ABB FlexPendant SDK Application manual
Below you will find brief information for FlexPendant SDK. This document describes the FlexPendant SDK, a software tool used to develop customized FlexPendant operator interfaces for the IRC5 robot controller. The manual covers various aspects of application development, including installation, run-time environment, user interface design, controller API, debugging, and deployment.
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ABB Robotics
Application manual
FlexPendant SDK
Trace back information:
Workspace RW 5-15-01 version a2
Checked in 2013-03-15
Skribenta version 1184
Application manual
FlexPendant SDK
RobotWare 5.15
Document ID: 3HAC036958-001
Revision: B
© Copyright 2010-2013 ABB. All rights reserved.
The information in this manual is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by ABB. ABB assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this manual.
Except as may be expressly stated anywhere in this manual, nothing herein shall be construed as any kind of guarantee or warranty by ABB for losses, damages to persons or property, fitness for a specific purpose or the like.
In no event shall ABB be liable for incidental or consequential damages arising from use of this manual and products described herein.
This manual and parts thereof must not be reproduced or copied without ABB's written permission.
Additional copies of this manual may be obtained from ABB.
The original language for this publication is English. Any other languages that are supplied have been translated from English.
© Copyright 2010-2013 ABB. All rights reserved.
ABB AB
Robotics Products
SE-721 68 Västerås
Sweden
Table of contents
Table of contents
2 Installation and development environment
How to obtain and install a license key for RAB 5.09 or earlier ...................................
How to set up your PC to communicate with robot ...................................................
Conversion of Visual Studio 2005 projects to Visual Studio 2008 ................................
Components, assemblies and dlls ..............................................................
Deployment of FlexPendant application to a robot system ..............................
Communication between FlexPendant and controller .....................................
Understanding the FlexPendant application life cycle .....................................
FlexPendant TpsView attribute ..................................................................
ITpsViewSetup and ITpsViewActivation .......................................................
4 Developing Controller applications
System features supporting the use of customized screens ............................
Using the project template in Visual Studio ..................................................
Setting up design support for FlexPendant controls .......................................
Introduction to visual design support ..........................................................
GUI controls and memory management .......................................................
Button, TextBox and ComboBox ................................................................
5.3.11 CompactAlphaPad and NumPad ................................................................
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Table of contents
Using standard dialog box to modify data ....................................................
ABB.Robotics.Controllers .........................................................................
Accessing the controller ...........................................................................
5.5.3.1 Working with RAPID data ..............................................................
5.5.3.2 Handling RAPID arrays .................................................................
5.5.3.3 ReadItem and WriteItem methods ...................................................
5.5.3.4 UserDefined data .........................................................................
5.5.3.5 RAPID symbol search ..................................................................
5.5.3.6 RAPID execution .........................................................................
5.5.3.7 Modifying modules and programs ...................................................
IO system domain ...................................................................................
File system domain .................................................................................
System info domain .................................................................................
6 Robust FlexPendant applications 165
7 FlexPendant - Debugging and troubleshooting 181
8 Localizing a FlexPendant application 197
9 Deployment of a FlexPendant SDK application 207
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Overview of this manual
Overview of this manual
About this manual
FlexPendant - Software Development Kit (FlexPendant SDK) is a software tool, which enables programmers to develop customized FlexPendant operator interfaces for the IRC5 robot controller.
The purpose of this manual is to help software developers to get started with
FlexPendant SDK application development.
Usage
FlexPendant SDK application manual covers application development using the
FlexPendant SDK. FlexPendant SDK is for developing end user applications that are FlexPendant based. PC SDK is a tool for developing end user applications that are PC based (PC implies a Windows machine in this context). For more information on PC SDK, see Application manual PC SDK. The process of actually developing the application involves using a PC with Visual Studio for both PC SDK and
FlexPendant SDK applications.
Who should read this manual?
This manual is mainly intended for developers, who use FlexPendant SDK to create robot applications adapted to end-user needs. It is also useful for anyone who needs an overview of doing controller applications.
Prerequisites
The reader should
• be familiar with IRC5, the FlexPendant, and RobotStudio.
• be used to Microsoft Visual Studio and Windows programming.
• be familiar with one of the .NET programming languages C# or Visual
Basic.NET are preferred languages. Visual J# and Visual C++ can also be used.
• be used to object oriented programming.
Organization of chapters
The manual is organized as follows:
2
3
Chapter
1
4
5
Contents
Introduction. Terminology. Safety.
Installation and setup. Development environment . Virtual robot technology.
Software architecture: Run-time environment for FlexPendant applications. Life cycle of a FlexPendant application. Upgrades and compatibility.
Developing FlexPendant SDK applications. Analysis and design. Important programming issues: controller events and threads, UAS, exception handling.
Online help.
Using the FlexPendant SDK. Visual design support. GUI controls. Launching standard views. . How to add controller functionality using the Controller API.
Programming issues and code samples in VB and C#.
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Overview of this manual
Continued
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9
Chapter
6
7
Contents
How to develop well performing and robust FlexPendant applications. Memory management, performance and reliability. Exception handling.
Testing, debugging and troubleshooting FlexPendant SDK applications. Using printouts, error codes in exceptions and so on. Checklist for contacting a service organization.
How to add support for several languages to a custom FlexPendant application.
How to create an additional option and how to make a product of a FlexPendant application.
References
Reference
Operating manual - IRC5 with FlexPendant
Operating manual - RobotStudio
Operating manual - Getting started, IRC5 and RobotStudio
Technical reference manual - RAPID Instructions, Functions and
Data types
Application manual - PC SDK
Document ID
3HAC16590-1
3HAC032104-001
3HAC027097-001
3HAC16581-1
3HAC036957-001
Revisions
A
B
-
Revision Description
First edition
From FlexPendant SDK 5.13 onwards this manual replaces:
Application Manual - Robot Application Builder (3HAC028083-001)
For information on PC SDK see Application Manual PC SDK (3HAC036957-
001)
Editorial changes
Updated the value of RAM in the FlexPendant memory resources table. See
How large can a custom application be? on page 166 .
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Product documentation, M2004
Product documentation, M2004
Categories for manipulator documentation
The manipulator documentation is divided into a number of categories. This listing is based on the type of information in the documents, regardless of whether the products are standard or optional.
All documents listed can be ordered from ABB on a DVD. The documents listed are valid for M2004 manipulator systems.
Product manuals
Manipulators, controllers, DressPack/SpotPack, and most other hardware will be delivered with a Product manual that generally contains:
• Safety information.
• Installation and commissioning (descriptions of mechanical installation or electrical connections).
• Maintenance (descriptions of all required preventive maintenance procedures including intervals and expected life time of parts).
• Repair (descriptions of all recommended repair procedures including spare parts).
• Calibration.
• Decommissioning.
• Reference information (safety standards, unit conversions, screw joints, lists of tools ).
• Spare parts list with exploded views (or references to separate spare parts lists).
• Circuit diagrams (or references to circuit diagrams).
Technical reference manuals
The technical reference manuals describe reference information for robotics products.
• Technical reference manual - Lubrication in gearboxes: Description of types and volumes of lubrication for the manipulator gearboxes.
• Technical reference manual - RAPID overview: An overview of the RAPID programming language.
• Technical reference manual - RAPID Instructions, Functions and Data types:
Description and syntax for all RAPID instructions, functions, and data types.
• Technical reference manual - RAPID kernel: A formal description of the
RAPID programming language.
• Technical reference manual - System parameters: Description of system parameters and configuration workflows.
Application manuals
Specific applications (for example software or hardware options) are described in
Application manuals. An application manual can describe one or several applications.
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Continued
An application manual generally contains information about:
• The purpose of the application (what it does and when it is useful).
• What is included (for example cables, I/O boards, RAPID instructions, system parameters, DVD with PC software).
• How to install included or required hardware.
• How to use the application.
• Examples of how to use the application.
Operating manuals
The operating manuals describe hands-on handling of the products. The manuals are aimed at those having first-hand operational contact with the product, that is production cell operators, programmers, and trouble shooters.
The group of manuals includes (among others):
• Operating manual - Emergency safety information
• Operating manual - General safety information
• Operating manual - Getting started, IRC5 and RobotStudio
• Operating manual - Introduction to RAPID
• Operating manual - IRC5 with FlexPendant
• Operating manual - RobotStudio
• Operating manual - Trouble shooting IRC5, for the controller and manipulator.
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Safety
Safety
Safety of personnel
A robot is heavy and extremely powerful regardless of its speed. A pause or long stop in movement can be followed by a fast hazardous movement. Even if a pattern of movement is predicted, a change in operation can be triggered by an external signal resulting in an unexpected movement.
Therefore, it is important that all safety regulations are followed when entering safeguarded space.
Safety regulations
Before beginning work with the robot, make sure you are familiar with the safety regulations described in the manual Operating manual - General safety information.
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1 Introduction
1.1 About creating controller applications
1 Introduction
1.1 About creating controller applications
Flexible user interfaces
Robots are usually delivered with a general operator interface. However, different processes require different operator handling and customers need flexible solutions where the user interface is adapted to user specific needs.
FlexPendant SDK allows system integrators, third parties or end-users to add their own customized operator interfaces for the IRC5 controller. Such custom applications can be added to the standard views of the FlexPendant.
For PC based applications, see Application manual - PC SDK.
Note
Controller applications are not platform independent. You must choose to develop the application for either the FlexPendant or the PC platform (For more information, see Application manual - PC SDK).
Local vs Remote client
The difference between the two platforms is that a FlexPendant application is a local client, whereas a PC application is a remote client.
Remote clients do not have all the privileges of a local client. For example, both
PC and FlexPendant applications can reset the program pointer and start RAPID execution, for example, but for a PC SDK application to do this there are certain restrictions. Mastership of the Rapid domain must be requested explicitly by the application programmer and the IRC5 controller has to be in automatic operating mode.
An advantage of a remote client, on the other hand, is the possibility to monitor and access several robot controllers from one location. As for large applications the PC platform is also less limited than the FlexPendant as regards memory resources and process power.
Note
A minimum response time for a real controller should be expected to be in the order of 10-100 milliseconds, meaning that hard real time demands cannot be met on any platform. For more information, see
FlexPendant and controller on page 37
.
Ease-of-use on the factory floor
A well-designed user interface presents relevant information and functionality at the right time. In this respect, customized user interfaces are clearly very desirable to the end-user. As tailored solutions are easier to operate, they also optimize user’s investment in automation.
FlexPendant SDK enables customized user interfaces for IRC5. It is important to keep in mind, however, that FlexPendant SDK itself does not guarantee increased
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1 Introduction
1.1 About creating controller applications
Continued customer value. To achieve this, FlexPendant SDK applications should be developed with care and with a heavy emphasis placed on ease-of-use.
Understanding end-users’ needs is in fact crucial to realizing the benefits of customized interfaces.
.NET and Visual Studio
FlexPendant SDK uses Microsoft .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio. It is thus assumed that you know how to program for .NET platforms using Visual Studio.
Among programmers .NET distinguishes itself by the programming model provided by the Microsoft .NET Framework.
One feature is the programming language independence, leaving the choice to the developer to use any language provided by the integrated development environment
Visual Studio. Most prefer C# or Visual Basic, which both offer safe and efficient development.
For a Windows programmer familiar with Visual Studio and .NET, developing a customized operator view is rather straight-forward. FlexPendant SDK is fully integrated with Visual Studio, which means that a .NET programmer will recognize wizards for project setup and tools for visual design support and debug and so on.
Considerable efforts have been made to allow controller application developers to start working without having to overcome a steep learning curve. To further speed up the development process, the virtual IRC5 of RobotStudio can be used to test and debug controller applications.
Note
Knowledge of Windows programming, object orientation and a .NET programming are the prerequisites to use FlexPendant SDK.
Robustness and performance
Developing an application for the FlexPendant, a device with limited process and memory resources, can be quite demanding. Issues such as performance and memory management need to be addressed.
It is strongly advisable to read this manual to learn about specific FlexPendant
SDK issues while moving to FlexPendant SDK development.
Note
Take the time to study this manual along with the release notes, and avoiding rushing into coding.
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1 Introduction
1.2 Documentation and help
1.2 Documentation and help
Introduction
FlexPendant SDK includes an extensive on-line help module, which comes with the installation of the product. After having installed RobotStudio, by clicking
Windows’ Start menu, then pointing at Programs > ABB Industrial IT > Robotics
IT > RobotStudio 5.xx > SDK you will find:
• Application manual FlexPendant SDK
• Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK
• FlexPendant StyleGuide
Application manual
This Application manual - FlexPendant SDK, is the recommended way to get started if you are new to FlexPendant SDK development. It explains how FlexPendant SDK works. It has code examples in C# and VB and provides hands-on exercises.
The Application manual is provided in two formats, HTML Help and PDF. HTML is the recommended format for the PC screen and PDF is the best choice if you want printouts.
Note
The Application manual PDF can be found in the installation directory, at
C:\Program Files\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\SDK\FlexPendant SDK 5.xx.
SDK Reference Help
The Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK should be used while programming. It makes up the complete reference to the FlexPendant SDK class libraries. Method signatures are provided in C# and Visual Basic.
Please note that they are not integrated with the Visual Studio Help function.
Clicking F1 when pointing at code, for example, will open the Visual Studio
Programmer’s Reference or the .NET Framework Class Library for the specific language and topic. Many times this is what you want, but if your problem is
FlexPendant SDK related you need to open the appropriate SDK Reference Help to find a solution.
Note
You are recommended to keep the help files open while programming, as you will frequently need them for FlexPendant SDK related issues.
FlexPendant StyleGuide
Good usability is achieved when the program itself communicates possible actions and how to perform them. To encourage careful design of the visual appearance the FlexPendant StyleGuide is also part of the installation. It is ABB Robotics’ best practices for visual design of the FlexPendant user interface.
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1.2 Documentation and help
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RobotStudio Community
ABB Robotics launched a community named RobotStudio Community, for its PC
Software users. The Developer Tools in Developer Section of RobotStudio
Community has information and some videos about programming with the
FlexPendant SDK. At Content Sharing there is a complete FlexPendant SDK application available for download. It is recommended for average users and for beginners.
ABB encourage open conversations and believe everyone has something to contribute. The User Forum of RobotStudio Community has a section dedicated to robot application development. Here beginners as well as experts discuss code and solutions online. If you are facing a coding problem the User Forum should be your first choice, as there is a good chance that someone will give you the help you need to proceed.
RobotStudio Community also provides the means to share code and videos. Your contribution will be appreciated. Working together is many times the key to success.
Tip
Try it out at www.abb.com/robotics > RobotStudio Community.
MSDN
MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) at http://www.msdn.com is a one of many sources of information for general programming issues related to .NET and Visual
Studio.
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1 Introduction
1.3 Terminology
1.3 Terminology
About terms and acronyms
Some terms used in this manual are product specific and crucial for understanding.
Moreover, acronyms, words formed from initial letters, are sometimes used instead of long terms. To avoid confusion, important terminology is clarified in the following table.
Definitions
Term Definition
.NET Compact Framework (.NET CF)
Version of Microsoft's .NET framework providing the run-time environment for applications running on embedded devices, such as the FlexPendant. It includes a class library, which is almost a subset of the rich .NET framework for the desktop.
C# and Visual Basic.NET
.NET programming languages.
Common Language
Runtime
Controller Application
Programming Interface
Device
The core runtime engine in the .NET Framework for execution of managed code. Provides services such as cross-language integration, code access security, object lifetime management, and debugging and profiling support.
The public class libraries of the FlexPendant SDK, which offer robot controller functionality. Also referred to as CAPI.
The FlexPendant is a “smart device” in the .NET vocabulary, that is, a complete computer in itself with its own processor, operating system and so on.
FlexPendant
FlexPendant SDK programmer
ABB’s hand held device, used with IRC5 robot controller. It is developed with Microsoft’s technology for embedded systems,
Windows CE and .NET Compact Framework.
A programmer who uses FlexPendant SDK to develop custom applications.
FlexPendant SDK application
A custom application developed with FlexPendant SDK.
IRC5
JIT compiler managed code
Microsoft Visual Studio
ABB’s robot controller.
When compiling managed code, the compiler translates the source code into Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL), which is a CPU-independent set of instructions. Before code can be executed, MSIL must be converted to CPU-specific code, usually by a just-in-time (JIT) compiler.
Code that is executed and managed by the Microsoft .NET
Framework’s common language runtime. All code produced by
Visual Studio executes as managed code.
The integrated development environment that developers work inside when using the .NET Framework.
Microsoft .NET Framework
Network socket
An integral Windows component supporting the building and running of applications.
A communication end-point unique to a machine communicating on an Internet Protocol-based network.
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1.3 Terminology
Continued
Term Definition
Robot Application Builder
ABB software tool, which enabled the development of custom operator interfaces for IRC5. Often referred to as RAB. The RAB is split to FlexPendant SDK and PC SDK. Robot Application
Builder (RAB) was a software tool, which enabled programmers to develop customized FlexPendant or PC interfaces for the IRC5 robot controller.
Robot Communication
Runtime
The communication layer used by Controller API to communicate over the network with an IRC5 controller.
unmanaged code
Virtual IRC5
Windows CE
Code that is executed directly by the operating system, outside the .NET Framework. Unmanaged code must provide its own memory management, type checking, and security support, unlike managed code, which receives these services from the common language runtime. All code executing in the robot controller, as well as part of the code executing in the FlexPendant is unmanaged.
Virtual robot technology makes it possible to run a virtual IRC5 controller, virtual mechanical units and a virtual FlexPendant on the desktop. Included as freeware in ABB’s RobotStudio.
The embedded operating system running on the FlexPendant device.
Acronym
CAPI
CLR
FlexPendant SDK
GUI
MSDN
SDK
TAF
TCP/IP
VB
VS
Definition
Controller Application Programming Interface
Common Language Runtime
FlexPendant Software Development Kit
Graphical User Interface
Microsoft Developer Network, source of information for .NET
developers at: http://www.msdn.com.
Software Development Kit
Teach Pendant Application Framework, all applications using the FlexPendant SDK must run as TAF clients. For more information, see
TAF - Application host framework on page 38 .
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP)
Visual Basic
Visual Studio
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2 Installation and development environment
2.1 Installation overview
2 Installation and development environment
2.1 Installation overview
About this section
This section describes how to install FlexPendant SDK. When the installation is complete, you can program, compile and test FlexPendant applications for the
IRC5 controller.
Supported platforms
The following software requirements have to be met:
• Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP + SP2, Windows Vista +SP2 or
Windows 7
• Microsoft Visual Studio: VS 2005 (Standard Edition or better) or VS 2008
(Professional Edition or better ).
• .NET Compact Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1 or 2
The following hardware requirement have to be met:
• 50 MB free disk-space on the installation disk
Both FlexPendant generations are supported:
• SxTPU-1, which executes with .NET CF 2.0 and WinCE 4.2.
• SxTPU-2, which executes with .NET CF 2.0 and WinCE 5.0.
• SxTPU3, which executes with NET CF 3.5 and Windows CE 6.0.
Note
The controller system must have the RobotWare option FlexPendant Interface
Note
FlexPendant SDK is developed and tested for the English version of Visual Studio.
If you are running Visual Studio in another language you are recommended to switch to the English version.
Requirements for installing and using FlexPendant SDK
FlexPendant SDK is installed while you install RobotStudio. For more information on installing RobotStudio, see Installing and Licensing RobotStudio in Operating manual - RobotStudio.To use FlexPendant SDK, the following requirements have to be met. Also make sure that you have administrator permissions on the computer that you are using.
Before...
installing RobotStudio debugging using a virtual
IRC5
you must...
install Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or 2008.
learn how to run the virtual IRC5 in RobotStudio.
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2.1 Installation overview
Continued
Before...
debugging using the real
FlexPendant device
you must...
install the .NET Compact Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1 or
2, which can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com.
The User Forum of RobotStudio Community has information on how to attach the Visual Studio debugger to the device.
For more information, see also
Debugging the FlexPendant device on page 192
.
executing the application targeting a real IRC5 system check that the robot system has the controller option Flex-
Pendant Interface (for FlexPendant applications).
Set up a connection between your PC and the robot controller. For more information, see
How to set up your PC to communicate with robot on page 23
for details about how this is done.
Note
The Visual Studio installation installs .NET and Compact Framework 2.0.
About the FlexPendant SDK installation
Previously FlexPendant SDK was a part of Robot Application Builder (RAB) which also included PC SDK. RAB 5.12 was the last release of Robot Application Builder.
Starting wtih RobotStudio 5.13, both FlexPendant SDK and PC SDK are included in the RobotStudio installation. RobotStudio installs FlexPendant SDK 5.13, side by side with previously installed versions of FlexPendant SDK.
RAB 5.11 to 5.12
RAB 5.11 and later installs PC SDK and FlexPendant SDK side by side with any previously installed versions.
RAB 5.10
RAB 5.10 upgraded any previously installed PC SDK to 5.10 and installed
FlexPendant SDK 5.08, 5.09 and 5.10 side-by-side. The reason for the side-by-side installation of several FlexPendant SDK versions was to make it easier for
FlexPendant SDK users to work on FlexPendant SDK applications targeting different
RobotWare versions. Earlier RAB releases can be downloaded from http://www.abb.com/robotics > RobotStudioCommunity >Developer Tools >
FlexPendant SDK Overview.
What is installed?
The installation generates the following features on your PC:
• SDK assemblies and resources
• Application manual FlexPendant SDK
• FlexPendant Style Guide
• Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK
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2.1 Installation overview
Continued
Working with several versions
A FlexPendant SDK application normally targets a specific RobotWare release.
Assuming you are developing a FlexPendant SDK application for a new customer who uses RobotWare 5.12 and simultaneously you are maintaining an existing
FlexPendant SDK application for a customer with robot system using RobotWare
5.09, then you will need to work with two different FlexPendant SDK releases on your PC. For more information about releases and compatibility, see
Release upgrades and compatibility on page 46 .
FlexPendant applications
If you install FlexPendant SDK 5.13 and previous versions of FlexPendant SDK which came along with PC SDK as Robot Application Builder, the previous versions will exist on your PC. You choose which FlexPendant SDK version to use when you set up your application project in Visual Studio. For more information, see
Using the project template in Visual Studio on page 64
.
You should make sure that the FlexPendant SDK GUI controls the Visual Studio
Designer uses is of the same version. If you have worked with another FlexPendant
SDK version before, you will need to remove the GUI controls that you have added to the Visual Studio Toolbox and then add them again, pointing to the correct version in the browser. For more information, see
FlexPendant controls on page 67
.
Installation procedure
The installation procedure is very simple. By default FlexPendant SDK is installed when you install RobotStudio. For more information, see Installing RobotStudio, in Operating Manual - Getting started, IRC5 and RobotStudio.An installation wizard will guide you through the installation. If you would like to install RobotStudio without installing FlexPendant SDK, or remove FlexPendant SDK from RobotStudio select Custom in the RobotStudio installation wizard and select or unselect the feature FlexPendant SDK.
Note
You are also strongly advised to read the Release Notes that you will find on the
RobotWare DVD and on the RobotStudio Community web site, as these hold the most up-to-date information, including new features and any known limitations of the release.
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2 Installation and development environment
2.2 How to obtain and install a license key for RAB 5.09 or earlier
2.2 How to obtain and install a license key for RAB 5.09 or earlier
Overview
In RAB 5.10, the license check was removed from the software, which allowed anyone to use Robot Application Builder for free. This means you no longer need to bother about getting a license, or including a licx file in your PC application.
Note
For RAB version 5.09 or earlier, licensing is the second part of the installation procedure. In case you need to develop a RAB application for RobotWare 5.09
or earlier you need to turn to support to get a free license key.
Install licence key
Follow these steps when you have received the e-mail with the license key file:
2
3
Step
1
Action
Detach the license key file from the e-mail and save it to a folder on your PC.
Double-click the license key file. This opens the License Install Wizard.
