent and time is
for
naught (not always, but still).

The xPL protocol is already very platform independent and is even
multi-media
(networking, serial, etc) friendly/agnostic.  But the software that drives
this is, primarily, bound to a single platform (windows/.net).

I do realize somethings are so highly platform dependent that using a
platform
specific language is necessary and makes sense (something that works with
Windows TAPI stuff isn't likely to have much value on a Mac OSX system even
if
the language was portable).  But many things, like a RS485
gateway/interface,
really doesn't depend on any platform specifics (beyond serial ports, which
are generic enough and abstracted enough to be safely programmed for in a
general, platform independent way).  Doing these once, in a platform
independent way that allows the same code to be used in many different
deployment environments would be a huge boost/benefit to the xPL community.

About 20% of the xPL related development I do is specifically for Windows
(where I use Delphi) and the rest runs on windows, linux, macOSX, solaris
and
even a true64 system.  Except for that 20%, the rest all runs the same code
(compiled code, even -- Java in my case) and it's all nice and consistent.
Being able to code once and let the particular clients implementation need
dictate the hardware (vs my software doing it or requiring custom software)
is
immensely powerful.

I hope this does not come across as Windows bashing or Java advocacy as I
don't mean either.  Windows does a fine job, Java does a fine job.  Just
really "pushing" the idea of, when possible, considering a way to
allow your
work to benefit as wide an audience as possible and to help xPL become so
pervasive it's as attractive as possible to new device developers.

> Does anybody know what Delphi comm drivers are available for Linux?

AsyncPro CLX is supposed to linux -- check into it here
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tpaproclx/
<http://sourceforge.net/projects/tpaproclx/>

Gerry

--
Gerry Duprey
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
http://www.cdp1802.org <http://www.cdp1802.org>


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