Re: EST3 Communication Protocol

["Robert L Bass" <robertbass1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> What "company" would that be??

I own more than one business and, given the propensity of several people here to go real world I'm not going to divulge the
information to you.

> Are you listed as one of the owners?

Yep.

> The poster wants information on EST-3.

I explained that we could write an app to do what he wants.  I didn't offer him Edwards' software (which belongs to them).  I doubt
the OP is going to hire a third party to write a custom app though.  That's the kind of project for which a manufacturer will engage
a software developer -- not usually an end user need.  However, if the gentleman wanted some assistance in designing his own app, we
could help on that without violating Edwards' NDA and the cost would be far less than having us write the app for him.

> As far as I know "your" software only
> works with FireShield and the latest
> revision makes no mention of "your"
> involvement at all.

It isn't "my" software.  Edwards hired my company to develop it for them.  It's their package.  We were hired as sub-contractors.
There is no reason for Edwards to mention us by name.  However, my information is embedded all over the Help system.  If you knew
the top brass at Edwards they would tell you but you probably don't and it's really not your business.

The reason Edwards hired us to do the job was we were the only ones who offered to write a "universal" downloader.  Our software is
totally modular.  It employs XML in such a manner that the software can be configured to download virtually any FACP by writing new
XML.

We were brought in fairly early in the design stage of the product line so I was able to participate in engineering round table
discussions (even though I'm not an engineer).  This gave me the opportunity to have some input not only on the software but also on
the hardware from an installer's point of view.  That was actually the reason they first contacted me.  One of their engineers used
to lurk in ASA.  He was aware of my background in the industry and took note of my proximity (Edwards' office is a few minutes from
mine).  He originally asked if I was interested in consulting on the user interface for the software.

Over lunch with him and several other engineers we discussed the project at greater length.  They intimated that the project was
behind schedule and they needed it done because the new standards in Canada would soon make their existing small panels unusable.  I
told them about my other business and offered to take the software project off their shoulders.  They went for it.  After lunch we
spoke to the VP and he liked my proposal.  A few days later he got the go ahead.

There was one major glitch in the project.  Edwards hired another developer (an ex-FBII engineer) to write the firmware.  His work
was unusable, causing a 2-month delay in the project.  If we had known of his incompetence in advance we would have done the
firmware as well.  One of our team has not only done machine firmware.  He has also written compilers.  That's an area of
programming that most people never see.  Between the three of us, we have over 70 years of software development experience.  I have
the least programming experience of the team so I write Help systems.  There's a saying that programmers who can't code write Helps.
:^)

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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Bass Home Electronics
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