Follow the instructions in the wizard.
Note
To execute FlexPendant SDK applications towards a real robot controller you must connect your PC to the robot controller, either through the network or directly to the service port on the controller. For detailed information, see
How to set up your PC to communicate with robot on page 23
.
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2 Installation and development environment
2.3 How to set up your PC to communicate with robot
2.3 How to set up your PC to communicate with robot
Overview
This section describes how to connect your PC to the robot controller.
You can either connect the PC to the controller through an Ethernet network or directly to the controller service port. When using the controller service port, you can either obtain an IP address for the PC automatically, or you can specify a fixed
IP address.
When the PC and the controller are connected correctly, the controller is automatically detected by RobotStudio.
Why is a connection needed?
Connecting the PC to the controller is necessary for all online tasks performed in
RobotStudio. For example, downloading a robot system or files to the controller, editing configuration files, programming and so on.
The connection is also used for downloading a FlexPendant application to the controller file system and test it on the real FlexPendant device.
It also enables you to communicate with the controller by means of a console window on the PC and get valuable information about controller status, FlexPendant memory consumption and so on.
Ethernet network connection
If the controller is connected to an Ethernet network, you can connect the PC to that network as well. The settings to use on the PC depends on the network configuration. To find out how to set up your PC, contact the network administrator.
Service port connection with automatic IP address
An alternative to network connection is using the controller service port. It has a
DHCP server that automatically gives your PC an IP address if it is configured for this. For more information about configuring the PC to obtain an IP address automatically, see Windows Help on Configure TCP/IP settings.
Note
Obtaining an IP address automatically might fail if the PC already has an IP address from another controller or Ethernet device. To make sure that you get a correct IP address if the PC has already been connected to an Ethernet device, do one of the following:
• Restart the PC before connecting to the controller.
• Run the command “ipconfig /renew” from the command prompt after connecting the PC to the controller
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2.3 How to set up your PC to communicate with robot
Continued
Serial connection to the Console port
In order to use the console window of the IRC5 controller you can connect your
PC with a serial null-modem cable to the console port of the controller.
Note
The cable must be a twisted cable with a female DB-9 connector in each end..
Service port connection with fixed IP address
Instead of obtaining an IP address automatically, you can specify a fixed IP address on the PC you connect to the controller.
Use the following settings for connecting with a fixed IP address:
Property
IP address
Subnet mask
Default Gateway
Value
192.168.125.2
255.255.255.0
192.168.125.1
Related information
For information about
How to set up PC network connections
See
Windows Help - Configure TCP/IP settings.
How to connect the PC to the Controller service port
Connecting a PC to the Service Port in the
RobotStudio help.
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2.4 Development environment
2.4 Development environment
Overview
This section presents an overview of the development environment used to create
FlexPendant SDK applications. You can program and debug the application using
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or 2008.
Microsoft .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio
Microsoft Visual Studio is supported by the .NET Framework. A core component of the .NET Framework is the common language runtime (CLR). It manages code execution, threads and memory, while also enforcing type safety.
Another major component is the Base Class Library, which is a comprehensive, object-oriented collection of reusable types. To become a skilled .NET programmer it is essential to learn the functionality offered by the Base Class Library.
It is not in the scope of this manual to teach how to use Visual Studio. For this purpose msdn (Microsoft Developer Network) at http://msdn.microsoft.com is a useful source of information.
Note
For information about upgrading an existing FlexPendant SDK project to Visual
Studio 2008 project, see
Conversion of Visual Studio 2005 projects to Visual
Visual design support and Databinding
The .NET Compact Framework 2.0. can be used for building enhanced user interfaces. FlexPendant specific controls are available in the Visual Studio toolbox since FlexPendant SDK 5.08 version.
Databinding is the process of binding a property of a GUI control to a data source, so that the property automatically reflects the value of the data source.
Choosing a programming language
Together with Visual Basic, C# is the most widely used .NET language.
C# is an object-oriented language derived from C, with some features from C++,
Java and Visual Basic. It was designed for .NET and offers the power and richness of C++ along with the productivity of Visual Basic. Both PC and FlexPendant SDK are implemented using C#.
For FlexPendant SDK applications only C# and Visual Basic are supported.
Likewise, in this manual there are code samples in C# and Visual Basic, but none in J# or Visual C++.
At run-time it does not matter which language you have used, as compiled .NET
code is language independent. The source code compiles from a high-level language into Intermediate Language (IL), which is then executed, at runtime, by the Common Language Runtime. This makes it possible to use different
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2 Installation and development environment
2.4 Development environment
Continued programming languages, even within the same application. For more information on .NET terms, see
.
Note
It is presumed that you are already a .NET programmer. If not, you need to start by learning the programming language to be used. There are numerous books teaching C# and Visual Basic.
Integration with Visual Studio
When FlexPendant SDK is installed on your computer, it is integrated with Visual
Studio. You will notice when starting a new project, for example, that the project type FlexPendant is available in the New Project window. When using the wizard to create a FlexPendant project, common SDK references are added to the project and some code is automatically generated.
The visual design support for the FlexPendant will be accessible from the Toolbox in Visual Studio and work the same way as the design support for an ordinary
Windows application. As you will see, using FlexPendant SDK is quite intuitive for a developer used to Visual Studio programming.
Note
The help module is not integrated with the Visual Studio Help function. Clicking
F1 when pointing at code, for example, will open the Visual Studio Programmer’s
Reference or the .NET Framework Class Library for the specific language and topic. If your problem is FlexPendant SDK related this will not help you.
Tip
The Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK is found by clicking Start menu, then pointing at Programs > ABB Industrial IT > Robotics IT > RobotStudio 5.xx > SDK
> Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK. Keep the reference file open while programming, as you will be needing it all the time.
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2.5 Two development models - virtual and real
2.5 Two development models - virtual and real
About this section
When trying out a custom application, you can either use a virtual robot controller or a real robot system. This section provides information on how to use both the development models.
Virtual robot technology
The virtual IRC5 of ABB’s RobotStudio allows the IRC5 controller software to execute on a PC, and supports application developers with a purely virtual environment to be used for development, test and debug.
When you start the virtual IRC5 in RobotStudio, a virtual robot cabinet along with a virtual FlexPendant appears on the PC screen.
As a real robot controller is normally not readily at hand for application development, virtual technology is very valuable.
Requirements for virtual environment
The following software components must be installed to develop, test and debug using the virtual environment:
• ABB RobotStudio (Complete)
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or 2008
• Controller option FlexPendant Interface
Controller option PC Interface is not needed in the virtual environment.
Note
For more information, see Installing and Licensing RobotStudio in Operating
Manual - RobotStudio
Requirements for real environment
The following software components must be installed to develop, test and debug using a real robot controller:
• ABB RobotStudio (Complete or Custom - with RobotStudio and FlexPendant
SDK selected)
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or 2008
• Controller option PC Interface and FlexPendant Interface
• Network connection between PC and robot controller
For information about how to set up the network, see
How to set up your PC to communicate with robot on page 23
.
Virtual test and debug
Using the virtual environment a FlexPendant application executes on the Virtual
FlexPendant as an assembly (dll). You start the application from the ABB menu of the Virtual FlexPendant like you start it on the real FlexPendant.
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2.5 Two development models - virtual and real
Continued
Debugging is easy using the virtual IRC5 and Visual Studio. You attach the application process to Visual Studio, set a break point in the code, and step through it as it executes. For more information, see
Debugging the virtual FlexPendant on page 188
.
Real tests necessary
The virtual environment is a very convenient choice, especially for testing and debugging. You should be aware however, that the virtual FlexPendant is more forgiving than the real device. Using only the virtual FlexPendant, it is very easy to neglect the restraints on memory consumption imposed by the real device.
Images, for example, can easily consume all the FlexPendant memory available for custom applications.
This means that potential problems may be hard to detect until you test the application using a real robot system. It is almost as easy to debug code running on the real FlexPendant device. For more information, see
FlexPendant device on page 192
.
You should also be aware that your application shares CPU, memory and application host with all other FlexPendant applications. This means that a custom application can impact the overall performance of the FlexPendant.
Note
Before shipping a FlexPendant application, it has to be tested properly, using a real system. Relying only on the virtual environment is far too risky. For more information, see
Two development models - virtual and real on page 27
.
Porting the application from virtual to real IRC5
A FlexPendant application that runs perfectly on the Virtual FlexPendant, but not on the real device since there can be a lag in response time due to TCP/IP communication, but the main problem is limited resources on the device, both memory and processor power.
The FlexPendant SDK does not slow down performance. Therefore your application is supposed to perform like any standard application of the FlexPendant. For more information on how to speed up a slow FlexPendant application, see
Deployment to customer
During development, deployment to the controller is done manually. When the development phase is over and the application needs to be deployed to the customer, this should be done differently.
For information about how this should be done, see
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2.6 Conversion of Visual Studio 2005 projects to Visual Studio 2008
2.6 Conversion of Visual Studio 2005 projects to Visual Studio 2008
Overview
Converting an existing FlexPendant SDK Visual Studio 2005 project to Visual Studio
2008 is simple. When you open a Visual Studio 2005 project in Visual Studio 2008, the Visual Studio Conversion Wizard appears automatically. The procedure which converts the project to Visual Studio 2008 is easy to follow. It consists of a few dialog box providing information about what will happen.
Note
For FlexPendant SDK projects one need to manually edit the post-build event that builds the *gtpu.dll. Find Build Events in the Project Properties and adapt the path to vcvarsall.bat to the new development environment.
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3 Run-time environment
3.1 Overview
3 Run-time environment
3.1 Overview
About this chapter
This chapter provides an overview of the run-time environment of custom applications, including illustrations of the software architecture of the FlexPendant
SDK.
Application configuration is detailed as well as deployment of a FlexPendant application to a robot controller. The life cycle of a FlexPendant application is also explained.
Software architecture
The FlexPendant is an integral part of IRC5, yet a complete computer in itself. It has been developed with Microsoft's software technology for embedded systems,
Windows CE and .NET Compact Framework, which is a subset of the full .NET
Framework that the PC uses.
FlexPendant platform
The following illustration shows the Software architecture of FlexPendant SDK.
Two FlexPendant applications, one using VB and the other C#, developed on top of the FlexPendant SDK. The FlexPendant SDK CAPI is the public API offering controller functionality. All communication with the robot controller is done via the internal Robot Communication Runtime. The FlexPendant SDK provides ABB made
UI controls suitable for the FlexPendant.
.NET Compact
Framework 2.0
FlexPendant SDK app2 C#
FlexPendant SDK app1 VB
FlexPendant SDK, C#,
User interface controls & CAPI
Device class libraries, C#
Adaptors, C++
COM-based internal API towards robot controller, C++
Windows CE 5.0
Network boundary
TCP/IP
Controller
FlexPendant_
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3.1 Overview
Continued
Controller API
The FlexPendant SDK offer controller functionality through the public application interface called Controller API (CAPI). The interface can be seen as a specification of the controller services available.
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3.2.1 Components, assemblies and dlls
3.2 Running FlexPendant Applications
3.2.1 Components, assemblies and dlls
Building blocks
The .NET Framework is a library of components and supporting classes and structures, designed to make component development easy and robust.
Components are packaged in assemblies, also called dlls.
Assemblies are the building blocks of .NET applications. An assembly is a reusable collection of types and resources, which are built to work together and form a logical unit of functionality. The simplest assembly is a single executable.
One or several assemblies
A FlexPendant project compiles to a dll, which cannot run as an independent application, but needs to be started by the Teach Pendant Application Framework
(TAF), the application manager of the FlexPendant. For more information, see
Understanding the FlexPendant application life cycle on page 38 .
In a normal case, a custom application for the FlexPendant is developed as a single component, but it is also possible to separate functionality into several components.
This way the application will consist of several dlls. The reason for doing so might be one of the following:
• The amount of code is substantial. A modular design with small and well tested building blocks put together is one way of handling complexity.
• Different developers are working on the same custom application. For reasons of efficiency, they can split the functionality between them and work on one component each.
Note
You can use different programming languages for different components.
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3.2.2 Deployment of FlexPendant application to a robot system
3.2.2 Deployment of FlexPendant application to a robot system
Proxy assembly
When you compile a FlexPendant SDK application an additional assembly named
*gtpu.dll is automatically created. This is done by a tool, the ABB Compliance Tool, which verifies that the application complies to the FlexPendant requirements. This proxy dll is necessary to run the application on the FlexPendant.
To test the application on a real FlexPendant both assemblies must be downloaded to the SYSTEM or HOME directory of the robot controller. After this the FlexPendant should be restarted. At startup it loads the application assemblies from the controller.
Tip
An advantage of deploying the dlls to the HOME directory is that they will be included in a system backup.
Download to real controller
To download your application assemblies to the controller you can use the Online function File Transfer of RobotStudio.
Another way of downloading the application to the robot controller is using the
ABB Compliance Tool.
Step
1
2
3
Action
Verify that the following requirements are met before starting the procedure:
• A network connection between the PC and the controller has to be configured, either using the controller LAN port or the controller service port.
For further information see
How to set up your PC to communicate with robot on page 23 .
• The RobotWare option FlexPendant Interface is required to run the application on a real system. Without the option you will not see the application in the ABB menu.
Open Windows Explorer.
Start abbct.exe at C:\Program Files\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\SDK\FlexPendant
SDK 5.xx..
4
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34
4.3.2_1Compl
Click Browse and locate your Visual Studio project and the application assembly in the \bin\debug (or \bin\release) sub-folder.
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3.2.2 Deployment of FlexPendant application to a robot system
Continued
Step
5
6
Action
Check the Deploy box, enter the IP Address of the robot controller and click
Execute. Deployment is done to the current system of the controller.
Note!
If the application consists of several assemblies you need to repeat the procedure for all of these.
Restart the FlexPendant. For more information about different ways to do this, see
Restart the FlexPendant on page 35 .
Using the command window
The ABB Compliance Tool can be used via the command window instead of the graphical interface. To do so you write: abbct.exe /deploy="192.168.8.192" <PATH>\TpsViewHelloWorld.dll
<PATH>\TpsViewHelloWorld.gtpu.dll.
It is also possible to perform build and deployment in one step. To do this the deploy argument should come last: abbct.exe <PATH>\TpsViewHelloWorld.dll /deploy="192.168.8.192"
Both the application and proxy assembly are deployed to the controller after the build.
FTP deployment
You can also use an FTP client to transfer files from your PC to the robot controller.
To use FTP you need:
• FTP client program
• Configured connection to the controller
• RobotWare option FTP and NFS Client
• Name and password
Step
1
2
Action
Transfer resources (for example icons) and the application and proxy assemblies to the HOME or SYSTEMdirectory of the current system of the controller.
Restart the FlexPendant. See the next section for information on how to do so.
Note
For deployment to a customer when the application is ready, see
Deployment of FlexPendant application to a robot system on page 34 .
Restart the FlexPendant
If you want to restart the FlexPendant device without restarting the controller, choose one of these alternatives:
Alternative
1
2
Action
Write the command fpcmd "-restart" in the controller console window on your PC.
Perform the following sequence while holding the FlexPendant joystick:
Move the joystick three times to the right, once to the left and once down.
Confirm your wish to reset the FlexPendant in the dialog that will appear.
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3.2.2 Deployment of FlexPendant application to a robot system
Continued
Alternative
3
Action
Unplug and plug the FlexPendant (power on/ power off).
Note! This activates emergency stop.
Deploy application to virtual IRC5
Follow these steps to deploy an application to the Virtual FlexPendant:
Step
1
2
Action
Copy application and proxy assemblies and images to the HOME directory of the system you want to use on your PC.
Note! Close the virtual FlexPendant first if you are replacing assemblies.
Restart the virtual FlexPendant.
Tip
If you have problems running your application, try to put all files (dlls, gif files and so on.) in the vcbin directory of the robotware your system uses. This setup is as close to the real system setup as you can get.
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3.2.3 Communication between FlexPendant and controller
3.2.3 Communication between FlexPendant and controller
COM technology
The FlexPendant SDK uses an internal Controller API based on COM technology to communicate with the controller. This API uses sockets and TCP/IP (for more information, see
About terms and acronyms on page 17 ) towards both real and
virtual controllers.
Calls from the FlexPendant SDK to the controller are synchronous, that is, are done immediately through the COM servers. This increases execution speed and causes less overhead, which is important on a resource limited device.
Resource identification
All controller resources, both real and virtual, are described using object based hierarchy. Each resource is uniquely identified, including information about which controller owns the resource by use of the unique system id or IP address of the controller.
The controller is the top object of the hierarchy:
"/<Controller>/<Domain>/<SubDomain1>/<SubDomain2>/and so on"
Tip
Error messages including such a path indicate where to look for the problem.
Hard real-time demands
The FlexPendant SDK cannot meet hard real-time demands. This is for several reasons:
• Part of the API executes on a non-real-time operating system.
• The controller sometimes has tasks to perform that have a higher right of priority.
Note
The FlexPendant SDK does not affect performance in a negative way. You should expect your custom application to perform like any other application on the ABB menu.
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3 Run-time environment
3.2.4 Understanding the FlexPendant application life cycle
3.2.4 Understanding the FlexPendant application life cycle
Overview
Understanding the FlexPendant application life cycle improves your ability to design and debug the application.
TAF - Application host framework
The Teach Pendant Application Framework (TAF) is the application service provider that runs on the FlexPendant. It targets .NET CF and is implemented in C#. All applications using the FlexPendant SDK must run as TAF clients, as TAF contains services for hosting controls and for managing applications.
TAF uses a customized configuration file to create the appearance and behavior of the hosted application. It also defines a set of rules that have to be followed.
Starting a custom application
When the FlexPendant starts up TAF is already in the flash memory. Applications that will execute in the TAF container are now loaded from the controller.
If the FlexPendant SDK application is to be started manually by the end-user the application icon and text are placed in the ABB Menu. The other alternative is to have it started automatically by TAF at FlexPendant startup. For more information on how this is configured, see
FlexPendant TpsView attribute on page 40 .
Application life cycle
TAF handles the life cycle of a custom application, starting by calling the constructor of its TpsView class. After this, the
Install method and then the
Activate method in the same class execute.
During its lifetime, the application switches between the active and the passive state. Each time, either
Activate or
Deactivate is executed. In its active state the application is visible in the client view, in the passive state another application may have been opened or you may have opened another application through the
FlexPendant task bar.
When the application is closed via the close button, first the
Deactivate method runs and then
Uninstall
. After this the
Dispose method of the TpsView class is called. Then the application instance is disposed of by TAF. For more information about how you can implement these methods, see
ITpsViewActivation on page 44 .
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Illustration
3 Run-time environment
3.2.4 Understanding the FlexPendant application life cycle
Continued
The figure illustrates the life cycle of a FlexPendant application.
4.3.3_1TAFAp
Limited resources
As the FlexPendant is a device with very limited resources compared to a PC, you should learn and use the mechanisms implemented to assist you in writing efficient code.
Both process power and memory resources are limited compared to the virtual environment on the desktop. An application that runs very well on the virtual
FlexPendant, may encounter serious problems in the real environment because of these limitations. For more information, see
FlexPendant device on page 165
.
Note
You are strongly recommended to read
Understanding the FlexPendant application life cycle on page 38
in this manual before starting coding. Always keep the limitations of the device in mind when you develop custom FlexPendant applications.
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3 Run-time environment
3.2.5 FlexPendant TpsView attribute
3.2.5 FlexPendant TpsView attribute
Overview
A custom FlexPendant application must implement the assembly attribute
TpsView
.
For example, it is used to determine the visual appearance of the application in the ABB menu. The
TpsView attribute is auto generated and located before the namespace definition in the application view class, that is, the class that displays the first view of a FlexPendant SDK application.
In this section all parameters of the
TpsView attribute will be detailed.
Project wizard settings
The
TpsView attribute is auto generated according to your settings in the
FlexPendant SDK Project Wizard in Visual Studio:
6.2.2_1FormT
In C# the settings of the figure will render this code:
[assembly: TpsView("MyApplicationName", "tpu-Operator32.gif",
"tpu-Operator16.gif", "TpsViewHelloWorld.dll",
"TpsViewHelloWorld.TpsViewHelloWorld",
StartPanelLocation.Left, TpsViewType.Static, StartupType =
TpsViewStartupTypes.Manual)]
Note
You can edit your settings directly in the auto generated code.
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3.2.5 FlexPendant TpsView attribute
Continued
Visual appearance
In run-time the most obvious result of this code is the way the custom application is presented in the ABB menu. In the following example, the first
TpsView parameter has been changed from “MyApplicationName” to “Hello World”.
4.3.4_1Hello
Application name
The first parameter of TpsView is the application name as it should appear in the
ABB menu and on the task bar. The example uses
“HelloWorld” as the application name.
Application icon
The second parameter is the file to be used as the application icon in the ABB menu. Usually a customized icon is used for the application.The example uses the default icon: “ tpu-Operator32.gif"
.
TaskBar icon
The third parameter is the file to be used as the application task bar icon. The example uses the default icon
"tpu-Operator16.gif"
.
Application assembly
The fourth parameter is the assembly name. If you change the name of the application assembly you also need to change this parameter to reflect that change.
In the example, the assembly name is
"TpsViewHelloWorld.dll"
.
Note
The assembly name must start with “TpsView” for TAF to identify it as an application to be loaded. If you forget this an error will be generated by the ABB verification tool when you try to build the project.
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3.2.5 FlexPendant TpsView attribute
Continued
Class name
The fifth parameter specifies the fully qualified class name of the initial view of your application, which you chose in the New Project dialog box. In the example, the fully qualified class name is
"TpsViewHelloWorld.TpsViewHelloWorld"
.
Application location
The sixth parameter determines the location of the application icon and text in the
ABB menu. In the example these are displayed in the left column: startPanelLocation.Left
.
Parameter value
StartPanelLocation.Left
StartPanelLocation.Right
StartPanelLocation.None
Result
application visible to the left in the ABB menu.
application visible to the right in the ABB menu.
application is not visible at all in the ABB menu.
Note
StartPanelLocation.None
was introduced in 5.11.01. Applications that use it can therefore NOT be run on RobotWare releases older than 5.11.01.
Application type
As you can tell from the two Hello World icons visible in the task bar, two instances of the Hello World application have been started. To enable this the seventh parameter is changed to :
TpsViewType.Dynamic
. Possible view type values are shown in the table:
Parameter value Result
TpsViewType.Dynamic
You can start multiple instances of the application.
TpsViewType.Static
TpsViewType.Invisible
You can only start one instance of the application.
A background application with no GUI and no icon on the task bar. Can be started automatically or manually. Only one instance is possible.
Note
Unless there is special need for it, you should allow the user to start only one instance of the application:
TpsViewType.Static
. The reason is that working with several instances takes up valuable memory resources.
Startup type
The eighth parameter determines how the application is started. In the example the startup type is
TpsViewStartupTypes.Manual
and the application is started from the ABB menu. Using the manual startup type it is also possible to have the application started by RAPID or at operating mode change to auto for example.
For more information, see
System features supporting the use of customized screens on page 62
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3.2.5 FlexPendant TpsView attribute
Continued
If
TpsViewStartupTypes.Automatic is chosen, the application is started automatically by TAF whenever the FlexPendant is restarted or a new user logs on.
Related information
For information about the Style setting of the Project Wizard, see
To find the FlexPendant SDK Project Wizard in Visual Studio, see
Setting up a new project on page 64 .
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3 Run-time environment
3.2.6 ITpsViewSetup and ITpsViewActivation
3.2.6 ITpsViewSetup and ITpsViewActivation
ITpsViewSetup
An application that TAF needs to initialize must have a default (empty) constructor and must implement the interface
ITpsViewSetup
, which specifies the two methods
Install and
Uninstall
.
Install and Uninstall
Install is called when the application is created in TAF. The parameters are used by TAF and should not be modified. It is recommended to add code for further initiations and allocation of system resources in this method, for example load assemblies, open communication channels, and so on.
