Data Acquisition (DAQ) and Control from Microstar Laboratories

Article Features New Ways to Troubleshoot and Optimize Your DAP Systems

Using DAPcell Services

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Troubleshoot your DAPL software and optimize the use of your DAP systems with new software tools. Motion blur train road background: Syaheir Azizan/Shutterstock.com

Bellevue, WA, June 23, 2016 -- Microstar Laboratories, Inc., maker of Data Acquisition Processor (DAP) systems for PC-based high-performance measurement applications, has added an article to its web site that highlights new features in its DAPcell software. DAPcell software manages the communication for a DAP system. The new features help developers trouble-shoot their applications and optimize the ways that they use their DAP systems.

Ease of use often means lack of transparency, but sometimes you really need to dive into the details to get more information. New features of the DAPcell Services, providing noninvasive diagnosis of configuration and capacity, help with that.

The article highlights three methods.

  • Pipe Monitoring: A simple coding error in a command script can escalate to a show-stopper. It can help a lot to know exactly what commands the DAP board receives... as opposed to what the application thinks it is sending. Now developers can monitor those commands.
  • Capacity Monitoring: A vexing problem can occur when DAP processing continues hour after hour with perfect results, and then, seemingly for no reason, it stops cold. The typical cause is a capacity limit, but it can be wickedly hard to diagnose. Now developers can get that information with easy access to built-in DAP system memory monitoring.
  • Log Access: Many applications send configuration commands to a DAP board with no built-in error channel monitoring. This works fine when an application is complete and contains no errors. But during development you really want to see any error messages the DAPL system generates in response to configuration commands. Now developers can see all errors logged by the DAP system in the DAPL system event log with absolutely no changes to their application code.

DAPcell Basic Server is included in the DAPtools Basic software package included with each DAP board and xDAP system. The recent DAPtools Basic 6.30 release is available on the Web site now.

Resources

About Microstar Laboratories, Inc.

Founded in 1982, Microstar Laboratories, Inc. provides high-performance data acquisition systems for a wide range of test and measurement applications. Data Acquisition Processor (DAP) boards and xDAP systems feature onboard memory and an onboard operating system, DAPL, that enable and maintain real-time processing and high-speed I/O. https://www.mstarlabs.com/

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Note to the Editor:

Microstar Laboratories suggests this illustrative image and caption:

Troubleshoot your DAPL software and optimize the use of your DAP systems with new software tools. Motion blur train road background: Syaheir Azizan/Shutterstock.com
Troubleshoot your DAPL software and optimize the use of your DAP systems with new software tools.

Motion blur train road background: Syaheir Azizan//Shutterstock.com

Microstar Laboratories, Inc. claims Microstar Laboratories, Data Acquisition Processor, DAP, xDAP, DAPcell, DAPtools, and DAPL as trademarks. Other organizations may claim – or may have registered as trademarks – other trade names, logos, and service marks that appear in this document but not in the list above.

Microstar Laboratories makes it a practice to use an appropriate symbol at the first occurrence of a trademark or registered trademark name in a document, or to include trademark statements like this with the document.