When you close the application
Uninstall is called. This happens right before the application is deleted. It is recommended to add code for disposal of system resources in this method, for example unload assemblies, close sockets, and so on.
ITpsViewActivation
All custom applications should implement the
ITpsViewActivation interface, which specifies the two methods
Activate and
Deactivate
. These are used by
TAF to notify applications when they get focus and when they lose it.
Activate and Deactivate
Activate is run every time the application gets focus. This happens at initialization, after the
ITpsViewSetup.Instal
l method has been run, and when you click the application icon in the task bar.
Deactivate
, accordingly, is run every time the application loses focus. This happens when you close the application, before the
ITpsViewSetup.Uninstall
method has been run, and when you click another application icon in the task bar.
Note
It is recommended to activate and deactivate timers in these methods. This way timers will not run when other applications are in focus, thus saving processor power. For the same reason, any subscription to controller events should be disabled in
Deactivate and enabled again in
Activate
. Note that current values should be read before enabling the subscription.
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3.2.6 ITpsViewSetup and ITpsViewActivation
Continued
Simple code examples
This table shows the basic things that the
ITpsView methods are used for in a custom application:
Method
Install
Activate
Deactivate
Uninstall
Usage
Create the
Controller object:
VB:
AController = New Controller
C#: aController = new Controller();
Add subscription to controller event:
VB:
AddHandler AController.OperatingModeChanged, AddressOf
UpdateUI
C#:
AController.OperatingModeChanged += new
OperatingModeChangedEventHandler(UpdateUI);
Remove subscription to controller event:
VB:
RemoveHandler AController.OperatingModeChanged, AddressOf
UpdateU
I
C#:
AController.OperatingModeChanged -= new
OperatingModeChangedEventHandler(UpdateUI);
Remove the controller object:
VB:
If Not AController Is Nothing Then
AController.Dispose()
AController = Nothing
End If
C#: i f (aController != null)
{ aController.Dispose(); aController = null;
}
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3 Run-time environment
3.3 Release upgrades and compatibility
3.3 Release upgrades and compatibility
About this section
This section addresses compatibility issues with different version of Robotware.
Matching FlexPendant SDK and RobotWare release
You should be aware that the FlexPendant SDKs are developed and tested for a specific RobotWare release. The general rule is therefore that you develop an application for a certain release.
Compatibility between revisions is however guaranteed (for example FlexPendant
SDK 5.11.01 will be compatible with FlexPendant SDK 5.11).
RobotWare upgrades
At some time during the lifetime of your application, a robot system that your application targets may be upgraded with a later RobotWare version.
As for a FlexPendant SDK application this means that the runtime will change, that is, the FlexPendant SDK assemblies located in RobotWare will be different from the ones that were used when the application was developed. Generally, the only way to be sure that the existing application will work with a newer RobotWare version is to compile the source code with the FlexPendant SDK version that matches the intended RobotWare version.
Note
You find all the details about compatibility between different FlexPendant SDK versions in the Release Notes.
Tip
When compiling your project notice any warnings of obsolete methods, as these will probably be removed in the next FlexPendant SDK release.
Prepared for change
To sum up, it is important to keep source code safe and available for maintenance.
Tip
Ildasm is a Microsoft tool, which comes with the installation of Visual Studio, that you may find useful. It enables you to open the manifest of a specified assembly and quickly find out about dependencies for example.
Find out more about it at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa309387(Visual Studio.71).aspx
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4.1 Introduction
4 Developing Controller applications
4.1 Introduction
About this chapter
This chapter deals with analysis, design and implementation of FlexPendant SDK applications.
It also discusses some specific programming issues that are important for
FlexPendant SDK users:
• thread conflicts and how to avoid them
• controller events and event handling
• errors and exception handling
• the User Authorization System
The chapter does not include hands-on information on how to set up your first project or detailed information on how to use the FlexPendant SDK class libraries, as these topics are covered in dedicated chapters.
Basic approach
In most aspects, using the FlexPendant SDK for application development presents no major difference compared to ordinary .NET development. The .NET class libraries are used for everything that is not robot specific. In addition, you use the public Controller API of the SDKs.
Note
When using the .Net class libraries for FlexPendant development, see Version
Information to be sure that the class or method is supported on .NET Compact
Framework 2.0, which runs on the FlexPendant.
Use this procedure to program the FlexPendant SDK application for the first time:
Step
1
2
3
Action
Before you start
Learn the basics about FlexPendant SDK programming by reading all relevant sections of this manual. Feel reassured that this is a timesaving activity and do not rush into coding.
If you are going to develop an application for the FlexPendant, a device with limited resources compared to a PC, studying the chapter
Robust FlexPendant applications on page 165
is crucial.
During development
Frequently test application functionality.
Do not wait too long before you test a FlexPendant application on a real FlexPendant device.
After development
If you develop a FlexPendant application, set up a long term test before use in production. If not, you risk that the FlexPendant slowly runs completely out of memory and crashes due to your application.
Verify application behavior, performance and memory consumption. Use the services offered by ABB. For more information, see
FlexPendant - Debugging and troubleshooting on page 181 .
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4.2 Analysis and design
4.2 Analysis and design
About this section
The purpose of FlexPendant SDK is to provide operator interfaces that fulfill specific customer needs. This section focusses on the development phases preceding the actual coding: analysis and design.
Object oriented software development
.NET is entirely object-oriented. Platform services are divided into different namespaces such as
System.Collections, System.Data
,
System.IO,
System.Security and so on. Each namespace contains a set of related classes that allow access to platform services. FlexPendant SDK, too, is completely object oriented. Its class libraries are organized in different namespaces such as
ABB.Robotics.Controllers.RapidDomain,ABB.Robotics.Controllers.MotionDomain
and so on.
Some experience in object orientation is necessary to start developing custom applications. It is presumed that you feel comfortable with concepts such as objects, classes, methods, inheritance, encapsulation and so on.
Object oriented Analysis and Design
Object Oriented Analysis and Design, OOAD, is a popular topic in computer science literature, where the importance of doing a thorough analysis and design before starting coding is commonly accepted. A well designed OO application has a true representation in the real world. Classes have well defined areas of responsibility and collaborate in an efficient way to achieve what is required.
Analysis based on communication and use cases
The main idea of FlexPendant SDK is, as has already been pointed out, that custom operator interfaces can be developed close to end-users, taking their specific needs in consideration. It therefore goes without saying that analysis is crucial.
The result of the object-oriented analysis is a description of what we want to build, often expressed as a conceptual model. Any other documentation that is needed to describe what we want to build, for example pictures of the User Interface, is also part of analysis.
The most important aspect for FlexPendant SDK development is communication with end-users. Activities which support a shared view of what should be developed are strongly recommended. Such activities may include:
• creating and discussing use cases together
• coding or drawing prototypes and get end-user feedback
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Continued
In short, involving end-users from the early stages and keeping them involved throughout the development project is the best strategy.
Note
Customer satisfaction is what has driven the development of FlexPendant SDK.
Do make sure that you have really understood what the end-users of your application need.
Design is about managing complexity
The result of the object-oriented design details how the system can be built, using objects. Abstraction is used to break complex problems into manageable chunks.
It makes it possible to comprehend the problem as a whole or to study parts of it at lower levels of abstraction.
It takes years to become a skilled object oriented designer. Design theory must be transformed into practical experience and iterated over and over again.
The goal is to produce high quality code, which is cost-efficient and easy to maintain. This is achieved, for example, when adding new functionality will involve minimal changes to existing code and most changes will be handled as new methods and new classes.
Do you need to do design?
There is a huge difference in complexity when creating software such as .NET
framework, for example, and a custom operator view for IRC5. Obviously, the more complex a system the more careful design is needed. Accordingly, the larger and more complex a custom application needs to be, the more likely you are to spend time on design.
This table presents some considerations before deciding how well you need to design your application before starting coding:
Consideration Advice
How much code is it going to be?
If it is going to be a very simple application with one view and a few buttons there is no need even to split the code between different classes and files.
If there will be a substantial amount of code and there might be further extensions later on, spending time on design becomes more relevant.
Will different developers work on different classes/components?
Will you maintain the code yourself, or may it be done by others?
If yes, spending time om design becomes more relevant.
Is the real time aspect of the application important?
If yes, coding efficiently is important. This will much more easily be achieved if you spend some time on design.
Note! You are also recommended to read through the chapter
Robust FlexPendant applications on page 165
before starting coding.
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4.2 Analysis and design
Continued
As complex or as easy as you wish
A simple custom application can be created in a day or two using FlexPendant
SDK. A large custom application with a number of different views, offering advanced robot system functionality, however, may take months to develop and will require considerable programming skill.The recommendation is to start developing a simple application, which you execute on the target platform, before moving on to advanced
FlexPendant SDK programming.
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4.3 Controller events and threads
4.3 Controller events and threads
Overview
A controller event is a message from the controller that something has happened.
Events can be caught and acted upon by FlexPendant SDK applications.
Controller events use their own threads. This means that user interface threads and controller event threads can get into conflict. This section gives information on how to prevent this.
Controller events
FlexPendant SDK applications can subscribe to a number of controller events.
These are all described in the Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK.
The table shows some events that exists in the FlexPendant SDK.
The event...
StateChanged
OperatingModeChanged
ExecutionStatusChanged
Changed
MessageWritten
ValueChanged
occurs when...
the controller state has changed.
the controller operating mode has changed.
the controller execution status has changed.
the value or the state of the I/O signal has changed.
the EventLog has a new message the value of a RAPID data has changed.
Note
There is no guarantee you will get an initial event when setting up/activating a controller event. You need to read the initial state from the controller.
GUI and controller event threads in conflict
You should be aware that controller events use their own threads both on the
FlexPendant and PC platform. If a GUI thread and a controller event thread get into conflict, deadlocks or overwritten data may occur. This may happen when a controller event is succeeded by an update of the user interface, which is indeed a very common scenario.
You then need to take action in your code to control that the user interface update is executed by the GUI thread and not by the controller event thread. This is done by enforcing a thread switch using the
Invoke or
BeginInvoke method. For more information on how this is done along with code examples, see
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Continued
On the other hand, if the controller event should NOT cause any update of the user interface, you should not take any special action. Using
Invoke
/
BeginInvoke is performance demanding and should not be used more than necessary.
Note
Thread conflicts often cause hangings. The FlexPendant touch screen then stops responding and the application has to be restarted.
Examine what exception has been thrown when you encounter such a situation.
The exceptions
System.NotSupportedException
(FlexPendant platform) and
System.InvalidOperationException
(PC platform) indicate thread conflicts.
See the next section for information on how to use
Invoke to solve the problem.
Invoke method
All FlexPendant views must inherit
Control
/
TpsControl
, which implement
Invoke and
BeginInvoke
. These methods execute the specified delegate/event handler on the thread that owns the control's underlying window handle, thus enforcing a switch from a worker thread to the GUI thread. This is precisely what is needed when a controller event needs to be communicated to the end user of the system.
Invoke should be called inside the event handler taking care of the controller event. Notice that you have to create a new object array for the sender and argument objects:
VB:
Me.Invoke(New EventHandler(AddressOf UpdateUI), New Object()
{sender, e})
C#: this.Invoke(new EventHandler(UpdateUI), new Object[] {sender, e});
Also notice that if you use
EventHandler in the
Invoke method and not the specific delegate class, for example
DataValueChangedEventHandler
, you need to typecast the argument in the delegate which updates the user interface. How this is done is shown in the following example:
VB:
Private Sub UpdateUI(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As
System.EventArgs)
Dim Args As ExecutionStatusChangedEventArgs
Args = DirectCast(e, ExecutionStatusChangedEventArgs)
Me.Label1.Text = e.NewStatus.ToString()
End Sub
C#: private void UpdateUI(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
ExecutionStatusChangedEventArgs args; args = (ExecutionStatusChangedEventArgs) e; this.label1.Text = e.NewStatus.ToString();
}
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Continued
Note
The difference between
Invoke and
BeginInvoke is that the former makes a synchronous call and will hang until the GUI operation is completed, whereas
BeginInvoke executes the specified event handler asynchronously. Which method you want to use depends on the logics of your program. The recommendation is to choose
BeginInvoke whenever possible.
Note
If your code tries to access a GUI control from a background thread the .NET
common language runtime will throw a
System.NotSupportedException
(FlexPendant platform) or a
System.InvalidOperationException
(PC platform).
Tip
If you are using the FlexPendant SDK there is further information about threads in
and
.
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4 Developing Controller applications
4.4 User Authorization System
4.4 User Authorization System
Overview
In the robot controller there is a system controlling user access: the User
Authorization System (UAS). If this feature is used each user needs a user name and a password to log on to a robot controller via the FlexPendant or RobotStudio.
If the controller connection for any reason is lost, you have to log on again.
The controller holds information on which operations different users are allowed to perform. The UAS configuration is done in RobotStudio.
Tip
To learn more about UAS use the help function in RobotStudio.
Accessing UAS from custom applications
Before sensitive controller operations are performed, a FlexPendant SDK application should check that you are currently logged on and have the corresponding UAS rights.
Accessing UAS is done by using the property
AuthorizationSystem on the controller object:
VB:
Dim UAS As UserAuthorizationSystem =
Me.AController.AuthorizationSystem
C#:
UserAuthorizationSystem uas = this.aController.AuthorizationSystem;
Grants and Groups
UAS rights are called Grants. The specific user belongs to one of several defined
Groups, where each group has a number of specified grants.
To ensure that you have necessary grants to perform an operation, you use the
CheckDemandGrant method on the
AuthorizationSystem object. The grant to check is passed as an argument:
VB:
If uas.CheckDemandGrant(Grant.ModifyRapidProgram) Then aTask.LoadModuleFromFile(localFile, RapidLoadMode.Replace)
End If
C#: if (uas.CheckDemandGrant(Grant.ModifyRapidProgram)) { aTask.LoadModuleFromFile(localFile, RapidLoadMode.Replace);
}
Note
The FlexPendant SDK application cannot override the UAS configuration. This means that the system will in the end prevent you from performing an action that is not allowed.
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Continued
MessageBox feedback
If a UAS grant is missing you should get information about it. This can be done in a message as shown in the following example: msg = "You are not allowed to perform this operation, talk to your system administrator if you need access." title = "User Authorization System"
VB:
GTPUMessageBox.Show(Me, Nothing, msg, title,
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk,
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons.OK)
C#:
GTPUMessageBox.Show(this, null, msg, title,
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk,
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons.OK);
GetCurrentGrants and DemandGrant
Another possibility is to retrieve all grants for the current user calling
GetCurrentGrants
, then iterate over the grants collection and search the necessary grants.
Yet another solution is to call
DemandGrant with one of the static
Grant members as in argument.
If you do not have the specified grant the FlexPendant SDK throws a
UasRejectException and the PC SDK throws a
GrantDemandRejectedException
.
Tip
For more information on UAS and
Grant members, see Reference Manual
FlexPendant SDK.
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4 Developing Controller applications
4.5 Exception handling
4.5 Exception handling
Overview
The .NET programming languages provide built-in support for exception handling, which allows the program to detect and recover from errors during execution.
In managed code, execution cannot continue in the same thread after an unhandled exception. The thread terminates, and if it is the program thread, the program itself terminates. To avoid this, accurate exception handling should be used.
The FlexPendant SDK provides several exception classes, which are used when errors occur. If the operation is rejected by the controller safety access restriction mechanism, for example, a
RejectException is thrown.
If an unhandled exception occurs the application crashes and TAF displays a gray message on the FlexPendant. After confirmation the FlexPendant will restart. To avoid this you should make sure that any potential error situations are dealt with properly by your code.
The message that you get when an unhandled error situation occurs may look like this. Do NOT contact ABB, but fix the error handling of your application.
5.5_1Unhandl
Note
For more information on how the exception classes of the FlexPendant SDK work, see Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK. Also see
to get more detailed information about exception handling for the FlexPendant platform.
Try-catch-finally
Exceptions are handled in try
catch
(finally
) blocks, which execute outside the normal flow of control.
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Continued
The try block wraps one or several statements to be executed. If an exception occurs within this block, execution jumps to the catch block, which handles the exception.
The finally block is executed when the
Try block is exited, no matter if an exception has occurred and been handled. It is used to clean up system or controller resources.
If you do not know what exceptions to expect or how to handle them, they can be caught and nothing need to be performed. This, however, may result in difficult error tracing, as exceptions include information on what caused the problem.
Therefore, try at least to display the exception message, either by using a message box or the types
Debug or
Trace
. For more information, see
and
Typecasting
When typecasting
Signal or
RapidData values, for example, there is a potential risk of typecast exceptions. To avoid this you can check the object using the is operator for both value and reference types:
VB:
If TypeOf aRapidData.Value Is Num Then
Dim aNum As Num = DirectCast(aRapidData.Value, Num)
.....
C#: if (aRapidData.Value is Num)
{
Num aNum = (Num) aRapidData.Value;
....
}
In C# it is also possible to use the as operator for reference types. A null value is returned if the type is not the expected one:
C#:
DigitalSignal di = this.aController.IOSystem.GetSignal(“UserSig”) as DigitalSignal; if (di == null)
{
MessageBox.Show(this, null, “Wrong type”);
}
.NET Best Practices
.The .NET Framework Developer's Guide presents the following best practices for exception handling:
• Know when to set up a try/catch block. For example, it may be a better idea to programmatically check for a condition that is likely to occur without using exception handling. For errors which occur routinely this is recommended, as exceptions take longer to handle.
• Use exception handling to catch unexpected errors. If the event is truly exceptional and is an error (such as an unexpected end-of-file), exception handling is the better choice as less code is executed in the normal
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4.5 Exception handling
Continued case.Always order exceptions in catch blocks from the most specific to the least specific. This technique handles the specific exception before it is passed to a more general catch block.
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4.6 How to use the online help
4.6 How to use the online help
Overview
The online help comes with the installation of FlexPendant SDK and is accessible from Windows Start menu.
The recommendation is to read this application manual carefully while developing
FlexPendant SDK applications. Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK is an important complements to this manual, as these make up the complete reference to the class libraries of FlexPendant SDK. For more information, see
Documentation and help on page 15 .
Note
The SDK Reference is NOT integrated in Visual Studio. You must open it from the Start menu.
Tip
For more information on the web address to RobotStudio Community, where
FlexPendant SDK developers discuss software problems and solutions online, see
Documentation and help on page 15
.
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5 Using the FlexPendant SDK
5.1.1 About this chapter
5 Using the FlexPendant SDK
5.1 Introduction
5.1.1 About this chapter
Overview
This chapter gives detailed information on how to use the FlexPendant SDK.
These topics are covered:
• How to take advantage of some system features that support the use of customized screens.
• How to utilize the integrated Visual Studio wizard to set up a FlexPendant project.
• How to add the FlexPendant SDK GUI controls to the Visual Studio Toolbox.
• How to build the user interface using the integrated design support.
• How to program FlexPendant SDK GUI controls.
• How to launch other applications from your application.
• How to implement controller functionality using CAPI.
The design support in Visual Studio enables you to visually lay out the application, reducing the need to write code. This speeds up development and gives you a more precise control of the appearance of your FlexPendant screens.
Using the FlexPendant SDK it is possible to launch several of the standard
FlexPendant applications from your application, which is often a very handy alternative to handling complicated procedures on your own, such as reading and writing RAPID data for example.
The Controller API (CAPI) is at the core of the FlexPendant SDK. It is used to access the robot controller, which the FlexPendant is attached to. First there is information about how this public API is organized. Then each domain of CAPI is dealt with separately. There are code samples in C# and VB throughout the chapter.
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5.1.2 System features supporting the use of customized screens
5.1.2 System features supporting the use of customized screens
Flexible user interfaces
The FlexPendant can be adapted to end-users' specific needs in many different ways. It can be operated in 14 different languages, including Asian character-based languages such as Japanese and Chinese. Left-handed operators can adapt the device from its default setting by simply rotating the display through 180 degrees.
Four of the eight hard keys are programmable, that is, their function can be assigned by the end-user.
Customized FlexPendant screens, tailored to end-users’ needs is yet another way of rendering the flexible solutions required by many customers. To support the use of customized screens there are a couple of features that you may want to tell the end-users of your application about.
Configure the FlexPendant
Using the FlexPendant configuration facilities (Control Panel - FlexPendant) it is possible to configure the FlexPendant to allow RAPID execution in manual mode from an FlexPendant SDK view. You can also make the FlexPendant automatically display an SDK view at operating mode change.
Additional Test View
Set the FlexPendant configuration property Additional Test View if you want to start RAPID execution in manual mode with a custom application as the active view.
6.1.0_1AddTe
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Continued
View On Operating Mode Change
Set the FlexPendant configuration property View On Operating Mode Change if you want the custom application to become active when the controller operating mode is switched to auto, manual or manual full speed.
6.1.0_2ViewO
Use RAPID instruction to launch FlexPendant SDK application
The RAPID instruction
UIShow
(User Interface Show) is used to communicate with the user of the robot system via a FlexPendant application. Both FlexPendant SDK applications and standard applications can be launched using this instruction.
Example:
The following RAPID code launches the custom application TpsViewMyApp.
CONST string Name :="TpsViewMyApp.gtpu.dll";CONST string Type
:="ABB.Robotics.SDK.Views.TpsViewMyApp";UIShow Name, Type;
For this to work the robot system must have the RobotWare option FlexPendant
Interface. The assemblies TpsViewMyApp.dll and TpsViewMyApp.gtpu.dll must be located in the HOME directory of the active robot system. (When the assemblies have been downloaded to the controller the FlexPendant must be restarted in order to load them.)
Note
For more information on
UIShow instruction, see Technical reference manual -
RAPID instructions, functions and data types
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5 Using the FlexPendant SDK
5.2.1 Using the project template in Visual Studio
5.2 Setting up a new project
5.2.1 Using the project template in Visual Studio
Overview
It is very simple to set up a new FlexPendant project using the integrated project template. It will automatically add the most common SDK references to the project and auto-generate some source code for the main application window, in the selected programming language, either C# or Visual Basic.
Note
To add another view to the FlexPendant project, you do not need to start a new project. For more information, see
.
Setup procedure
Follow these steps to create a FlexPendant project:
Step
1
2
Action
On the File menu in Visual Studio, point to New and then click Project.
In Visual Studio 2005, in the New Project dialog select Visual C# / Smart Device
/ FlexPendant or Other Languages/Visual Basic/Smart Device/FlexPendant. In
Visual Studio 2008, select Visual C# / FlexPendant or Other Languages/Visual
Basic/FlexPendant).
New_Project
Note
If you have several FlexPendant SDK installations on your PC, there will be several templates to choose from. Make sure you select the template that match the RobotWare version that your application should target.
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Continued
Step
3
4
5
Action
Enter the name of the application in the Name field and where you want it to be stored in the Location field. Click OK.
Note
The name has to start by “TpsView” . If you forget it an error will be generated by the ABB verification tool when the project is built.
The FlexPendant SDK Project Wizard is now launched. For information about how to configure the application using this wizard see
FlexPendant TpsView attribute on page 40
and
Container style on page 81 . When you are ready click OK.
You need to set up the design support for the FlexPendant GUI controls before starting programming. How this is done is detailed in
Setting up design support for FlexPendant controls on page 67 .
Note
If the SDK references seem to be missing in your FlexPendant project, see the following section for instructions about how to solve the problem.
Add any missing references
The SDK references needed by the FlexPendant project are added automatically when the Project wizard is completed. However, there is a possibility that Visual
Studio cannot provide the path to these dlls. If this is the case you should add the references path manually. Follow these steps:
Step
1
Action
Look at the Solution Explorer of Visual Studio. If you have a C# project expand the References node. Warning triangles mean that the path to the referenced dlls is missing.
6.1.1_2SetUp
For a VB project the Solution Explorer looks the same, except that there is no
References node.
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Continued
Step
2
3
Action
C#: Select the project icon, right-click and select Properties. Click the Reference
Paths tab and add the path to the SDK assemblies.
VB: Select the project icon, right-click and select Properties. Click the References tab. If the path to the SDK references is missing add it by browsing to the directory where they are located.
Note
The default path is C:\Program Files\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\SDK\FlexPendant
SDK 5.xx\bin.
Save the project. You will notice that any warning triangles in the Solution Explorer
References node will disappear.
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5.2.2 Setting up design support for FlexPendant controls
5.2.2 Setting up design support for FlexPendant controls
Overview
This section describes how to make the FlexPendant GUI controls accessible in
Visual Studio.
Procedure
Follow these steps to add the FlexPendant controls to the Visual Studio Toolbox:
4
5
Step
1
2
3
6
Action
On the View menu, select Toolbox.
Right click in the Toolbox area and select Add Tab.
Name the new toolbox tab, for example FlexPendant Controls.
Right click in the area of the new tab and select Choose Items.
In the Choose Toolbox Items dialog, browse to the directory where the FlexPendant
SDK assemblies are located and import the following assemblies:
• ABB.Robotics.Tps.Windows.Forms.dll
• ABB.Robotics.GTPU.Windows.Forms.dll
• ABB.Robotics.DataBinding.dll
The default location is C:\Program Files\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\SDK\Flex-
Pendant SDK 5.xx\bin.
In the Solution Explorer right-click view.cs (view.vb if you have a VB project) and select View Designer if you are not already in design mode.
As you see, the FlexPendant specific controls are now accessible in the Toolbox.
For more information on how to use them, see
Introduction to visual design support on page 68 .
Note
The way you use the Visual Studio Designer to implement FlexPendant controls is very similar to implementing ordinary .NET controls. In this manual useful information which may not be obvious for all users is provided. But oftentimes, it is the general Visual Studio Help that will answer any questions you may have about control properties and the like.
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5.3.1 Introduction to visual design support
5.3 Building the user interface
5.3.1 Introduction to visual design support
What is visual design support?
Design Support for Compact Framework User Controls was a new feature of Visual
Studio 2005. It enabled design support for FlexPendant SDK controls to be included in FlexPendant SDK 5.08.
From FlexPendant SDK 5.08 onwards you visually design the FlexPendant application user interface in the Visual Studio Designer. FlexPendant controls are dragged from the toolbox to the designer area, moved and resized by clicking and dragging. By applying different settings in the Properties window of a control, you refine its appearance and behavior.
To use the visual design support you must add the FlexPendant controls to the
Visual Studio toolbox. How to do this is detailed in
FlexPendant controls on page 67
.
Note
Design support for FlexPendant controls has long been on FlexPendant SDK users’ wish list. It is indeed a time-saving feature, as most of the code supporting the graphical user interface is now auto generated.
Why special controls for the FlexPendant?
You may wonder why the standard Microsoft Windows controls have not been considered good enough to be used for the FlexPendant touch screen.
The answer is that some Windows controls may very well be used. Other Windows controls are however not so well suited for the FlexPendant touch screen. To navigate using your finger controls in particular need to be large enough. In some other cases the Windows controls simply do not look very good on the touch screen.
Note
In the Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK, click the Contents tab and the
ABB.Robotics.Tps.Windows.Forms node to get an overview and a short description of all ABB controls you may use to create the user interface of a
FlexPendant application.
Tip
How to program these ABB controls is very similar to the equivalent Windows controls. If you need code examples the best source of information is usually
MSDN. You may try http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlrfsystemwindowsformslistviewclasstopic.asp, for example, to find out how to program a
ListView
.
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5.3.1 Introduction to visual design support
Continued
The following screenshot shows the Visual Studio Toolbox with all of the
FlexPendant controls to the left. In the Designer area to the right, a FlexPendant application is being developed. Part of the container control, along with a number of ABB and standard Windows controls can be seen.
6.3.1_1MyFir
The following features are worth noting:
• A Windows PictureBox control is used as the container of a photo.
• The FlexPendant button has a property called BackgroundImage, used to display an image. The ABB image library located in the Resources folder, which comes with the installation of FlexPendant SDK, has numerous icons, which can be used by custom applications. You can of course also use photos and icons of your own.
• Some of the ABB controls, such as the SignalBindingSource, have no graphical representation in design-time. As you see in the figure, they are placed in the components pane under the main form. Code is generated similar to the controls that you see on the form.
• Usually a mix of Windows and ABB controls are used for a FlexPendant SDK application. For example, as there is no ABB RadioButton or CheckBox the equivalent Windows controls are used. In the figure, the standard Windows
CheckBox is used.
CAUTION
Do not forget about the limited amount of memory available for custom applications when adding images or photos! For more information, see
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Continued
CAUTION
Auto generated code for controls is located in the method
InitializeComponent
. You should not tamper with the code inside this method.
Any modifications or additions to auto generated code is usually best located in the constructor, after the call to
InitializeComponent.
Hands on - Hello world
Are you ready to program and test your first FlexPendant application? If you have not created a FlexPendant project and added the FlexPendant controls to the Visual
Studio Toolbox you need to do that first. For more information, see
Using the project template in Visual Studio on page 64
and
FlexPendant controls on page 67
.
Follow these steps to create and test a simple custom application:
Step
1
2
Action
Drag a FlexPendant button from the Toolbox to the Designer.
Double-click the button in the Designer, this opens the code editor.
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Continued
Step
3
Action
As you see an event handler for the click event has been created. Add the code to launch the Hello World message in it: private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ try
{ myLabel1.Text = " Hello World! ";
} catch(System.Exception ex)
{
// Catch is mandatory here!!
// If there is no catch to take care of an error caused by your application,
// not only your application, but the entire FlexPendant, will crash, as all FP applications share the same GUI-thread.
// It is up to you how to handle the error. Normally, you may want to display an error message, something like this:
GTPUMessageBox.Show(this.Parent
, null
, "An unexpected error occurred \nError Message: "
+ex.Message
, "Application Error"
, System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxIcon.Question
, System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons.OK);
} finally
{
// cleanup code goes here (if needed)
// "finally" is used to guarantee that cleaning up resources, releasing mastersip etc is not skipped due to the exception.
// (In this case, the finally clause is not necessary, as there is nothing to clean up.)
}
An alternative way of adding an event handler is shown in the next step.
Note
A FlexPendant application to be used in industry must have exception handling in all event handlers, as shown in the preceding code sample. The FlexPendant has only ONE GUI thread, which all applications running on the FlexPendant share. If your application breaks the only GUI thread, all of the applications will die and the
FlexPendant must be restarted manually. For more information, see
.
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Continued
Step
4
Action
Bring up the Properties window for the button by right clicking it in the Designer and selecting Properties. Click the events button (yellow flashing lightening) to see the events available for the ABB button. As shown by the figure, you have already connected an event handler to the click event.
5
6
7
8
9
6.3.1_1B_Add
Note
It is the default event of the control that you get when you double-click it in the Designer. To add an event handler for another button event, bring up the Properties window and double-click the event you want to generate a handler for, for example a
FontChanged event handler. You will enter the code editor, the cursor inside the generated event handler.
On the Build menu, click Build Solution and check that you did not get any compilation errors.
To test the application you need to deploy it to a robot system. If there is no robot system available, you must create a robot system by using the System Builder of
RobotStudio.
Copy the assembly (*.dll) and the proxy assembly (*.gtpu.dll) from the bin\Debug
(or bin\Release) directory of your Visual Studio project to the HOME directory created by RobotStudio when your robot system was created.
Example showing default paths for copy/paste:
C:\Data\Visual Studio 2005\Projects\TpsViewMyApp\TpsViewMyApp\bin\Debug\
C:\Systems\sys1_508\HOME
Note! If you have already started the virtual FlexPendant you need to close it before pasting the dlls.
Start the virtual FlexPendant.
On the ABB menu, find your application and open it.
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Continued
Step
10
Action
Click the button. The Hello World message will be displayed.
6.3.1_2Hello
Note
For more information on how to implement the additional features: application title, button background image, command bar with a menu item and an event handler to launch a standard view, see
Introduction to visual design support on page 68 .
Tip
When using the Virtual FlexPendant for test and debug you can automate the copy/paste procedure described in the preceding step seven. The following procedure explains it:
1 Right click the project icon in the Solution Explorer and select Properties.
2 For a C# project, select the Build Events tab. (For a VB project click the
Compile tab and then the Build Events button.)
3 Click the Edit Post-build button and add two commands which will copy the produced dlls to the directory of the robot system to run. Example: copy "$(TargetDir)$(TargetName).dll" "C:\Systems\sys1" copy "$(TargetDir)$(TargetName).gtpu.dll" "C:\Systems\sys1"
Note! Do not remove the default post build command lines, which create the assembly proxy (*gtpu.dll).
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Continued
Hands on - step 2
2
3
4
5
This section details how to program the remaining features of the Hello World application shown in preceding step nine: application title, button background image, command bar with a menu item. You will also learn how to implement an event handler for the Launch View command.
When you create a FlexPendant project you choose Empty or Form in the
FlexPendant SDK Project Wizard. For more information to understand the difference between them, see
. In our example Form is selected as the container control.
Step
1
Action
If you selected Empty for your project you can change it to Form by exchanging
TpsControl with
TpsForm directly in the source code, like this:
C#: public class TpsViewIRC5App14 : TpsForm, ITpsViewSetup,
ITpsViewActivation
VB:
Public Class TpsViewIRC5App14 Inherits TpsForm '(was TpsControl before) Implements ITpsViewSetup, ITpsViewActivation
Note
The Designer now shows the title bar on top of the container control.
Right-click somewhere in the middle of the container control and select Properties.
Enter “This is my Hello World application” at the Text property. See the tip of
if the Text property is not available.
Still using the TpsFormProperties window, expand the MainMenu property node.
Click the MenuItems property and the browse button which appears once the property is selected.
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Continued
Step
6
Action
In the MenuItem Collection Editor, which is now launched, click the Add button.
Then enter “Launch View” at the Text property. Click OK.
6.3.1_4Hello
7
Note
The added menuItem has its own MenuItems property. You use it if the “Launch
View” command is to present a menu instead of working as a button on the command bar. How this can be done is further detailed in
.
Add an event handler with code that will launch the standard Jogging view when the Launch View button is pressed.
Adding event handlers is done differently in Visual Studio depending on which programming language you are using.
For C#:
In the constructor, after the call to
InitializeComponent
, add a subscription to the click event of the “Launch View” command. Write: menuItem1.Click += then TAB twice. As you will notice, Visual Studio intellisense auto generates an event handler, and you only need to write the code for launching the Jogging view: this._launchService.LaunchView(FpStandardView.Jogging,null,false,out this._cookieJog)
For VB:
Add an event handler using the preceding drop down boxes the Visual Studio Code
Viewer. Find and select MenuItem1 in the left drop down box and the Click event in the right drop down box. The event handler is now auto generated for you, and the only thing you need to do is to write the code for launching the Jogging view
(see VB code in
Launching standard views on page 114 ).
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Note
There is no possibility to attach an event handler in the properties window, like you do for a
Button for example.
Declare the _launchService and the _cookieJog objects: private ABB.Robotics.Tps.Taf.ITpsViewLaunchServices
_launchService;private object _cookieJog;
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Continued
Step
9
Action
Retrieve the
_launchService object in the
Install method of your class:
13
14
10
11
12
6.3.1_5Hello
For VB code example, see
Installing ITpsViewSetup on page 113
.
In the designer, open the Properties window of the button.
Enter “Press Me” at the Text property.
Select the BackgroundImage property and browse to the Resources folder of the
FlexPendant SDK installation and import “IRB140.gif”.
(Default path: C:\Program Files\ABB Industrial IT\Robotics IT\SDK\FlexPendant
SDK 5.08\Resources)
Build, deploy and start the application, that is repeat step five to eight in
.
Click the Launch VIew command.
The Jogging view should open up and get focus.
Tip
For more information about the possibilities to use already existing views for your application, see
Using launch service on page 113
and
Using standard dialog box to modify data on page 116 .
Visual design and user experience
There is another definition of the term Visual design, which is not in the scope of this manual. It has to do with how the design of the software user interface affects user experience. This is nonetheless an important topic for a FlexPendant application developer. Knowing what makes a user interface intuitive and easy to use is essential, as this is exactly what is expected from a custom operator interface.
Tip
A FlexPendant style guide comes with the installation of FlexPendant SDK. It will help you to present application functionality in an intuitive way, teaching best practices of visual design and user experience from the FlexPendant perspective.
It is a preliminary draft, but still very useful.
You may also want to study the Microsoft standard for visual design at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwue/html/ch14a.asp
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5.3.2 GUI controls and memory management
5.3.2 GUI controls and memory management
Overview
All of the FlexPendant SDK controls belong to the
ABB.Robotics.Tps.Windows.Forms
namespace. This namespace thus includes well over 40 classes and subclasses used to develop the user interface of a
FlexPendant application.
ABB.Robotics.Tps.Windows.Forms.TpsControl
is the base type of all
FlexPendant SDK controls.
TpsControl in turn extends
System.Windows.Forms.UserControl
TpsControl may be used as a container control of a FlexPendant view. It also has the default implementation of
Dispose
, which is called in order to free allocated memory for a control which should no longer be used.
You may wonder why this is necessary, as the .NET framework has a garbage collector, which should release the developer of the duty to free allocated memory.
The answer is the garbage collector does not always reclaim memory which is no longer used. Therefore, if you program an application meant to execute around the clock on a device with limited memory, you are still responsible for freeing memory which is no longer used. Neglecting to do so will result in permanent memory leaks.
How to avoid memory leaks
Look at this figure showing a number of controls (both ABB and Microsoft) and learn the basics about memory management for GUI controls. It is not so complicated, the most important thing is not to forget that cleaning up is your responsibility!
6.3.2_1Contr
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Continued
Learn and apply these the general rules for memory management of GUI controls.
• Controls with a graphical representation, e.g the ABB
Numpad
,
TabControl
,
GroupBox
,
TpsLabel
,
ListView and the Microsoft
PicureBox and
DataGrid in the figure, are automatically added to the controls collection in
InitializeComponent. It may look like this: this.Controls.Add(this.numPad1);
• If the preceding figure represents the first view of your application, controls with graphical representation will be disposed of by the base class of your view class when your application is shut down and the
Dispose method is called by TAF. This happens when the following statement in your
Dispose method is executed: base.Dispose(disposing);
• If, however, it represents a secondary view of your application (which is actually the case here, as you can tell from the close button on the command bar), you must call its
Dispose method from the first view when it is closed.
Its base class will then remove all controls that are part of its controls collection, like in the previous case.
• GUI controls that have no graphical representation, but are located in the
Components pane under the form, for example
GTPUSaveFileDialog
,
RapidDataBindingSource
,
AlphaPad and so on are NOT added to the controls collection by default. These are the ones that you need to be especially careful to remove, as no garbage collector will ever gather them.
If you forget to explicitly call
Dispose on such controls you will have caused a permanent memory leak. Carefully study the code example in the next section.
Note
Microsoft and ABB controls behave in the same way. The Microsoft
ImageList for example, which is commonly used in FlexPendant applications, has no graphical representation and must thus be explicitly removed by the application programmer.
Coding the Dispose method
The following code example shows how the
Dispose method of the view shown in the preceding figure can be coded. All controls located in the components pane in the Designer must be explicitly removed by the programmer. Controls with a graphical representation will be removed when
Dispose of the base class is executed.
protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
{ if (!IsDisposed)
{ try
{ if (disposing)
{
//Removes SaveFile dialog
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5.3.2 GUI controls and memory management
Continued if(this.gtpuSaveFileDialog1 != null)
{ this.gtpuSaveFileDialog1.Dispose(); this.gtpuSaveFileDialog1 = null;
}
//Removes RapidDataBindingSource if(this.rapidDataBindingSource1 != null)
{ this.rapidDataBindingSource1.Dispose(); this.rapidDataBindingSource1 = null
}
//Removes Alphapad if(this.alphaPad1 != null)
{ this.alphaPad1.Dispose(); this.alphaPad1 = null
}
//Removes FolderBrowserDialog if(this.gtpuFolderBrowserDialog1 != null)
{ this.gtpuFolderBrowserDialog1.Dispose(); this.gtpuFolderBrowserDialog1 = null
}
//Removes ImageList if(this.imageList1 != null)
{
}
}
} finally
{
//Removes all controls added to the controls collection base.Dispose(disposing);
} this.imageList1.Dispose(); this.imageList1 = null
}
}
Finally, as this is a secondary view, we should call its
Dispose method from the first view when it is closed down.
//This code is executed by the first view when the secondary view is closed void form2_Closed(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ if(form2 != null)
{ form2.Dispose(); form2 = null;
}
}
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Continued
CAUTION
If you forget to call
Dispose on controls that are not part of the control collection of the class there will be memory leaks. This may cause the FlexPendant to run completely out of memory and crash. Usually, this will not happen when you try out the functionality of your application, but when it is executed and used continuously during production. To verify that a GUI control is really disposed of, you may set up a subscription to its Disposed event for example, and verify that it is triggered when you close down the view.
CAUTION
All objects accessing robot controller services, that is, unmanaged resources, must also be removed by the application programmer. For more information, see
.
Freeing allocated memory for a GUI control
You are recommended to remove a GUI control in the
Dispose method of the class that created it. If the control belongs to the first view of your application, it will be disposed of when TAF calls
Dispose at application shut down. If it belongs to a secondary view, you are responsible for disposing of the secondary view and its controls.
C#: if (this.controlX != null)
{ controlX.Dispose(); controlX = null;
} base.Dispose(disposing);
VB:
If disposing Then
If Not controlX Is Nothing Then controlX.Dispose() controlX = Nothing
End If
End If
MyBase.Dispose(disposing)
Note
When the last statement in the preceding code example is executed the base class will call
Dispose on all controls added to the controls collection in
InitializeComponent
. This means that you do not need to call
Dispose on such controls.
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5.3.3 Container style
5.3.3 Container style
Overview
The container control of a FlexPendant application is 640x390 pixels, which is the exact size of the FlexPendant screen dedicated for a custom view. This section details the two different styles that can be used for a FlexPendant view: Empty and Form.
You select which one to use in the Style area of the FlexPendant SDK Project
Wizard. To the left in the wizard, a preview helps you see the difference between the two styles.
Here Form is selected. The preview illustration shows a
TpsForm
. It has a
CommandBar at the bottom and a
TpsCtrlTitleBar at the top.
6.2.2_1FormT
Note
When adding a new view to an existing FlexPendant project, you choose which control to use in the Add New Item dialog box. For more information on how to add a new view to an existing project, see
Empty or Form?
Your choice in the wizard determines the type that your view class will inherit. If you change your mind about this, it is easy to make the change directly in the auto generated code.
Empty
This is a plain
TpsControl
. It has neither a
CommandBar
, nor a
TpsCtrlTitleBar
.
The code definition of the class will look like this:
VB:
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Continued
Public Class TpsViewMyApp Inherits TpsControl Implements
ITpsViewSetup, ITpsViewActivation
Form
This is a
TpsForm
, which is a specialized
TpsControl
.
The code definition of the class will look like this:
VB:
Public Class TpsViewMyApp Inherits TpsForm Implements
ITpsViewSetup, ITpsViewActivation
Note
Often Empty is chosen as the first view of an FlexPendant SDK application. For any secondary view, which is to be opened from the first one, Form is the recommended container control.
Note
When selecting Form you might wonder why the command bar is not visible in the designer.
The answer is that it remains invisible until a
MenuItem has been added to it.
This is done in the Properties window of the
TpsForm
, by applying the property
MainMenu.
Tip
If you select the
TitlePanel or the
CommandBar of a
TpsForm you will see that the Properties window is disabled. If you want to change the text of the title panel, or add menu items to the command bar, for example, you must select
TpsForm by clicking somewhere in the middle and then modify its Text or
MainMenu property.
How to build the command bar
The command bar is either ready-made, as for
TpsForm
, or used as a separate control available from the toolbox. If the command bar is ready-made, the design of it is done by modifying the MainMenu property of
TpsForm
. If used as a separate control, you design it by modifying its own properties. Apart from this, there is no difference in how you control the design.
An important thing to remember is that you have to manually add the code controlling that will happen when you click a menu item, as there are no event properties available in its Properties window.
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Continued
For more information on how to implement the control and its event handlers, see
CAUTION
The command bar of the first view of a custom application should not have a
Close button. The reason is that all custom application must be closed down by
TAF, which happens when you click the close [ x ] button in the upper right corner of the FlexPendant display. (For definition of TAF, see
or for more information on TAF, see
Understanding the FlexPendant application life cycle on page 38
.)
Adding a view to a custom application
To add another view to the FlexPendant project, you do not need to start a new project. The following procedure explains how to proceed:
Step
1
2
Action
Right-click the project node in the Solution Explorer, point to Add and select New
Item.
Select one of the FlexPendant container controls available in the dialog box. Normally it will be a Form.
Note! If you select Empty the code you write to open it from the first view is a bit different than if you are using Form as a secondary view.
This way all of your views make up a single dll, which is convenient. Most of the time there is no point in dividing the application into several dlls.
Launching the view
The code for launching the secondary view is simple. It may look like this:
//declare the secondary view as a private member private View2 _view2;
//create the view and add subscription to its closed event, then launch view private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ this._view2 = new View2(); this._view2.Closed += new EventHandler(view2_Closed); this._view2.ShowMe(this);
}
//dispose of the view when it has been closed void view2_Closed(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ this._view2.Closed -= new EventHandler(view2_Closed); this._view2.Dispose(); this._view2 = null;
}
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5.3.3 Container style
Continued
Note
Make sure that there is a natural way for you to get back to the preceding view.
The most intuitive way of doing this is to click a Close button or an OK or Cancel button on the command bar. If the secondary view is a
TpsForm
, this event handler closes it: void menuItem1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ this.CloseMe();
}
Note
If you are using Empty as a secondary container control the code you write to launch it is: this._view2.Show();
It must be added to the first view’s control collection before it can be shown, like an ordinary .NET control.
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5.3.4 Command bar
5.3.4 Command bar
Overview
For the end-user the command bar is a central FlexPendant control and an important means of interacting with the system. As described in
How to build the command bar on page 82
it can be ready-made or added to the container control from the
Visual Studio Toolbox.
How to add menu items
If you use the
Form container a command bar is built-in, but not visible until you add a MenuItem collection to the MainMenu property of
TpsForm
. How to do this is shown in step 5 - 6 of
Hands on - step 2 on page 74 .
If you use Empty as container the command bar needs to be added from the
Toolbox. In this case too, the commands are added as a collection of menu items.
6.3.4_1CmdBa
The command bar in this figure has a collection of three menu items: Launch View,
Close View and Close. Moreover, the Launch View menu item has its own collection of menu items: Rapid Data, Jogging and Backup Restore.
In the figure, as shown by the task bar, the Backup Restore view has been opened.
It has been done by clicking the Backup Restore menu item. The user has then returned to the Hello World application by using the task bar. If Close View is now pressed, the Backup Restore view will close down. The next section shows how event handlers for this command bar can be implemented.
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5.3.4 Command bar
Continued
How to add menu item event handling
Subscriptions to menu item events and event handling cannot be added using the design support, but have to be implemented by hand in the source file. The following code example shows how the command bar in the preceding figure can be implemented.
6.3.4_2CmdBa
Note
To launch a standard view the
ITpsViewLaunchServices object, which can be saved by the
TpsView class in its
Install method, is needed. For more information, see
Using launch service on page 113 .
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5.3.5 FlexPendant fonts
5.3.5 FlexPendant fonts
Overview
On the FlexPendant,
TpsFont is used instead of standard Windows fonts. By using
TpsFont you save limited device memory, as static references instead of new font instances will be used.
TpsFont
Tahoma is the default font of the FlexPendant. It is also the font usually used internally by
TpsFont
. A number of different font sizes are pre-allocated and can be reused. You are recommended to use TpsFont instead of creating new font instances for both ABB and .NET UI controls.
Note
To use Chinese or another language with non-western characters, you must use the FlexPendant font,
TpsFont
, for any UI controls. It internally checks what language is currently active on the FlexPendant and uses the correct font for that language.
Note
If you use other fonts than available on the FlexPendant, that is, Tahoma and
Courier New, the application will use Tahoma instead of the intended one.
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5.3.6 The use of icons
5.3.6 The use of icons
Overview
It is easy to display icons, images and photos on the FlexPendant touch screen.
Utilizing this possibility is recommended, as many people find it easier to read pictures than text. Intuitive pictures can also be widely understood, which is a real advantage in a multinational setting.
Note
The operating system of the first generation FlexPendant device (SX TPU 1) does not support images of more than 256 colors.
CAUTION
Be aware of the limited memory resources of the FlexPendant device. Do not use larger images than necessary. Also see
FlexPendant controls with images
Several FlexPendant controls support images, which are imported as bmp, jpg, gif or ico files when an Image, Icon or BackgroundImage property is set. These are some controls to be used with pictures:
•
MenuItem
•
Button
•
TpsCtrlTitlePanel
•
TabPage
•
ListViewItem
•
TpsForm
•
FPRapidData
,
FpToolCalibration
,
FpWorkObjectCalibration
•
GTPUSaveFileDialog
PictureBox and ImageList
There are also some Windows controls that can be used to display images.
Windows.Forms.PictureBox
is one such control. It can display graphics from a bitmap (.bmp), icon (.ico), JPEG or GIF file. You set the Image property to the preferred image either at design time or at run time.
Windows.Forms.ImageList
can manage a collection of Image objects. The
ImageList is typically used by another control, such as the
ListView or the
TabControl
. You add bitmaps or icons to the
ImageList
, and the other control can choose an image from the
ImageList index. How to use images for a
TabControl is detailed in
How to add tab images on page 90 .
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5.3.6 The use of icons
Continued
The TpsIcon class
The
TpsIcon class offers static references to a number of icons used in the standard FlexPendant applications. You may want to use some of these icons if they suit the application need.
TpsIcon belongs to the namespace
ABB.Robotics.Tps.Drawing
.
Tip
In the Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK, click the Search tab and search for
TpsIcon Members to get a short description of the ABB icons that are available as static properties.
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5.3.7 TabControl
5.3.7 TabControl
Overview
The
ABB.Robotics.Tps.TabControl is used and implemented much in the same way as a regular
System.Windows.Forms.TabControl
. The possibility to use tab icons, however, is an additional feature of the ABB
TabControl
.
Illustration
The following screenshot shows a
TabControl and its Properties window. To add or remove tab pages you click the little arrow in the top right corner of the control or click Add new TabPage at the bottom of the Properties window.
6.2.4_1TabCo
Note
The ABB
TabControl has no TabPages property. Depending on where in the
TabControl you click, you select either the entire
TabControl or one of the
TabPages
. To view the Properties window for the T_ROB1
TabPage in the figure, you would have to click the T_ROB1 tab and then the T_ROB1 page following the tab.
How to add tab images
The following procedure explains how you use the ImageList property to add icons to the tabs of the
TabControl
:
2
3
Step
1
Action
Drag a
System.Windows.Forms.ImageList
to the Designer area. As you will notice it has no visual representation, but is placed on the components pane following the container control.
Display the Properties window of the ImageList.
Click the property Images and then the browse button, which will appear.
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5.3.7 TabControl
Continued
Step
4
Action
Click Add and import an image. Repeat until you have added the icons your Tab-
Control needs.
5
6
6.2.4_2TabCo
Now display the Properties window of the
TabControl and select your
ImageList as the ImageList property.
Select one of the tab pages and set the property ImageIndex, which defines which of the images in the
ImageList is to be used for the tab. Repeat this procedure for all tab pages.
How to add an event handler using the Properties window
It is easy to attach an event handler to a control by using the Properties window.
This procedure shows how to make something happen when you click a tab to select another tab page:
Step
1
Action
In the Designer, select the
TabControl and display the Properties window.
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5.3.7 TabControl
Continued
Step
2
Action
Display the events available for the control by clicking the Events button.
3
4
5
6.3.4_3CmdBa
Select the SelectedIndexChanged event and double click. A method name is now auto generated for the SelectedIndexChanged event. The code view takes focus, the cursor placed inside the generated event handler.
Add code to make something happen. For now this code will do: this.Text = "TabControl notifies change of tab pages";
This will change the title text of the TpsForm when a tab is clicked.
Test the functionality by building, deploying and starting the application. For more information, see step 5-8 in
Hands on - Hello world on page 70
.
Note
The subscription to the event has been done under the hood, and you do not need to bother about it. If you use C# you will notice that some code adding the subscription has been inserted in the
InitializeComponent method: this.tabControl1.SelectedIndexChanged += new
System.EventHandler(this.tabControl1_SelectedIndexChanged);
Disposing TabControl
You do not need to explicitly call
Dispose on the
TabControl object. The reason is that
InitializeComponent adds the tab pages to the controls collection of the
TabControl
, and the
TabControl itself to the control collection of the container class. this.Controls.Add(this.tabControl1);
The
TabControl is thus removed when the
Dispose method of your container class calls
Dispose on its base class like this: base.Dispose(disposing);
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5.3.8 Button, TextBox and ComboBox
5.3.8 Button, TextBox and ComboBox
Overview
The FlexPendant button, text box and combo box controls are not very different from the equivalent Windows controls.
Using Button
A common size of a FlexPendant
Button is 120 * 45 pixels; it can be a lot smaller than its default size. As opposed to a Windows button it can display an image. As pointed out in
you use the property BackgroundImage and browse for the image to be displayed.
Using TextBox
The
TextBox control is multiline by default and uses the typical FlexPendant scroll bars as shown in the following figure.
6.2.7_1TextB
Using ComboBox
The
ComboBox is very similar to the
System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox
, but is visually improved to suit the FlexPendant touch screen. It can be statically populated using the Items property as illustrated by the figure. If you wish to populate it dynamically, you need to write code for it.
6.2.7_2Combo
SelectedIndexChanged is the most commonly used among the events. It occurs when you select another item from the list.
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5.3.9 AlphaPad
5.3.9 AlphaPad
Overview
The
AlphaPad control is a virtual keyboard, which enables you to enter strings. It covers the whole FlexPendant display. The figure shows its appearance in run time.
6.2.10_1Alph
The
AlphaPad has no graphical representation in design-time. When dragged from the Toolbox to the Designer it is placed in the components pane, as shown in the figure in the next section. Code is generated for it similar to controls that are visually laid out on the form in design-time.
Launching the AlphaPad
You need to write some code to launch the virtual keyboard. The following code explains how you do it:
C#: this.alphaPad1.ShowMe(this);
VB:
Me.AlphaPad1.ShowMe(Me)
Note
The code for launching the
AlphaPad should be executed by an appropriate event handler.
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5.3.9 AlphaPad
Continued
Adding event handlers
The Properties window can be used to program
AlphaPad event handlers. You double click the event you want to respond to. This takes you to the code editor, the cursor placed inside the auto generated event handler, where you can write code to save user input to a member variable for example: if (alphaPad1.SelectedText != string.Empty)
{
_userInput = alphaPad1.SelectedText;
}
6.2.10_2Alph
Validating the result at the Closing event
The
Closing event is generated when the OK or Cancel button of the
AlphaPad is pressed. You can use this event to validate the string entered by the user. You can set the Cancel property of the event argument to true if you want the AlphaPad to remain open until a valid input value has been entered:
VB:
Private Sub NamePad_Closing(sender As Object, e As
System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs) Handles NamePad.Closing
If NamePad.SelectedText.CompareTo("No Name") = 0 &&
NamePad.DialogResult = System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK
Then e.Cancel = True
End If
End Sub
C#: private void namePad_Closing(object sender,
System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e)
{ if ((this.namePad.SelectedText.CompareTo("No Name") == 0) &&
(this.namePad.DialogResult ==
System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK))
{ e.Cancel = true;
}
}
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5.3.9 AlphaPad
Continued
Using the result at the Closed event
The Closed event has to be caught by an event handler, as the object cannot be disposed of until it has been closed. The result may be retrieved in this event handler or in the Closing event handler. First check that OK and not Cancel was pressed, then retrieve user input. Finally the AlphaPad should be disposed of.VB:
Private Sub NamePad_Closed(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles
NamePad.Closed
If NamePad.DialogResult = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
Me.answer = NamePad.SelectedText
End IfNamePad.Dispose()
End Sub
C#: private void namePad_Closed(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ if (this.namePad.DialogResult ==
System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK)
{ this.answer = this.namePad.SelectedText;
} this.alphaPad1.Dispose();
}
Removing the AlphaPad control
The
AlphaPad is NOT added to the control collection, and will therefore NOT be disposed of by the base class of its container.
You are responsible for explicitly calling its
Dispose method when it is no longer used. In the preceding example, this is done at the
Closed event. This implies that a new
AlphaPad instance is created the next time its launch event is triggered.
Another way of dealing with this is to let the instance created by the Designer live until its container view is closed. This alternative means destroying it in the
Dispose method of the container class: this.alphaPad1.Dispose();
CAUTION
If you forget to call
Dispose on an AlphaPad control you will have a memory leak. For further information see
GUI controls and memory management on page 77 .
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5.3.10 ListView
5.3.10 ListView
Overview
The
ABB.Robotics.Tps.Windows.Forms.ListView
is very similar to a standard
.Net
ListView
. The main difference is that its appearance is somewhat adapted to the use of a touch screen, as can be seen in the figure.
You can use the
ListView control in a variety of ways. Usually you use it to display a list of items with item text and, optionally, an icon to identify the type of item. By using the CheckBoxes property it is also possible to have a check box appear next to each item in the control, allowing users to check the items they want to perform an action on.
Illustration
The figure shows the Designer. You see two different ABB
ListView lists, a standard .Net
ImageList in the components pane under the lists and the
Properties window for the Calibration, HotEdit list.
6.3.10_1List
Using properties to control appearance
The first list has CheckBoxes set to true. To have columns displayed View must be set to Details. The columns are created by selecting Columns and adding any number of columns in the ColumnHeader Collection Editor. Scrollable has been set to true to enable you to scroll the list to see all items. To have the current number of list items displayed ShowNumberOfItems has been set to true. By using
Sorting the list items can be alphabetically sorted, in this case in Descending order. The list is statically populated, using the Items property.
The View property of the other list is set to LargeIcon instead of Details. To display icons a standard .Net ImageList is used. You first launch the Properties window for the ImageList and add the images you want to use. At the LargeImageList
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5.3.10 ListView
Continued property of the
ListView you select the image list, and for each Item you select the ImageIndex to use, as is shown in the ListViewItem Collection Editor.
Using the Properties window you can also add event handling. The most commonly used event is SelectedIndexChanged, which is triggered when a new list item is selected.
The Properties window can be used to statically populate the list. Usually, however, lists are populated dynamically. In
Getting signals using SignalFilter on page 150
there is a code example, which shows how I/O signals are dynamically displayed in an ABB
ListView
.
ABB specific properties
These properties are specific for the ABB
ListView
:
Property
MultiSelect
Scrollable
SelectionEnabledOver-
Scrollbuttons
ShowNumberOfItems
ShowSelection
Usage
Specifies whether multiple items in the control can be selected.
The default is false.
Specifies whether a scroll bar is added to the control when there is not enough room to display all items. The default is true.
Note! The typical FlexPendant scroll bars are used by the first list in the preceding figure.
Specifies whether a touch inside the scroll region should select an item or scroll the list. The default is false.
Specifies whether the current number of items in the list is displayed. The default is true. Scroll bars should be added to the control to allow you to see all the items. If the list is not scrollable the default value is false.
Specifies whether selection is shown or not. The default is false.
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5.3.11 CompactAlphaPad and NumPad
5.3.11 CompactAlphaPad and NumPad
Using CompactAlphaPad
The
CompactAlphaPad control is used to enable user input. The input can be in the form of capital letters or numbers depending on the property
ActiveCharPanel
, which can be set to
Characters or
Numeric
. It has a fixed size, big enough for the use of a finger to click its keys. There are properties available to define whether the numerical panel should support numerical operands, special characters, space and comma. All these properties are set to true in the figure:
6.3.11_1Comp
In order for your application to use the user input, you must connect to a text box, which displays the text or figures entered. This connection has to be coded manually, for example in the constructor, after the call to
InitializeComponent
, for example: this.compactAlphaPad1.Target = this.textBox1;
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5.3.11 CompactAlphaPad and NumPad
Continued
Using NumPad
The
NumPad is very similar to the CompactAlphaPad. You have to create a
Target to use the input, for example: this.numPad1.Target = this.textBox2;
6.3.11_2Nump
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5.3.12 GTPUMessageBox
5.3.12 GTPUMessageBox
Overview
GTPUMessageBox is the message box control to be used by FlexPendant applications. You should not use the standard
.NET MessageBox
.
Design issues
The
GTPUMessageBox.Show
arguments include an owner argument, which is the control that displays the
MessageBox
, and a callback, which is a
MessageBoxEventHandler called when the MessageBox is closed.
Except this, it is used in the same way as the regular Windows
MessageBox
. It is used together with the regular Windows
MessageBoxButtons and
MessageBoxIcon
.
Simple code example
The following screenshot and code show how to display a simple message on the
FlexPendant using the
GTPUMessageBox
.
6.2.6_1WinBu
string message = "You did not enter a server name. Cancel this operation?"; string caption = "No Server Name Specified";
GTPUMessageBox.Show(this, null, message, caption,
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxIcon.Question,
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons.YesNo);
Note
Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to get the first argument right. The owner might be this, this.Parent or even this.Parent.Parent
.
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5.3.12 GTPUMessageBox
Continued
Using a callback
The logics in your program determines if there is any need for a callback. In the previous example the callback argument was null
.The message box will close down after the user has answered the question, no matter if the answer is Yes or
No.
If we think about the message, it seems likely however, that something should happen if you click No. Let us change the implementation and use a callback for this purpose:
GTPUMessageBox.Show(this, new
MessageBoxEventHandler(OnServerMessageClosed), message, caption, System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxIcon.Question,
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons.YesNo);
//implement callback private void OnServerMessageClosed(object sender,
ABB.Robotics.Tps.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxEventArgs e)
{ if(e.DialogResult == System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.No)
{
//Use default server...
}
}
If we really do not want to take action depending on how the user responds, it makes more sense to use OK instead of Yes and No as message box buttons, e.g:
GTPUMessageBox.Show(this, null, "You are not allowed to perform this operation, talk to your system administrator if you need access", "User Authorization System", MessageBoxIcon.Hand,
MessageBoxButtons.OK);
Note
The last example uses a better message box title then the previous ones. The title preferably should tell you from which part of the system the message originates.
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5.3.13 GTPUFileDialog
5.3.13 GTPUFileDialog
Overview
The FlexPendant SDK provides a number of file dialog box used by the end-user to interact with the file system of the robot controller. These controls all inherit the abstract class
GTPUFileDialog and belong to the namespace
ABB.Robotics.Tps.Windows.Forms.
File dialog types
There are three different types of file dialog controls:
Use...
GTPUOpenFileDialog
GTPUSaveFileDialog
GTPUFolderBrowserDialog
when you want to...
Enables you to specify a file to be retrieved from the controller file system.
Enables you to specify a file to be saved to the controller file system.
Enables you to specify a folder on the controller file system.
Note
The Open/Save/Browse file dialog box represent a convenient way for you to specify folder and filename for a file operation. You should know, however, that the dialog box themselves do not perform any file operation, they only provide the controller file system path to be used by your application.
CAUTION
When added to the Visual Studio Designer from the Toolbox, these controls will be placed in the components pane. They must be explicitly removed by a call to their
Dispose method, for example in the
Dispose method of the class that created them.
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Continued
Illustration
The following is a screenshot of the
GTPUSaveFileDialog
. The other file dialog box have almost the same appearance and the way they work is very similar. Using the icons of the command bar you create new folders and browse the controller file system. Together with the list and the textbox, you specify a remote path. The
FileName property should be read to retrieve this path. It returns the complete path to the controller file system, even though only the file name is visible in the
File name textbox
6.3.13_1Save
Note! The button after the File name textbox opens the virtual keyboard, enabling you to change the name of the file to be saved. The Filter property of the control is set to TEXT(*.txt)|*.txt. The first part of the setting is displayed in the filter textbox.
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This is the Properties window of this dialog:
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5.3.13 GTPUFileDialog
Continued
6.3.13_2Save
Implementation details
The Properties window gives a clear description of a selected property, as can be seen in the preceding figure. Here only a few important properties will be detailed:
Property
Filter
FileName
InitialDirectory
Details
Carefully observe the string format when you set this property, for example: Program Files (*.pgf)|*.pgf
The first part is displayed in the combo box and the second part is used by the SDK to retrieve the correct files to be displayed in the list. You can also specify several filters, which the user can choose from.
Program Files (*.pgf)|*.pgf|All Files (*.*)|*.*;
Cannot be accessed in design-time by using the Proper-
ties window, but should be manually coded when the file dialog is launched if it is a save file dialog.
When the dialog is closed, you should read this property.
It holds the remote path and file name of the file to be opened, or the remote path and file name of the file to be saved.
Note! Remember that remote refers to the controller file system and local to the FlexPendant file system.
Cannot be accessed in design-time by using the Proper-
ties window. Specifies the initial directory to be displayed by the file dialog box.
Note
For your program to use the controller path selected by the end user, you need to read the FileName property at the
Closing/Closed event of the file dialog.
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5.3.13 GTPUFileDialog
Continued
Example
This piece of code sets
InitialDirectory and
FileName
, then sets up a subscription to the
Closed event and finally displays the
GTPUSaveFileDialog saveFileDialog.InitialDirectory = initialDir; saveFileDialog.FileName = programName; saveFileDialog.Closed += new
EventHandler(SaveProgram_FileDialog_EventHandler); saveFileDialog.ShowMe(_parent);
The code of the
SaveProgram_FileDialog_EventHandler method retrieves the specified path of the remote file system, including the file name, by reading the
FileName property: string remotePath = saveFileDialog.Filename;
Note
The file has not yet been saved to the robot controller. To do that you should call
FileSystem.PutFile using the retrieved path as the remoteFile argument.
Likewise, to load a specified remote file to the FlexPendant file system you should use the retrieved path in the call to
FileSystem.GetFile.
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5.3.14 Data of RAPID data and IO signals
5.3.14 Data of RAPID data and IO signals
What is databinding?
Databinding is the process of binding a property of a GUI control to a data source, so that the property automatically reflects the value of the data source. In .NET CF
2.0 this functionality was simplified with the
BindingSource class. This class encapsulates the complexity related to setting up and managing databinding. It allows you to connect a
RapidDataBindingSource or a
SignalBindingSource to a GUI control without having to write a single line of code. (Except the
Dispose call when the binding sources are no longer needed.)
FlexPendant SDK classes to be used as binding sources
In the FlexPendant SDK there are two classes that inherit .NET
BindingSource
:
RapidDataBindingSource and
SignalBindingSource.
These classes enable binding to RAPID data and IO signals respectively. They belong to the
ABB.Robotics.DataBinding
namespace and the assembly you need to reference is ABB.Robotics.DataBinding.dll.
RapidDataBindingSource
By using
RapidDataBindingSource an automatic update of the bound GUI control takes place when the value of the specified RAPID data source in the controller has changed, or when the control is repainted.
SignalBindingSource
By using
SignalBindingSource an automatic update of the bound GUI control takes place when the value of the specified IO signal in the controller has changed, or when the control is repainted.
Note
It is only possible to use persistent RAPID data (PERS) as data source.
Note
If you want to let users modify RAPID data, launching the standard FlexPendant application Program Data from your application is probably the best alternative.
For more information, see
Using standard dialog box to modify data on page 116
.
GUI example
Many different controls can be used with binding sources, for example
TpsLabel
,
TextBox
,
ListView and so on. The following screenshot shows two
System.Windows.Forms.DataGrid
controls that each bind to several objects defined in a
RapidDataBindingSource and a
SignalBindingSource
. The labels in each
GroupBox are bound to the same sources. As you see the grid displays all objects defined in the
BindingSource control, whereas each label displays the currently selected grid row.
When a signal or a data value changes this GUI is automatically updated with the new value. You do not have to write any code make this happen, as setting up
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5.3.14 Data of RAPID data and IO signals
Continued subscriptions and updating the user interface is done by the underlying implementation.
6.3.14_1FPVi
CAUTION
To avoid any memory leaks an explicit call to the
Dispose method of
BindingSource controls must be made. However, the wrapper-objects
SignalObject and
RapidDataObject created for you are disposed of under the hood, so you do not need to worry about it.
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5.3.14 Data of RAPID data and IO signals
Continued
How to use the Visual Studio designer for
This section explains how to create the FlexPendant view shown in the previous section. First a
RapidDataBindingSource control with bindings to specified
RAPID data is created.Then the DataBindings property of a
TpsLabel is used to bind the label to the binding source. Finally a standard .NET
DataGrid is bound to the same binding source.
Step
1
Action
Start by dragging a
RapidDataBindingSource from the Toolbox to the Designer.
It will be placed in the Components pane under the form. Open the Properties window and select the RapidDataList property to add the RAPID data you are interested in. For each new RapidDataObject member you must specify module name, task name and name of the persistent RAPID data to bind.
6.3.14_2Bind
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Continued
Step
2
Action
The next step is to open the Properties window for the label that is to display the value of the RAPID data. Expand the DataBindings node and select Advanced.
6.3.14_3Prop
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5.3.14 Data of RAPID data and IO signals
Continued
Step
3
Action
In the Advanced Binding dialog box that appears, choose the already created
RapidDataBindingSource in the Binding combo box, at the same time specifying which one of the RapidDataObject properties you want to bind to, in this case Value.
(The other properties available are variable name, task name and module name, as can be seen in the figure in step 1.)
You also select your preferred Data Source Update Mode, usually OnProper-
tyChanged. The yellow marking in the list to the left shows that the binding has been done to the Text property of the label. When a control has been bound to a data source you will see the same yellow marking in its Properties window, at the bound property. For more information, see illustration on step 2.
6.3.14_4Adva
Note
If a label has been bound to a data source with several member objects, the first one in the list is the one by default displayed by the label. If the selected index of the list changes (if you select a row in the grid for example) the label is updated automatically to show the value of the selected index. For more information, see
the illustration in Data of RAPID data and IO signals on page 107
.
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5.3.14 Data of RAPID data and IO signals
Continued
Step
4
Action
Now launch the Properties window of the
DataGrid control. Set ColumnHeaderVisible to true and select your data source at the DataSource property.
6.3.14_5Grid
Note
The
DataGrid control displays only one row in design-time (For more information, see the illustration of step 1). In run-time, however, the entire collection of Rapid-
DataObject members is displayed (see the figure in
Data of RAPID data and IO signals on page 107 ).
SuspendBinding/ResumeBinding
SuspendBinding() and
ResumeBinding() have extended functionality compared to the methods of the inherited
BindingSource class. Removing/adding subscriptions have been added, as subscribing to signals and RAPID data can be resource consuming. These methods can be used in the
Deactivate/Activate methods, which are executed each time you switch back and forth between different applications using the FlexPendant task bar. For more information, see
Framework usage - ITpsViewActivation on page 172 .
If you suspend the binding you no longer get any updates if the data source is changed. However, the binding still exists, so if DataSourceUpdateMode is set to
OnValidation the value will be updated when you repaint the control, as the value from the controller will be read before it is repainted.
Method
SuspendBinding
ResumeBinding
Description
Suspends the binding and value change event.
Resumes the binding and value change event.
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5.4.1 Using launch service
5.4 Launching other views
5.4.1 Using launch service
Overview
The FlexPendant SDK provides a launch service, which enables a FlexPendant
SDK application to start a standard ABB application, such as the program editor or the jogging view.
It is also possible to start another custom application by specifying proxy assembly name and the application view class.
For more information about how to add and launch another view of your own application, see
Adding a view to a custom application on page 83
.
Note
To launch a view in order to edit a specified rapid data instance, another mechanism is available. For more information, see
Using standard dialog box to modify data on page 116
.
Installing ITpsViewSetup
It is only classes that inherit the
ITpsViewSetup interface that can launch other applications. The
Install method, which is called when your custom application is launched, has a sender argument. Your application needs to save this object to use the
ITpsViewLaunchServices interface. It is used by the launch service to call
LaunchView and
CloseView
.
VB:
//declaration
Private iTpsSite As ITpsViewLaunchServices
.....
//Install method of the TpsView class
Function Install(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal data As
System.Object) As Boolean Implements ITpsViewSetup.Install
If TypeOf sender Is ITpsViewLaunchServices Then
// Save the sender object for later use
Me.iTpsSite = DirectCast(sender, ITpsViewLaunchServices)
Return True
End If
Return False
End Function
C#:
//declaration private ITpsViewLaunchServices iTpsSite;
......
//Install method of the TpsView class bool ITpsViewSetup.Install(object sender,object data)
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5.4.1 Using launch service
Continued
{
} if (sender is ITpsViewLaunchServices) {
// Save the sender object for later use this.iTpsSite = sender as ITpsViewLaunchServices; return true;
} return false;
Launching standard views
Using the
FpStandardView enumerator, the following standard views can be started using the launch services:
• Program editor
• Program data
• Jogging
• Logoff
• Backup/Restore
Tip
Launching the Program data view is the best way to let end-users create new
RAPID data.
Note
To launch the program editor an initialization object of
RapidEditorInitData type can be used as argument. It specifies the task, module and row that the
Program editor should display when it opens. For the other standard views no
InitData can be used.
LaunchView / CloseView example
In the following example, the program editor is launched at a specified routine.
First initData is created. Then the reference to the sender object, retrieved by the
Install method in the previous example, is used to call
LaunchView
.
The cookie out argument is later used to specify the view to be closed by the
CloseView method.
VB:
Dim initData As RapidEditorInitData = New RapidEditorInitData
(ATask, AModule, ARoutine.TextRange.Begin.Row)
If Not (Me.iTpsSite.LaunchView(FpStandardView.RapidEditor, initData,
True, Me.cookieRapidEd) = True) Then
GTPUMessageBox.Show(Me, Nothing, "Could not start RapidEditor application")
Return
End If
......
Me.iTpsSite.CloseView(Me.cookieRapidEd)
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5.4.1 Using launch service
Continued
C#:
RapidEditorInitData initData = new RapidEditorInitData(task, module,routine.TextRange.Begin.Row; if(this.iTpsSite.LaunchView(FpStandardView.RapidEditor,initData,true,out this.cookieRapidEd)!= true) {
GTPUMessageBox.Show(this, null,"Could not start RapidEditor application"); return;
}
.....
this.iTpsSite.CloseView(this.cookieRapidEd);
What happens if the specified view is already open when the call is made? The third argument specifies application behavior in this case. If true
, another instance of the view is launched. If false
, the already opened view gets focus. Notice, however, that creating a new instance is not possible for all standard views. The
Jogging view, for example, is not allowed multiple instances.
Launching custom applications
The launch service can also be used to launch another FlexPendant SDK application. The name of the proxy assembly along with the fully qualified class name should be used as arguments.
VB:
If Not (Me.iTpsSite.LaunchView("TpsViewCustomApp.gtpu.dll",
"ABB.Robotics.SDK.Views.TpsViewCustomApp", Nothing, True,
Me.cookieUser) = True) Then
GTPUMessageBox.Show(Me, Nothing, "Could not start User application")
Return
End If
C#: if (this.iTpsSite.LaunchView("TpsViewCustomApp.gtpu.dll",
"ABB.Robotics.SDK.Views.TpsViewCustomApp", null, true, out this.cookieUser)!= true) {
GTPUMessageBox.Show(this, null,"Could not start User application"); return;
}
Note
It is the namespace of the proxy assembly, ABB.Robotics.SDK.Views,which should be used to specify the
TpsView class.
Note
By using the argument cookieUser your application can close the launched custom application in the same way as in the preceding
Using launch service on page 113
example.
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5.4.2 Using standard dialog box to modify data
5.4.2 Using standard dialog box to modify data
Overview
The
FpRapidData
,
FpToolCalibration and
FpWorkObjectCalibration dialog box take a
RapidData reference as argument. When the dialog is opened it allows you to directly operate on the referenced RapidData object, for example modifying a RAPID data variable or calibrate a work object. These dialog box are the ones used by the standard ABB applications. They are ready-made and cannot be modified, except for the title.
Creating the dialog box
As with all secondary dialog box, the reference to the dialog should be declared as a class variable. This is to make sure that the reference is available for
Dispose
.
The
RapidData reference can be declared locally if it is disposed immediately after use, or else as a class variable. When the dialog has been created the title can be set using the
Text property. A
Closed event handler should be added to dispose the dialog. All three dialog box are created in the same way:
VB:
Private ARapidData As RapidData
Friend WithEvents FpRD As FpRapidData
.....
Me.ARapidData = Me.AController.Rapid.GetRapidData(ATaskName,
AModuleName, AVariableName)
Me.FpRD = New FpRapidData(Me.ARapidData)
Me.FpRD.Text = Me.ARapidData.Name
AddHandler Me.FpRD.Closed, AddressOf Me.FpRD_Closed
Me.FpRD.ShowMe(Me)
C#: private FpRapidData fpRD; private RapidData aRapidData;
......
this.aRapidData = this.aController.Rapid.GetRapidData(taskName, moduleName, variableName); this.fpRD = new FpRapidData(this.aRapidData); this.fpRD.Text = this.aRapidData.Name; this.fpRD.Closed += new EventHandler( fpRD_Closed); this.fpRD.ShowMe(this);
Note
Verify that the
RapidData is of correct
RapidDataType for the dialog before using it, that is, tooldata for the FpToolCalibration dialog box and wobjdata for the FpWorkObjectCalibration dialog box. For more information, see
Using standard dialog box to modify data on page 116
.
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5.4.2 Using standard dialog box to modify data
Continued
Note
The FpRapidData dialog box is created with a RapidData as in argument. If the
RapidData is an array, an index argument is used to specify which element should be displayed (the first element is 1).
When calling the
FpToolCalibration or
FpWorkObjectCalibration constructor the
RapidData value should be type checked before use:
VB:
If TypeOf Me.ARapidData.Value Is ToolData Then
Me.FpTC = New FpToolCalibration(Me.ARapidData)
.....
End If
C#: if (this.aRapidData.Value is ToolData)
{ this.fpTC = new FpToolCalibration(this.aRapidData);
....
}
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5.5.1 ABB.Robotics.Controllers
5.5 Using the Controller API
5.5.1 ABB.Robotics.Controllers
Controller API
To access the functions of the robot controller you utilize the class libraries of the
FlexPendant SDK called Controller Application Programming Interface or CAPI.
The assembly you need to reference to use controller functionality is
ABB.Robotics.Controllers.dll.
CAPI domains
The top CAPI object is the
ABB.Robotics.Controllers.Controller
, which has to be created before any access to the robot controller.
The class libraries are organized in different domains (namespaces), as shown in the following screenshot, by the contents tab of the Reference Manual FlexPendant
SDK. The name of a domain tells you something about the kind of services you can expect from it.
6.4.1_1FP-Na
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Continued
CAPI and controller domains
This is a simplified illustration of how some
ABB.Robotics.Controllers
domains communicate with their respective domains in the robot controller:
6.4.1_2Contr
Note
In the normal case, a single
Controller object is created and used throughout the application, its lifetime corresponding to that of the application.
What controller functionality is provided?
Plenty of robot controller functionality is offered by the classes and methods of the FlexPendant SDK.
This table presents short descriptions of the kind of services that the different CAPI domains provide:
CAPI domain
Controllers
Services
Information about the controller, such as IP address, current user,
Mac address, operating mode, controller state and so on. Notification when operating mode, state or mastership has changed. Backup and restore. Check if you have the required UAS grant and so on.
ConfigurationDomain Read or write the value of a configuration parameter to the configuration database of the controller.
EventLogDomain Notification when a new event log message has been written to the controller. Title, message, category, sequence number and time stamp of the message.
FileSystemDomain
IOSystemDomain
MotionDomain
Create, rename or remove files and directories in the controller file system. Retrieve a file from the controller and store it on the Flex-
Pendant and vice versa.
Read and modify I/O signals. Notify when a signal value has changed.
Get/set the coordinate system and motion mode for jogging of the active mechanical unit. Information whether the mechanical unit is calibrated or not. Provide name, task, number of axes, active tool and work object and so on. of the mechanical unit. Notify when data of the mechanical unit has changed. Send a start jogging or a stop jogging request to the robot controller.
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5.5.1 ABB.Robotics.Controllers
Continued
CAPI domain
RapidDomain
SystemInfoDomain
Services
Notification when execution status has changed. Start and stop
RAPID execution. Load Rapid programs. Create, read and write
RAPID data. Notification when RAPID data or RAPID program has changed. Notification when program pointer has changed. Search for RAPID symbols and so on.
Information about the active system of the robot controller, for example RobotWare version, system name, release and system paths, existing system options and installed additional options.
Releasing memory
Using CAPI you will create objects that reference unmanaged resources. (For more information, see
Definitions on page 17 .) It is necessary to explicitly deallocate the
memory of such objects by calling their
Dispose method when they are no longer needed (at application shut down at the latest). Otherwise your application will leak memory, which is a scarce resource on the FlexPendant platform.
Note
You may prevent memory leaks and other pitfalls, by studying the chapter
ABB.Robotics.Controllers on page 118 .
FlexPendant SDK reference documentation
Although this manual covers a great deal of the FlexPendant SDK functionality, it is by no means complete. The Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK, which you open from Windows Start button, is the complete reference to the functionality offered by the class libraries.
It also gives valuable code samples and remarks about methods requiring different
UAS grants and so on., which is not included in this manual.
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5.5.2 Accessing the controller
5.5.2 Accessing the controller
Overview
Making use of controller functionality requires special attention. Disposal of CAPI objects when closing a view or the entire application is vital to save memory.
Another pitfall that must be avoided is updating the user interface on a worker thread.
Controller instance
Before accessing the controller functionality you need to instantiate the
Controller object. The best place to do this is normally in the
Install method, which is called by TAF after the constructor of your view class has executed.
The
Controller declaration should be done on class scope level:
VB:
Private AController As Controller
C#: private Controller aController;
The recommendation is to instantiate the
Controller object in the
Install method:
VB:
AController = New Controller
C#: aController = new Controller();
Using the
Controller object you can access IO signals, RAPID data variables, event log messages and so on. Most of these objects will be created explicitly and should be disposed of explicitly.
Note
Avoid placing any code that may result in an exception before the method
InitializeComponent
. Then at least you have a user interface, where you can display a
MessageBox with information about what went wrong.
Note
It is recommended that if several classes need to access the controller, they all reference the same
Controller object.
Subscribing to controller events
The
Controller object provides several public events, which enable you to listen to operating mode changes, controller state changes, mastership changes and so on.
VB:
AddHandler AController.OperatingModeChanged, AddressOf UpdateOP
AddHandler AController.StateChanged, AddressOf UpdateState
AddHandler AController.MastershipChanged, AddressOf UpdateMast
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5.5.2 Accessing the controller
Continued
AddHandler AController.BackupFinished, AddressOf UpdateBack
C#:
AController.OperatingModeChanged += new
OperatingModeChangedEventHandler(UpdateOP);
AController.MastershipChanged += new
MastershipChangedEventHandler(UpdateMast);
Controller.BackupFinished += new
BackupFinishedEventHandler(UpdateBack);
Controller.StateChanged += new
StateChangedEventHandler(UpdateState);
Note
Controller events use their own threads. Study
Controller events and threads on page 51
to find out how to avoid threading conflicts.
CAUTION
Do not rely on receiving an initial event when setting up/activating a controller event. There is no guarantee an event will be triggered, so you had better read the initial state from the controller.
Creating a backup
Using the
Controller object you can call the
Backup method. The argument is a string describing the directory path on the controller where the backup should be stored. As the backup process is performed asynchronously you can add an event handler to receive a
BackupCompleted event when the backup is completed.
VB:
Dim BackupDir As String = "(BACKUP)$"+BackupDirName
AddHandler Me.AController.BackupCompleted, AddressOf
AController_BackupCompleted)
Me.AController.Backup(BackupDir)
C#: string backupDir = "(BACKUP)$"+backupDirName; this.aController.BackupCompleted += new
BackupEventHandler(controller_BackupCompleted); this.aController.Backup(backupDir);
Note
There is also a
Restore method available. The Reference Manual FlexPendant
SDK is the complete FlexPendant SDK programming guide and is more detailed than this manual. For the
Backup and
Restore methods, for example, there are parameter descriptions, remarks, code examples and so on.
Dispose
The disposal of the
Controller object should be done in the
Uninstall or
Dispose method of the application view class.
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5.5.2 Accessing the controller
Continued
Make a check first that disposal has not already been done. Do not forget to remove any subscriptions to controller events before the
Dispose() call:
VB:
If Not AController Is Nothing Then
RemoveHandler AController.OperatingModeChanged, AddressOf
OpMChange
AController.Dispose()
AController = Nothing
End If
C#: if (aController != null)
{ aController.OperatingModeChanged -= new
OperatingModeChangedEventHandler(OpMChange); aController.Dispose(); aController = null;
}
CAUTION
VB programmers should be aware that it is a bit tricky to use
WithEvents together with the Dispose pattern on the .NET platform. When you use
WithEvents the .NET framework automatically removes any subscriptions when the object is set to
Nothing
. If you look at the code preceding sample, which does NOT use
WithEvents
, you will understand why such behavior causes problems. When the controller reference is set to
Nothing and the .NET
framework tries to remove its subscription, the internal controller object has already been removed by the
Dispose call in the preceding statement, and a
NullReferenceException is thrown. This is not specific to the FlexPendant
SDK, but a Microsoft issue. To avoid it you are advised to use
AddHandler and
RemoveHandler like in the example.
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5.5.3.1 Working with RAPID data
5.5.3 Rapid domain
5.5.3.1 Working with RAPID data
Overview
The
RapidDomain namespace enables access to RAPID data in the robot system.
There are numerous FlexPendant SDK classes representing the different RAPID data types. There is also a
UserDefined class used to reference RECORD structures in RAPID.
The
ValueChanged event enables notification from the controller when persistent
RAPID data has changed.
Tip
A convenient and user-friendly way to enable the end-user of your application to read and write to specific RAPID data is using the standard FlexPendant
Program Data view. For more information, see
Using standard dialog box to modify data on page 116 .
Tip
Using databinding for RAPID data is a quick way of implementing access to
RAPID data. For more information, see
Data of RAPID data and IO signals on page 107
.
Providing the path to the RAPID data
To read or write to RAPID data you must first create a
RapidData object. The path to the declaration of the data in the controller is passed as argument. If you do not know the path you need to search for the RAPID data by using the
SearchRapidSymbol functionality. For more information, see
SearchRapidSymbol method on page 139
.
Direct access
Direct access requires less memory and is faster, and is therefore recommended if you do not need to use the task and module objects afterwards.
The following example shows how to create a
RapidData object that refers to the
RAPID data instance “reg1” in the USER module.
VB:
Dim Rd As RapidData = Me.AController.Rapid.GetRapidData( "T_ROB1",
"USER", "reg1")
C#:
RapidData rd = aController.Rapid.GetRapidData("T_ROB1", "USER",
"reg1");
Hierarchical access
If you need the task and module objects hierarchical access can be more efficient.
GetRapidData exists in the Rapid, Task and Module class.
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Continued
VB:
Rd = AController.Rapid.GetTask("T_ROB1").GetModule("USER").
GetRapidData("reg1")
C#: rd = aController.Rapid.GetTask("T_ROB1").GetModule("USER").
GetRapidData("reg1");
Accessing data declared in a shared module
If your application is to be used with a multi-move system (a system with one controller and several motion tasks/robots), it may happen that the RAPID instance you need to access is declared in a -Shared RAPID module. Such a module can be used by all tasks, T_ROB1, T_ROB2 and so on.
The following example shows how to create a
RapidData object that refers to the instance “reg100”, which is declared in a shared module.
VB:
Dim Rd As RapidData = Me.AController.Rapid.GetRapidData("reg100")
C#:
RapidData rd = aController.Rapid.GetRapidData("reg100");
Another possibility is using the
Task object to access the RAPID instance, like this:
Task tRob1 = aController.Rapid.GetTask("T_ROB1");
RapidData rData = tRob1.GetRapidData("reg100");
Note
If
GetRapidData is called from
Rapid the RAPID data will be found even if the
-Shared module is configured to be hidden.
Note
If the RAPID data does not exist, the return value is
Nothing/null and an
ArgumentNullException is thrown. A null check should be performed before trying to use the object.
Creating an object representing the RAPID data value
The
RapidData object stores the path to the RAPID data. But this is not enough if you want to access its value (at least not if you want to modify it). To do that you need to create another object, which represents the value of the RAPID data.
In the
RapidDomain namespace there are types representing the different RAPID data types. To create the object needed to represent the RAPID data value you use the
RapidData property
Value and cast it to the corresponding type, for example
Num, Bool or
Tooldata
.
The following code explains how this is done, if you want to access the value of a
RAPID data of the RAPID data type bool
:
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Continued
VB:
’declare a variable of data type RapidDomain.Bool
Dim rapidBool As RapidDomain.Bool
Dim rd As RapidData = Me.AController.Rapid.GetRapidData( "T_ROB1",
"MainModule", "flag" )
’test that data type is correct before cast
If TypeOf rd.Value Is RapidDomain.Bool Then rapidBool = DirectCast(rd.Value, RapidDomain.Bool)
’check if the value of the RAPID data is true
If (rapidBool.Value) Then
’ Do something...
End If
End If
C#:
//declare a variable of data type RapidDomain.Bool
RapidDomain.Bool rapidBool;
RapidDomain.RapidData rd = aController.Rapid.GetRapidData("T_ROB1",
"MainModule", "flag");
//test that data type is correct before cast if (rd.Value is ABB.Robotics.Controllers.RapidDomain.Bool)
{ rapidBool = (ABB.Robotics.Controllers.RapidDomain.Bool)rd.Value;
//assign the value of the RAPID data to a local variable bool boolValue = rapidBool.Value;
}
If you only want to read this variable you can use this technique instead of creating a RapidDomain.
Bool object:
VB:
Dim b As Boolean = Convert.ToBoolean(rd.Value.ToString)
C#: bool b = Convert.ToBoolean(rd.Value.ToString());
The
ToolData type (representing the RAPID data type tooldata) can be created like this:
VB:
Dim ATool As ToolData
If Rd.Value Is ToolData Then
ATool = DirectCast(Rd.Value, ToolData)
End If
C#:
ToolData aTool; if (rd.Value is ToolData)
{ aTool = (ToolData) rd.Value;
}
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Continued
IRapidData.ToString method
All RapidDomain structures representing RAPID data types implement the
IRapidData interface. It has a
ToString method, which returns the value of the
RAPID data in the form of a string. This is a simple example: string boolValue = rapidBool.ToString();
The string is formatted according to the same principle as described in the following section
IRapidData.FillFromString method on page 127
.
Here is an example of a more complex data type. The
ToolDataTframe property is of the
Pose type. Its
Trans value is displayed in a label in the format [x, y, z].
VB:
Me.Label1.Text = ATool.Tframe.Trans.ToString()
C#: this.label1.Text = aTool.Tframe.Trans.ToString();
IRapidData.FillFromString method
The
IRapidData interface also has a
FillFromString method, which fills the object with a valid RAPID string representation. The method can always be used when you need to modify RAPID data. Using the method with the
RapidDomain.Bool
variable used earlier in the chapter will look like this: rapidBool.FillFromString("True")
Using it for a
RapidDomain.Num
variable is similar: rapidNum.FillFromString("10")
String format
The format is constructed recursively. An example is the easiest way of illustrating this.
Example:
The
RapidDomain.Pose
structure corresponds to the RAPID data type pose
, which describes how a coordinate system is displaced and rotated around another coordinate system.
public struct Pose : IRapidData
{ public Pos trans; public Orient rot;
}
This is an example in RAPID:
VAR pose frame1;
...
frame1.trans := [50, 0, 40]; frame1.rot := [1, 0, 0, 0];
The frame1 coordinate transformation is assigned a value that corresponds to a displacement in position where X=50 mm, Y=0 mm and Z=40 mm. There is no rotation.
As you see, the
RapidDomain.Pose
structure consists of two other structures, trans and rot. The trans structure consists of three floats and the and rot structure consists of four doubles. The
FillFromString format for a
Pose object is “[[1.0,
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Continued
0.0, 0.0, 0.0][10.0, 20.0, 30.0]]”. This piece of code shows how to write a new value to a RAPID pose variable:
VB:
If TypeOf rd.Value Is Pose Then
Dim rapidPose As Pose = DirectCast(rd.Value, Pose) rapidPose.FillFromString("[[1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0][10, 20, 30]]") rd.Value = rapidPose
End If
C#: if (rd.Value is Pose)
{
Pose rapidPose = (Pose) rd.Value; rapidPose.FillFromString("[[1.0, 0.5, 0.0, 0.0][10, 15, 10]]"); rd.Value = rapidPose;
}
Note
Using the same principle arbitrarily long RAPID data types can be represented.
Note
The string format must be carefully observed. If the string argument has the wrong format, a
RapidDataFormatException is thrown.
Writing to RAPID data
Writing to RAPID data is only possible using the type cast
RapidData value, to which the new value is assigned. To transfer the new value to the RAPID data in the controller you must finally assign the .NET object to the
Value property of the
RapidData object. The following example uses the rapidBool object created in
Creating an object representing the RAPID data value on page 125 .
VB:
’Assign new value to .Net variable rapidBool.Value = False
’Write the new value to the data in the controller rd.Value = rapidBool
C#:
//Assign new value to .Net variable rapidBool.Value = false;
//Write to new value to the data in the controller rd.Value = rapidBool;
This was an easy example, as the value to change was a simple bool
. Often, however, RAPID uses complex structures. By using the
FillFromString method you can assign a new value to any
RapidData and write it to the controller.
The string must be formatted according to the principle described in the previous section. The following example shows how to write a new value to the pos structure
(x, y, z) of a RAPID tooldata:
VB:
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Continued
Dim APos As Pos = New Pos
APos.FillFromString("[2,3,3]")
Me.ATool.Tframe.Trans = APos
Me.Rd.Value = Me.ATool
C#:
Pos aPos = new Pos(); aPos.FillFromString("[2,3,3]"); this.aTool.Tframe.Trans = aPos; this.rd.Value = this.aTool;
Note
The new value is not written to the controller until the last statement is executed.
Letting the user know that RAPID data has changed
In order to be notified that RAPID data has changed you need to add a subscription to the
ValueChanged event of the
RapidData instance. Note, however, that this only works for persistent RAPID data.
Add subscription
The following code explains how you add a subscription to the
ValueChanged event:
VB:
Addhandler Rd.ValueChanged, AddressOf Rd_ValueChanged
C#: this.rd.ValueChanged += rd_ValueChanged;
Handle event
Implement the event handler. Remember that controller events use their own threads, and avoid Winforms threading problems by the use of
Control.Invoke
, which forces the execution from the background thread to the GUI thread.
VB:
Private Sub Rd_ValueChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As
DataValueChangedEventArgs)
Me.Invoke(New EventHandler (AddressOf UpdateGUI), sender, e)
End Sub
C# private void rd_ValueChanged(object sender,
DataValueChangedEventArgs e)
{ this.Invoke(new EventHandler (UpdateGUI), sender, e);
}
For more information to learn more about potential threading conflicts in
FlexPendant SDK applications, see
Controller events and threads on page 51
.
Read new value from controlller
Update the user interface with the new value. As the value is not part of the event argument, you must use the
RapidDataValue property to retrieve the new value:
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VB:
Private Sub UpdateGUI(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As
System.EventArgs)
Dim Tool1 As ToolData = DirectCast(Me.Rd.Value, ToolData)
Me.Label1.Text = Tool1.Tframe.Trans.ToString()
End Sub
C# private void UpdateGUI(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
ToolData tool1= (ToolData)this.rd.Value; this.label1.Text = tool1.Tframe.Trans.ToString();
}
Note
Subscriptions work only for RAPID data declared as PERS.
RapidData disposal
Always dispose of
RapidData objects when they are no longer needed. If you want to reuse a
RapidData object, you should make sure that you dispose of the current object first.
VB:
If Not Rd Is Nothing Then
Rd.Dispose()
Rd = Nothing
End If
C#: if (rd != null)
{ rd.Dispose(); rd = null;
}
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5.5.3.2 Handling RAPID arrays
5.5.3.2 Handling RAPID arrays
Overview
In RAPID you can have up to three dimensional arrays. These are accessible by using a
RapidData object like any other RAPID data.
There are mainly two ways of accessing each individual element of an array: by indexers or by an enumerator.
Tip
A convenient and user-friendly way of reading and writing array elements is using the standard Program Data view of the FlexPendant. You provide the element you want to have displayed as argument, and the user can view or manipulate the item the way it is usually done on the FlexPendant. For more information, see
Using standard dialog box to modify data on page 116
.
ArrayData object
If the
RapidData references a RAPID array is
Value property returns an object of
ArrayData type. Before making a cast, check the type using the is operator or by using the
IsArray property on the
RapidData object.
VB:
Dim RD As RapidData = AController.Rapid.GetRapidData("T_ROB1",
"User", "string_array")
If RD.IsArray Then
Dim AD As ArrayData = DirectCast( RD.Value,ArrayData)
.....
End If
C#:
RapidData rd = aController.Rapid.GetRapidData("T_ROB1", "User",
"string_array"); if (rd.IsArray)
{
ArrayData ad = (ArrayData)rd.Value;
.....
}
Array dimensions
The dimension of the array is returned by the Rank property. If you need to check the length of the individual arrays you can use the
GetLength method on the
ArrayData object passing the dimension index as argument.
VB:
Dim ARank As Integer = AD.Rank
Dim Len As Integer = AD.GetLength(ARank)
C#: int aRank = ad.Rank; int len = ad.GetLength(aRank);
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Array item access by using indexers
By the use of indexers you can access each array element, even in three dimensional arrays. A combination of the
GetLength method and
For loops makes it possible to access any item:
VB:
Dim aSum As Double = 0R
Dim aNum As Num
If ad.Rank = 1 Then
For I As Integer = 1 To ad.Length
aNum = DirectCast(ad(i), Num) aSum += CDbl(aNum)
Next
ElseIf ad.Rank = 2 Then
For i As Integer = 1 To ad.GetLength(1) - 1
For j As Integer = 1 To ad.Length
aNum = DirectCast(ad[i, j], Num) aSum += CDbl(aNum)
Next
Next
Else
For i As Integer = 1 To ad.GetLength(1) - 1
For j As Integer = 1 To ad.GetLength(2) - 1
For k As Integer = 1 To ad.GetLength(3) aNum = DirectCast(ad(i, j, k), Num) aSum += CDbl(aNum)
Next
Next
Next
End If
C#: double aSum = 0d;
Num aNum; if (ad.Rank == 1) { for (int i = 1; i <= ad.Length; i++)
{ aNum = (Num)ad[i]; aSum += (double)aNum;
}
} else if (ad.Rank == 2)
{ for(int i = 1; i< ad.GetLength(1); i++)
{ for (int j = 1; j <= ad.Length; j++)
{ aNum = (Num)ad[i,j]; aSum += (double)aNum;
}
}
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Continued
} else { for(int i = 1; i< ad.GetLength(1); i++)
{ for(int j = 1; j< ad.GetLength(2); j++)
{ for (int k = 1; k <= ad.GetLength(3); k++)
{ aNum = (Num)ad[i, j, k]; aSum += (double)aNum;
}
}
}
}
Array item access using enumerator
You can also use the enumerator operation ( foreach
) like it is used by collections in .NET. Note that it can be used for both one dimension and multi-dimensional arrays to access each individual element. The previous example is a lot simpler this way:
VB:
Dim aSum As Double = 0R
Dim aNum As Num
For Each aNum As Num In AD aSum += CDbl(aNum)
Next
C#: double aSum = 0d;
Num aNum; foreach(Num aNum in ad)
{ aSum += (double)aNum;
}
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5.5.3.3 ReadItem and WriteItem methods
5.5.3.3 ReadItem and WriteItem methods
Overview
An alternative way of accessing RAPID data stored in an array are the
ReadItem and
WriteItem methods.
ReadItem method
Using the
ReadItem method you can directly access a RAPID data item in an array, for example an array with RobTargets or Nums. The index to the item is explicitly specified in the
ReadItem call. The first item is in position 1, that is, the array is
1-based as in RAPID.
The following example retrieves the second Num value in the first array of the
RAPID data variable referenced by rd.
VB:
Dim aNum As Num aNum = DirectCast(rd.ReadItem(1, 2), Num)
C#:
Num aNum = (Num)rd.ReadItem(1, 2);
WriteItem method
It is possible to use the
WriteItem method to write to an individual RAPID data item in an array. The following example shows how to write the result of an individual robot operation into an array representing a total robot program with several operations:
VB:
Dim aNum As Num = New Num(OPERATION_OK) rd.WriteItem(aNum, 1, 2)
C#:
Num aNum = new Num(OPERATION_OK); rd.WriteItem(aNum, 1, 2);
Note
If the index is not in the range specified, an
IndexOutOfRangeException will be thrown.
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5.5.3.4 UserDefined data
5.5.3.4 UserDefined data
Overview
You often work with RECORD structures in RAPID code. To handle these unique data types, a
UserDefined class has been implemented. This class has properties and methods to handle individual components of a RECORD.
In some cases implementing your own .NET structure can improve application design and code maintenance.
Creating UserDefined object
The
UserDefined constructor takes a
RapidDataType object as argument. To retrieve a
RapidDataType object the path to the declaration of the RAPID data type is passed as argument.
The following example creates a
UserDefined object referencing the RAPID
RECORD processdata:
VB:
Dim rdt As RapidDataType rdt = Me.controller.Rapid.GetRapidDataType("T_ROB1", "MyModule",
"processdata")
Dim processdata As UserDefined = New UserDefined(rdt)
C#
RapidDataType rdt; rdt = this.controller.Rapid.GetRapidDataType("T_ROB1", "MyModule",
"processdata");
UserDefined processdata = new UserDefined(rdt);
Note
If the module where the RECORD is defined is configured as -Shared you only provide the name of the data type as argument, like this: rdt = this.controller.Rapid.GetRapidDataType("processdata");
Reading UserDefined data
You can use a
UserDefined object to read any kind of RECORD variable from the controller. The individual components of the RECORD are accessible using the
Components property and an index. Each
Component can be read as a string.
VB:
Dim processdata As UserDefined = DirectCast(rd.Value, UserDefined)
Dim No1 As String = processdata.Components(0).ToString()
Dim No2 AS String = processdata.Components(1),ToString()
C#:
UserDefined processdata = (UserDefined) rd.Value; string no1 = processdata.Components[0].ToString(); string no2 = processdata.Components[1].ToString();
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Continued
Each individual string can then be used in a
FillFromString method to convert the component into a specific data type, for example
RobTarget or
ToolData
.
For more information, see
IRapidData.FillFromString method on page 127 .
Writing to UserDefined data
If you want to modify
UserDefined data and write it to the RECORD in the controller, you must first read the
UserDefined object and the apply new values using the
FillFromString method. Then you perform a write operation using the
RapidData.Value
property.
atC#: processdata.Components[0].FillFromString("[0,0,0]"); processdata.Components[1].FillFromString("10"); rd.Value = ud;
For more information and code samples, see IRapidData.FillFromString method
Implement your own struct representing a RECORD
The following example shows how you can create your own .NET data type representing a RECORD in the controller instead of using the
UsefDefined type.
Creating ProcessData type
VB:
Dim rdt As RapidDataType = Me.ARapid.GetRapidDataType("T_ROB1",
"MyModule", "processdata")
Dim p As ProcessData = New ProcessData(rdt) p.FillFromString(rd.Value.ToString())
C#
RapidDataType rdt = this.aRapid.GetRapidDataType("T_ROB1",
"MyModule", "processdata");
ProcessData p = new ProcessData(rdt); p.FillFromString(rd.Value.ToString());
Implementing ProcessData struct
The following example shows how the new data type
ProcessData may be implemented. This is done by using a .NET struct and letting ProcessData wrap the
UserDefined object.
The struct implementation should include a
FillFromString and
ToString method, that is, inherit the
IRapidData interface. Any properties and methods may also be implemented.
VB:
Public Structure ProcessData
Implements IRapidData
Private data As UserDefined
Public Sub New(ByVal rdt As RapidDataType) data = New UserDefined(rdt)
End Sub
Private Property IntData() As UserDefined
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Continued
Get
Return data
End Get
Set(ByVal Value As UserDefined) data = Value
End Set
End Property
.....
End Structure
C#: public struct ProcessData: IRapidData
{ private UserDefined data; public ProcessData(RapidDataType rdt)
{ data = new UserDefined(rdt);
} private UserDefined IntData
{ get { return data; } set { data = value; }
} public int StepOne
{ get
{
} set int res = Convert.ToInt32(IntData.Components[0].ToString()); return res;
{
IntData.Components[0] = new Num(value);
}
}
}
Implementing IRapidData methods
The following piece of code shows how the two
IRapidData methods
ToString and
FillFromString can be implemented.
VB:
Public Sub FillFromString(ByVal newValue As String) Implements
ABB.Robotics.Controllers.RapidDomain.IRapidData.FillFromString
IntData.FillFromString(newValue)
End Sub
Public Overrides Function ToString() As String Implements
ABB.Robotics.Controllers.RapidDomain.IRapidData.ToString
Return IntData.ToString()
End Function
C#: public void FillFromString(string newValue)
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Continued
{
IntData.FillFromString(newValue);
} public override string ToString()
{ return IntData.ToString();
}
NOTE! The
ToString method has to use the
Overrides keyword in Visual Basic and the override keyword in C#.
Property implementation
Each item in the RECORD structure should have a corresponding property in the extended .NET data type. The get and set methods have to implement the conversion from/to controller data type to .NET data type.
VB:
Public Property Step() As Integer
Get
Dim res As Integer =
Convert.ToInt32(IntData.Components(0).ToString())
Return res
End Get
Set(ByVal Value As Integer)
Dim tmp As Num = New Num tmp.FillFromNum(Value)
IntData.Components(0) = tmp
End Set
End Property
C#: public int Step
{ get
{ int res = Convert.ToInt32(IntData.Components[0].ToString()); return res;
} set
{
Num tmp = new Num(); tmp.FillFromNum(value);
IntData.Components[0] = tmp;
}
}
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5.5.3.5 RAPID symbol search
5.5.3.5 RAPID symbol search
Overview
Most RAPID elements (variables, modules, tasks, records, and so on.) are members of a symbol table, in which their names are stored as part of a program tree structure.
It is possible to search this table and get a collection of
RapidSymbol objects, each one including the RAPID object name, location, and type.
SearchRapidSymbol method
The search must be configured carefully, due to the large amount of RAPID symbols in a system. To define a query you need to consider from where in the program tree the search should be performed, which symbols are of interest, and what information you need for the symbols of interest. To enable search from different levels, the
SearchRapidSymbol method is a member of several different SDK classes, for example
Task
,
Module and
Routine
. The following example shows a search performed with
Task as the starting point:
VB:
Dim RSCol As RapidSymbol()
RSCol = ATask.SearchRapidSymbol(SProp, "num", string.Empty)
C#:
RapidSymbol[] rsCol; rsCol = aTask.SearchRapidSymbol(sProp, "num", string.Empty);
The
SearchRapidSymbol method has three arguments. The first argument, of data type
RapidSymbolSearchProperties
, is detailed in the next section. The second and third arguments are detailed in the following sections.
Search properties
The
RapidSymbolSearchProperties type is complex and requires some knowledge about RAPID concepts.
It is used to specify search method, type of RAPID symbol to search for, whether the search should be recursive, whether the symbols are local and/or global, and whether or not the search result should include only symbols currently used by a program. If a property is not valid for a particular symbol, it will be discarded and will not exclude the symbol from the search result.
The table describes the different properties of
RapidSymbolSearchProperties
.
Property
SearchMethod
Description
Specifies the direction of the search, which can be
Block
(down) or
Scope
(up). Example: If the starting point of the search is a routine, a block-search will return the symbols declared within the routine, whereas a scope-search will return the symbols accessible from the routine.
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Continued
Property
SymbolType
Recursive
Description
Specifies which RAPID type(s) you want to search for. The
SymbolTypes enumeration includes
Constant
,
Variable
,
Persistent
,
Function
,
Procedure
,
Trap
,
Module
,
Task
,
Routine
,
RapidData
. and so on. (
Routine includes
Function
,
Procedure and
Trap. RapidData includes
Constant
,
Variable and
Persistent
.)
For both block and scope search it is possible to choose if the search should stop at the next scope or block level or recursively continue until the root (or leaf) of the symbol table tree is reached.
GlobalRapidSymbol Specifies whether global symbols should be included.
LocalRapidSymbol
IsInUse
Specifies whether local symbols should be included.
Specifies whether only symbols in use by the loaded RAPID program should be searched.
Default instance
RapidSymbolSearchProperties has a static method, which returns a default instance.
VB:
Dim SProp As RapidSymbolSearchProperties =
RapidSymbolSearchProperties.CreateDefault()
C#:
RapidSymbolSearchProperties sProp =
RapidSymbolSearchProperties.CreateDefault();
The default instance has the following values:.
Property
SearchMethod
SymbolType
Recursive
GlobalRapidSymbol
LocalRapidSymbol
IsInUse
Description
SymbolSearchMethod.Block
SymbolTypes.NoSymbol
True
True
True
True
Using this instance you can specify the search properties of the search you want to perform.
Example:
VB:
SProp.SearchMethod = SymbolSearchMethod.Scope
SProp.SymbolType = SymbolTypes.Constant Or SymbolTypes.Persistent
SProp.Recursive = False
C#: sProp.SearchMethod = SymbolSearchMethod.Scope; sProp.SymbolType = SymbolTypes.Constant | SymbolTypes.Persistent
sProp.Recursive = false;
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Note
The default instance has the property
SymbolType set to
NoSymbol
, which means you need to specify it in order to perform a meaningful search.
Note
The
SymbolType property allows you to combine several types in the search.
For more information, see the preceding example.
Data type argument
The second argument of the
SearchRapidSymbol method is the RAPID data type written as a string. The data type should be written with small letters, for example
“num”, “string” or “robtarget”. It can also be specified as string.Empty
.
Note
To search for a
UserDefined data type the complete path to the module that holds the RECORD definition must be passed. For example: result = tRob1.SearchRapidSymbol(sProp,"RAPID/T_ROB1/MyModule/MyDataType", string.Empty);
However, if
MyModule is configured as -Shared the system sees its data types as installed, and the task or module should not be included in the path result = tRob1.SearchRapidSymbol(sProp,"MyDataType", string.Empty);
Symbol name argument
The third argument is the name of the RAPID symbol. It can be specified as string.Empty
if the name of the symbol to retrieve is not known, or if the purpose is to search ALL “num” instances in the system.
Instead of the name of the RAPID symbol a regular expression can be used. The search mechanism will then match the pattern of the regular expression with the symbols in the symbol table. The regular expression string is not case sensitive.
A regular expression is a powerful mechanism. It may consist of ordinary characters and meta characters. A meta character is an operator used to represent one or several ordinary characters, and the purpose is to extend the search.
Within a regular expression, all alphanumeric characters match themselves, that is, the pattern “abc” will only match a symbol named “abc”. To match all symbol names containing the character sequence “abc”, it is necessary to add some meta characters. The regular expression for this is “.*abc.*”.
The available meta character set is shown in the following table:
Expression
.
^
Meaning
Any single character
Any symbol starting with
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Continued
Expression
[s]
[^s] r* r+ r?
(r) r | r’
.*
Meaning
Any single character in the non-empty set s, where s is a sequence of characters. Ranges may be specified as c-c.
Any single character not in the set s.
Zero or more occurrences of the regular expression r.
One or more occurrences of the regular expression r.
Zero or one occurrence of the regular expression r.
The regular expression r. Used for separate that regular expression from another.
The regular expressions r or r’.
Any character sequence (zero, one or several characters).
Example 1
"^c.*"
Returns all symbols starting with c or C.
Example 2
"^reg[1-3]"
Returns reg1, Reg1, REG1, reg2, Reg2, REG2, reg3, Reg3 and REG3.
Example 3
"^c.*|^reg[1,2]"
Returns all symbols starting with c or C as well as reg1, Reg1, REG1, reg2, Reg2 and REG2.
SearchRapidSymbol example
The following example searches for VAR, PERS or CONST num data in a task and its modules. The search is limited to globally declared symbols. By default the search method is
Block
, so it does not have to be set.
VB:
Dim sProp As RapidSymbolSearchProperties =
RapidSymbolSearchProperties.CreateDefault() sProp.SymbolTypes = SymbolTypes.RapidData
sProp.LocalRapidSymbol = False
Dim rsCol As RapidSymbol() rsCol = aTask.SearchRapidSymbol(sProp, "num", string.Empty)
C#:
RapidSymbolSearchProperties sProp =
RapidSymbolSearchProperties.CreateDefault(); sProp.SymbolType = SymbolTypes.RapidData; sProp.LocalRapidSymbol = false;
RapidSymbol[] rsCol; rsCol = aTask.SearchRapidSymbol(sProp, "num", string.Empty);
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Continued
Search for UserDefined RAPID data - example
In the following example an user defined RECORD data type (“mydata”) is declared in a module (“myModule”). Assuming that the end-user can declare and use data of this data type in any program module, the search method must be Block (default).
A search for all “mydata” instances may look like this:
VB:
Dim sProp As RapidSymbolSearchProperties =
RapidSymbolSearchProperties.CreateDefault() sProp.SymbolType = SymbolTypes.RapidData
Dim rsCol As RapidSymbol() rsCol = aTask.SearchRapidSymbol(sProp,
"RAPID/T_ROB1/myModule/mydata", string.Empty)
C#:
RapidSymbolSearchProperties sProp =
RapidSymbolSearchProperties.CreateDefault(); sProp.SymbolType = SymbolTypes.RapidData;
RapidSymbol[] rsCol; rsCol = aTask.SearchRapidSymbol(sProp,
"RAPID/T_ROB1/myModule/mydata", string.Empty);
Note
If myModule is configured as -Shared and all myData instances are declared in myModule, the search method must be set to
Scope and the
SearchRapidSymbol call should look like this: rsCol = aTask.SearchRapidSymbol(sProp, "mydata", string.Empty);
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5.5.3.6 RAPID execution
5.5.3.6 RAPID execution
Start and Stop RAPID programs
You can start and stop RAPID execution using
Rapid
.
Start and
Stop methods.
A
StartResult from the
Start method returns the result of the call. Start arguments can be used.
RegainMode defines how the mechanical unit should handle path status at start.
ExecutionMode specifies if the program should run continuously, step backward or go to the next Move instruction and so on.
The
Stop method can include a
StopMode argument, specifying when the program should stop (after current cycle, after completed instruction or immediately).
VB: aController.Rapid.Start(RegainMode.Regain, ExecutionMode.Continuous)
.....
aController.Rapid.Stop(StopMode.Instruction)
C#: aController.Rapid.Start(RegainMode.Regain,
ExecutionMode.Continuous);
.....
aController.Rapid.Stop(StopMode.Instruction);
Note
It is also possible to start a service routine or an ordinary routine without any parameters as if it were a service routine. For more information and code samples, see
Task.CallRoutine
and
Task.CancelRoutine
in the Reference Manual
FlexPendant SDK.
RAPID execution change event
It is possible to subscribe to events that occur when a RAPID program starts to execute and when it stops. This is done on the
Rapid property of the
Controller object, like this:
VB:
AddHandler aController.Rapid.ExecutionStatusChanged, AddressOf
UpdateUI
C# aController.Rapid.ExecutionStatusChanged += new
ExecutionStatusChangedEventHandler(UpdateUI);
For more information and code example on how write the event handlers needed to update the GUI due to a controller event, see
Letting the user know that RAPID data has changed on page 129 .
ResetProgramPointer method
The
ResetProgramPointer method resets the program pointers of all tasks and sets them to the main entry point of the respective task.
VB: aController.Rapid.ResetProgramPointer()
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Continued
C#: aController.Rapid.ResetProgramPointer();
Note
It is also possible to set the program pointer to a specified routine, row or position.
For more information and code samples, see
Task.SetProgramPointer in the Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK.
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5.5.3.7 Modifying modules and programs
5.5.3.7 Modifying modules and programs
Overview
Using the
Task object it is possible to load and save programs and individual modules. You can also unload programs, get the position of the motion pointer
(MP) and the program pointer (PP) as well as modify a robot position.
Load modules and programs
To load a module or program file you need the path to the file in the file system of the controller. When the file is loaded into memory the
RapidLoadMode enumeration argument,
Add or
Replace
, specifies whether or not it should replace old modules or programs.
If the file extension is not a valid module (mod or sys) or program (pgf) extension an
ArgumentException is thrown.
VB:
Try
ATask.LoadProgramFromFile(APrgFileName, RapidLoadMode.Replace)
ATask.LoadModuleFromFile(AModFileName, RapidLoadMode.Add)
Catch ex As ArgumentException
Return
End Try
C#: try
{ aTask.LoadProgramFromFile(aPrgFileName, RapidLoadMode.Replace); aTask.LoadModuleFromFile(aModFileName, RapidLoadMode.Add);
} catch (ArgumentException ex)
{ return;
}
Save and unload RAPID program
You can save a program using the
SaveProgramToFile method and unload it using the
DeleteProgram method. These methods save and unload all modules in the task.
VB:
Dim TaskCol As Task() = AController.Rapid.GetTasks()
Dim AnObject As Object
For Each AnObject in TaskCol
ATask = DirectCast(AnObject, Task)
ATask.ProgramName = ATask.Name
ATask.SaveProgramToFile(SaveDir)
ATask.DeleteProgram()
Next
C#:
Task[] taskCol = aController.Rapid.GetTasks();
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5.5.3.7 Modifying modules and programs
Continued foreach (Task aTask in taskCol)
{ aTask.PrograamName = aTask.Name; aTask.SaveProgramToFile(saveDir); aTask.DeleteProgram();
}
Save module
You can save a module by using the
Module.SaveToFile
method. As argument you use a path to the controller file system.
VB:
AModule.SaveToFile(AFilePath)
C# aModule.SaveToFile(aFilePath);
ProgramPointer and MotionPointer
The Task.
ProgramPointer property returns the current location of the program pointer (module, routine and row number), that is, where the program is currently executing. The same functionality is available for motion pointer by using the
MotionPointer property.
VB:
Dim APP As ProgramPointer = ATask.ProgramPointer
If Not APP = ProgramPointer.Empty Then
Dim AStartRow As Integer = APP.Start.Row
.....
C#:
ProgramPointer pp = aTask.ProgramPointer; if (pp != ProgramPointer.Empty)
{ int aStartRow = pp.Start.Row;
.....
}
ModifyPosition method
Using the ModifyPosition method of the
Task object you can modify the position of a
RobTarget instance in the currently loaded program. As arguments you supply a module
Name as well as a
TextRange object. The first
RobTarget within the text range specified by the
TextRange object will be changed using the current
TCP of the active mechanical unit.
VB:
Me.ATask.ModifyPosition(AModule, ATextRange)
C#: this.ATask.ModifyPosition(aModule, aTextRange)
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Continued
Tip
For more information on
Task methods and properties, see in the Reference
Manual FlexPendant SDK.
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5.5.4 IO system domain
5.5.4 IO system domain
Overview
A robot system uses input and output signals to control processes. Signals can be of digital, analog or group signal type. Such IO signals are accessible using the
SDK.
Signal changes in the robot system are often significant, and there are many scenarios where end-users of the system need notification of signal changes.
Accessing signals
Accessing signals is done through the
Controller object and its property
IOSystem
, which represents the IO signal space in the robot controller.
To access a signal you need the system name of the signal. The object that is returned from the
IOSystem
.
GetSignal method is of type
Signal
.
VB:
Dim Signal1 As Signal = AController.IOSystem.GetSignal("signal name")
C#:
Signal signal1 = aController.IOSystem.GetSignal("signal name");
The returned
Signal object has to be typecast to digital, analog or group signal.
The following example shows a how a signal of type
DigitalSignal is created:
VB:
Dim DISig As DigitalSignal = DirectCast(Signal1, DigitalSignal)
C#:
DigitalSignal diSig = (DigitalSignal) signal1;
The following example shows a how an
AnalogSignal is created:
VB:
Dim AISig As AnalogSignal = DirectCast(Signal1, AnalogSignal)
C#:
AnalogSignal aiSig = (AnalogSignal) signal1;
The following example shows a how a
GroupSignal is created:
VB:
Dim GISig As GroupSignal = DirectCast(Signal1, GroupSignal)
C#:
GroupSignal giSig = (GroupSignal) signal1;
Note
Remember to call the
Dispose method of the signal when it should no longer be used.
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Continued
Getting signals using SignalFilter
Instead of getting one signal at a time you can use a filter and get a signal collection.
Some of the
SignalFilter flags are mutually exclusive, for example
SignalFilter.Analog
and
SignalFilter.Digital
. Others are inclusive, for example
SignalFilter.Digital
and
SignalFilter.Input
. You can combine the filter flags using the “|” character in C# and the
Or operator in VB:
VB:
Dim aSigFilter As IOFilterTypes = IOFilterTypes.Digital Or
IOFilterTypes.Input
Dim signals As SignalCollection = controller.IOSystem.GetSignals(aSigFilter)
C#:
This piece of code iterates the signal collection and adds all signals to a
ListView control. The list has three columns displaying signal name, type and value:
VB:
For Each signal As Signal In Signals
Item = New ListViewItem(signal.Name)
Item.SubItems.Add(signal.Type.ToString())
Item.SubItems.Add(signal.Value.ToString())
Me.ListView1.Items.Add(Item)
Next
C#:
IOFilterTypes aSigFilter = IOFilterTypes.Digital |
IOFilterTypes.Input;
SignalCollection signals = controller.IOSystem.GetSignals(aSigFilter); foreach(Signal signal in signals)
{ item = new ListViewItem(signal.Name); item.SubItems.Add(signal.Type.ToString()); item.SubItems.Add(signal.Value.ToString()); this.listView1.Items.Add(item);
}
If the signal objects are no longer needed they should be disposed of:
VB:
For Each signal As Signal In Signals signal.Dispose()
Next
C#: foreach(Signal signal in signals)
{ signal.Dispose();
}
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5.5.4 IO system domain
Continued
Reading IO signal values
These examples show how to read a digital and an analog signal.
Digital signal
This piece of code reads the digital signal DO1 and checks a checkbox if the signal value is 1 (ON):
VB:
Dim sig As Signal = aController.IOSystem.GetSignal("DO1")
Dim digitalSig As DigitalSignal = DirectCast(sig, DigitalSignal)
Dim val As Integer = digitalSig.Get
If val = 1 Then
Me.CheckBox1.Checked = True
EndIf
C#:
Signal sig = aController.IOSystem.GetSignal("DO1");
DigitalSignal digitalSig = (DigitalSignal)sig; int val = digitalSig.Get(); if (val == 1)
{ this.checkBox1.Checked = true;
}
Analog signal
This piece of code reads the value of the analog signal AO1 and displays it in a textbox:
VB:
Dim sig As Signal = aController.IOSystem.GetSignal("AO1")
Dim analogSig As AnalogSignal = DirectCast(sig, AnalogSignal)
Dim analogSigVal As Single = analogSig.Value
Me.textBox1.Text = analogSigVal.ToString()
C#:
Signal sig = aController.IOSystem.GetSignal("AO1");
AnalogSignal analogSig = (AnalogSignal)sig; float analogSigVal = analogSig.Value; this.textBox1.Text = analogSigVal.ToString();
Writing IO signal values
In the following example, new values for the IO signals that were retrieved in the previous example are written to the controller.
Note
In manual mode a signal value can be modified only if the Access Level of the signal is ALL. If not, the controller has to be in auto mode.
Digital signal
This piece of code changes the value of a digital signal in the controller when you check/uncheck a checkbox:
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Continued
VB:
Private Sub checkBox1_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As
System.EventArgs) Handles checkBox1.Click
If Me.checkBox1.Checked Then digitalSig.[Set]()
Else digitalSig.Reset()
End If
End Sub
C#: private void checkBox1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ if (this.checkBox1.Checked)
{ digitalSig.Set();
} else
{ digitalSig.Reset();
}
}
NOTE! You can also set the value using the
Value property.
Analog signal
This piece of code writes the value entered in a text box to the analog signal AO1.
The value is converted from string to a float before it is written to the controller:
VB:
Dim analogSigVal As Single = Convert.ToSingle(Me.textBox1.Text) analogSig.Value = analogSigVal
C#: float analogSigVal = Convert.ToSingle(this.textBox1.Text); analogSig.Value = analogSigVal;
Listening to signal changes
Once a
Signal object is available it is possible to add a subscription to its Changed event, which is triggered at a signal change such as changed value, changed simulated status or changed signal quality.
VB:
Friend WithEvents aiSig As AnalogSignal
...
AddHandler aiSig.Changed, AddressOf aiSig_Changed
...
Private Sub aiSig_Changed(sender As Object, e As
SignalChangeEventArgs) Handles aiSig.Changed
End Sub
C# this.aiSig.Changed +=new SignalChangeHandler(aiSig_Changed);
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Continued
NOTE! The event handler skeleton is auto generated using the Tab key twice after
“+=” in the preceding statement: private void aiSig_Changed(object sender, SignalChangeEventArgs e)
{ }
Start and stop subscriptions
It is recommended that you activate and deactivate subscriptions to the
Changed event if these are not necessary throughout the lifetime of the application:
VB:
AddHandler aiSig.Changed, AddressOf aiSig_Changed
RemoveHandler aiSig.Changed, AddressOf aiSig_Changed
C#: this.aiSig.Changed += new SignalChangeHandler(aiSig_Changed); this.aiSig.Changed -= new SignalChangeHandler(aiSig_Changed);
Avoiding threading conflicts
The controller events use their own threads, which are different from the application
GUI thread. This can cause problems if you want to display signal changes in the application GUI.
If an update of the user interface is not necessary, you do not need to take any special action, but can execute the event handler on the event thread. If, however, you need to show to the user that the signal has changed you should use the
Invoke method. It forces execution to the window control thread and thus provides a solution to potential threading conflicts.
VB:
Me.Invoke(New ABB.Robotics.Controllers.IOSystemDomain.
SignalChangedEventHandler(AddressOf UpdateUI), New Object()
{sender, e})
C#: this.Invoke(new ABB.Robotics.Controllers.IOSystemDomain.
SignalChangedEventHandler(this.UpdateUI), new Object[]
{sender, e});
For more information, see
Controller events and threads on page 51
.
Finding out the new value
The
SignalChangedEventArgs object has a
NewSignalState property, which has information about signal value, signal quality and whether the signal is simulated or not:
VB:
Private Sub UpdateUI(ByVal Sender As Object, ByVal e As
SignalChangedEventArgs)
Dim State As SignalState = e.NewSignalState
Dim val As Single
Val = State.Value
Me.TextBox1.Text = Val.ToString()
....
End Sub
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5.5.4 IO system domain
Continued
C#: private void UpdateUI(object sender, SignalChangedEventArgs e)
{
SignalState state = e.NewSignalState;
....
float val = state.Value
this.textBox1.Text = val.ToString()
}
Note
Do not count on receiving an initial event when setting up the subscription. To get initial information about the value of a signal, you should read it using the
Value property.
Note
Make sure the subscription is removed before you dispose of the signal.
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5.5.5 Event log domain
5.5.5 Event log domain
Overview
Event log messages may contain information about controller status, RAPID execution, the running processes of the controller, and so on.
Using the SDK it is possible to either read messages in the queue or to use an event handler that will receive a copy of each new log message. An event log message contains queue type, event type, event time, event title, and message.
Access the controller event log
You can access the event log domain through the
Controller property
EventLog
.
VB:
Private log As EventLog = aController.EventLog
C#: private EventLog log = aController.EventLog;
Access event log categories
All event log messages are organized into categories. To search for an individual message you have to know what category it belongs to. The enumeration type,
CategoryType
, defines all available categories. You can get a category either by using the method
GetCategory or by using the
Categories property, which is an array of all available categories.
VB:
Dim Cat As EventLogCategory
Cat = Log.GetCategory(CategoryType.Program) or
Cat = Log.Categories(4)
C#:
EventLogCategory cat; cat = log.GetCategory(CategoryType.Program); or cat = log.GetCategory[4];
Note
The
EventLogCategory should be disposed of when it is no longer used.
Access event log messages
To access a message you use the
Messages property of the
Category object. A collection of messages is returned. The collection implements the
ICollection and
IEnumerable interfaces , which means you can use the common operations for collections. Access is done either using an index or by iterating using foreach
.
VB:
Dim msg As EventLogMessage = Cat.Messages(1)
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Continued or
Dim msg As EventLogMessage
For Each msg In Cat.Messages
Me.textBox1.Text = msg.Title
.....
Next Item
C#:
EventLogMessage msg = cat.Messages[1]; or foreach(EventLogMessage msg in cat.Messages)
{ this.textBox1.Text = msg.Title;
.....
}
MessageWritten event
It is possible to add an event handler that is notified when a new messages is written to the controller event log. This is done by subscribing to the EventLog event
MessageWritten
.
The event argument is of type
MessageWrittenEventArgs and has a
Message property, which holds the latest event log message.
VB:
Private Sub Log_MessageWritten(sender As Object, e As
MessageWrittenEventArgs) Handles Log.MessageWritten
Dim Msg As EventLogMessage = e.Message
End Sub
C#: private void log_MessageWritten(object sender,
MessageWrittenEventArgs e)
{
EventLogMessage msg = e.Message;
}
Note
If the application user interface needs to be updated as a result of the event, you must delegate this job to the GUI thread using the
Invoke method. For more information and code samples, see
Controller events and threads on page 51
.
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5.5.6 Motion domain
5.5.6 Motion domain
Overview
The
MotionDomain namespace lets you access the mechanical units of the robot system.
Using a
MotionSystem object you can send jogging commands to an mechanical unit and get or set the incremental jogging mode. Using a
MechanicalUnit object you can get a lot of information about the mechanical units of the robot system.
You can also subscribe to changes of the mechanical unit, for example changed tool, work object, coordinated system, motion mode or incremental step size.
MotionSystem object
You can access the motion system by using a the
Controller property
MotionSystem
.
VB:
Private aMotionSystem As MotionSystem aMotionSystem = aController.MotionSystem
C# private MotionSystem aMotionSystem; aMotionSystem = aController.MotionSystem;
Accessing Mechanical units
The mechanical units can be of different types, for example a robot with a TCP, a multiple axes manipulator, or a single axis unit. Mechanical units are available through the
MotionSystem object. If only the active mechanical unit is of interest you may use the method
GetActiveMechanicalUnit
.
VB:
Dim aMechCol As MechanicalUnitCollection = aController.MotionSystem.GetMechanicalUnits()
Dim aMechUnit As MechanicalUnit = aController.MotionSystem.GetActiveMechanicalUnit();
C#:
MechanicalUnitCollection aMechCol = aController.MotionSystem.GetMechanicalUnits();
MechanicalUnit aMechUnit = aController.MotionSystem.GetActiveMechanicalUnit();
Jogging
It is possible to jog the active mechanical unit using the
SetJoggingCmd method and the calls
JoggingStart and
JoggingStop
. Depending on the selected
MotionMode and
IncrementalMode different joints and speeds are configured.
VB: aController.MotionSystem.JoggingStop() aMechUnit.MotionMode = MotionModeType.Linear
aController.MotionSystem.IncrementalMode = IncrementalModeType.Small
aController.MotionSystem.SetJoggingCmd(-50, 50, 0) aController.MotionSystem.JoggingStart()
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Continued
C#: aController.MotionSystem.JoggingStop(); aMechUnit.MotionMode = MotionModeType.Linear; aController.MotionSystem.IncrementalMode =
IncrementalModeType.Small; aController.MotionSystem.SetJoggingCmd(-50, 50, 0); aController.MotionSystem.JoggingStart();
Mechanical unit properties and methods
There are numerous properties available for the mechanical unit, for example
Name,Model, NumberOfAxes,SerialNumber,CoordinateSystem
,
MotionMode
,
IsCalibrated
,
Tool and
WorkObject and so on. It is also possible to get the current position of a mechanical unit as a
RobTarget or
JointTarget
.
VB:
Dim aController As New Controller()
Dim aRobTarget As RobTarget = c.MotionSystem.ActiveMechanicalUnit.GetPosition(CoordinateSystemType.World)
Dim aJointTarget As JointTarget = c.MotionSystem.ActiveMechanicalUnit.GetPosition()
C#:
Controller aController = new Controller();
RobTarget aRobTarget = aController.MotionSystem.ActiveMechanicalUnit.GetPosition(CoordinateSystemType.World);
JointTarget aJointTarget = aController.MotionSystem.ActiveMechanicalUnit.GetPosition();
DataChanged event
By subscribing to the
DataChanged event of the
MechanicalUnit object, you will be notified when a change of tool, work object, coordinated system, motion mode or incremental step size occurs.
VB:
AddHandler aMechUnit.DataChanged, AddressOf aMech_DataChanged
......
Private Sub aMech_DataChanged(sender As Object, e As
MechanicalUnitDataEventArgs)
Select e.Reason
Case MechanicalUnitDataChangeReason.Tool
ChangeOfTool(DirectCast(sender, MechanicalUnit))
Case MechanicalUnitDataChangeReason.WorkObject
......
End Select
End Sub
C#: aMechUnit.DataChanged += new
MechanicalUnitDataEventHandler(aMech_DataChanged);
.....
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5.5.6 Motion domain
Continued private void aMech_DataChanged(object sender,
MechanicalUnitDataEventArgs e) { switch (e.Reason) { case MechanicalUnitDataChangeReason.Tool:
ChangeOfTool((MechanicalUnit)sender) case MechanicalUnitDataChangeReason.WorkObject:
......
}
}
Tip
Read more about the classes, methods and properties available in the
MotionDomain in the Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK.
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5.5.7 File system domain
5.5.7 File system domain
Overview
Using the FlexPendant SDK FileSystemDomain you can create, save, load, rename, and delete files on the controller. You can also create and delete directories.
Accessing files and directories
You can access the file system domain through the
Controller object property
FileSystem
.
VB:
Private aFileSystem As FileSystem = aController.FileSystem
C#:
FileSystem aFileSystem = aController.FileSystem;
Controller and FlexPendant file system
You can find and set the remote directory on the controller and the local directory on the FlexPendant device by using the
RemoteDirectory and
LocalDirectory properties.
VB:
Dim remoteDir As String = aController.FileSystem.RemoteDirectory
Dim localDir As String = aController.FileSystem.LocalDirectory
C#: string remoteDir = aController.FileSystem.RemoteDirectory; string localDir = aController.FileSystem.LocalDirectory;
Loading controller files
You can load a file from the controller to the FlexPendant using the
GetFile method. An exception is thrown if the operation fails. The arguments are complete paths including filenames.
VB: aController.FileSystem.FileSystem.GetFile(remoteFilePath, localFilePath)
C#: aController.FileSystem.GetFile(remoteFilePath, localFilePath);
Saving files
You can save a file to the controller file system by using the
PutFile method. An exception is thrown if the operation fails. The arguments are complete paths including filenames.
VB: aController.FileSystem.PutFile(localFilePath, remoteFilePath)
C#: aController.FileSystem.PutFile(localFilePath, remoteFilePath);
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Continued
Getting multiple files and directories
The
FileSystem class has a method called
GetFilesAndDirectories
. It can be used to retrieve an array of
ControllerFileSystemInfo objects with information about individual files and directories. The
ControllerFileSystemInfo object can then be cast to either a
ControllerFileInfo object or a
ControllerDirectoryInfo object.
The following example uses search pattern to limit the search.
VB:
Dim anArray As ControllerFileSystemInfo()
Dim info As ControllerFileSystemInfo anArray = aController.FileSystem.GetFilesAndDirectories("search pattern")
Dim I As Integer
For I = 0 To array.Length -1 info = anArray(I)
......
Next
C#:
ControllerFileSystemInfo[] anArray;
ControllerFileSystemInfo info; anArray = aController.FileSystem.GetFilesAndDirectories("search pattern"); for (int i=0;i<anArray.Length;i++) { info = anArray[i];
......
}
Using search patterns
As seen in the preceding example, you can use search patterns to locate files and directories using the
GetFilesAndDirectories method. The matching process uses the Wildcard pattern matching of Visual Studio. The following is a brief summary:
*
#
Character in pattern
?
[charlist]
[!charlist]
Matches in string
Any single character
Zero or more characters
Any single digit (0–9)
Any single character in charlist
Any single character not in charlist
Tip
For more information on classes, methods and properties, see
FileSystemDomain in the Reference Manual FlexPendant SDK.
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5.5.8 System info domain
5.5.8 System info domain
Overview
The
SystemInfoDomain provides information about the active robot system. This is mainly done through the static methods and properties of the
SystemInfo class:
5.5.8_1Syste
SystemInfo class
The functionality of the
SystemInfoDomain is accessed by calling the static methods of the
SystemInfo class.The following code explains how to retrieve the path in the controller file system to the release (ROBOTWARE) directory of the active system.
Example: string rWDir =
ABB.Robotics.Controllers.SystemInfoDomain.SystemInfo.ReleasePath
Likewise, the path to the active system directory can be retrieved: string sysDir =
ABB.Robotics.Controllers.SystemInfoDomain.SystemInfo.SystemPath
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5.5.8 System info domain
Continued
System options
Using the
SystemInfo.SystemOptions
property you can retrieve the system options of the currently active robot system. The result is an array of
SystemOption objects. If you list the
Name property of these objects you will get the same result as shown in the SystemBuilder of RobotStudio, e.g:
5.5.8_2Syste
You can retrieve sub options of a system option by using the
SystemOption.SubOptions
property.
Additional options
Using the
SystemInfo.AdditionalOptions
property you can find out which additional options are installed in the robot system. The result is an array of
AdditionalOption objects. The
AdditionalOption.Path
property returns the path to the installation directory of the additional option.
The following
AdditionalOption properties are available:
• KeyString
• Name
• Path
• Type
• VersionInfo
Note
For more information on
SystemInfoDomain with code examples, see Reference
Manual FlexPendant SDK.
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6 Robust FlexPendant applications
6.1 Introduction
6 Robust FlexPendant applications
6.1 Introduction
Overview
Developing an application for a device with limited resources, such as memory and process power, can be quite demanding. Moreover, to have an application executing around the clock will reveal weaknesses in design and implementation that may cause slow performance or FlexPendant hangings.
At worst, your application will drain the FlexPendant of all memory during production, and cause an out-of-memory crash. It can even slow down the performance of the robot controller due to excessive use of controller resources.
This chapter describes how to design and implement reliable and well performing applications for the FlexPendant. It presents some good practices to utilize, as well as some pitfalls that should be avoided.
Technical overview of the FlexPendant device
The FlexPendant device consists of both hardware and software and is a complete computer in itself, with its own memory, file system, operating system and processor.
It is an integral part of IRC5, connected to the controller by an integrated cable and connector. Using the hot plug button option, however, you can disconnect the
FlexPendant in automatic mode and continue running without it.
There are ways to restart the FlexPendant without having to restart the controller
(For more information, see
Restart the FlexPendant on page 35
). At a FlexPendant restart the assemblies and resources of FlexPendant SDK applications are downloaded to the FlexPendant file system from the robot controller.
FlexPendant applications run on Windows CE, a scalable embedded operating system, and the .NET Compact Framework, which is Microsoft’s lightweight version of the .NET Framework, intended for small devices.
This is the size of the FlexPendant touch screen:
FlexPendant screen
Total display
FlexPendant SDK Application display
Size
640 * 480 pixels
640 * 390 pixels
The FlexPendant uses these kinds of memory:
Memory type
Flash - 16 MB
RAM - 64 MB
E
2
PROM
Function
Stores the FlexPendant standard software, the Windows CE operating system in compressed format and the registry.
At boot time the compressed image is copied to RAM. All execution of code uses RAM.
Stores touch screen calibration values, joystick calibration values and so on. Only used internally.
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6.1 Introduction
Continued
How large can a custom application be?
You may wonder about the maximum size of your custom application. There is no exact answer to that question, as there are many variables to take into account.
For a rough estimation the following table can be used. As you see, the operating system uses about 8 MB and the ABB base software about 25 MB. This means that half of the available RAM memory is already used once the FlexPendant has started up. The standard applications of the ABB menu and the FlexPendant SDK applications will all share the memory that is left. As a rule of thumb, about 20 MB should be available for custom applications.
FlexPendant memory resources
RAM
Operating system
ABB base software
Custom applications
128 MB
8 MB
25 MB
~20 MB
This is some advice to help you make sure your application does not exceed the memory limitation:
1 Do not allow more than ONE instance by setting the
TpsViewType parameter of the
TpsView attribute to
Static
. For more information, see
2 Avoid excessive use of images. Do not use bigger images than necessary.
Check the size of the images your application will use.
3 Use fpcmd “-memShow” to check the amount of memory in use when your application is active. Open a couple of Program Editors and start RAPID execution. For more information, see
Discover memory leaks on page 169
.
4 Avoid static data and methods.
5 Release memory for objects that are not used by calling their
Dispose method.
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6 Robust FlexPendant applications
6.2 Memory management
6.2 Memory management
Garbage collection and Dispose
An important feature of the .NET runtime environment is the garbage collector, which reclaims not referenced memory from the managed heap. Generally, this means that the programmer should not have to free memory which has been allocated by the use of new
. A drawback, when memory is limited, is that the execution of the garbage collector is non-deterministic. There is no way of knowing exactly when garbage collection will be performed.
The
IDisposable interface, however, represents a way to obtain deterministic deallocation of resources. You should therefore call
Dispose() on all disposable object when they are no longer needed, as this will free up valuable resources as soon as possible.
Moreover, objects used to access robot controller resources, must be released by the custom application by an explicit call to their
Dispose method.
SignalBindingSource and
RapidDataBindingSouce objects, as well as all other objects located in the components pane of the Visual Studio Designer must also be explicitly disposed of, or else your application will have a permanent memory leak.
Note
The creator of an object implementing the
IDisposable interface is responsible for its lifetime and for calling
Dispose
.
Tip
You may wonder why the .NET garbage collector cannot ensure that all objects no longer referenced are finally destroyed? The FlexPendant development team have tried hard to remove any remaining objects of an SDK application at application shut down, for example implemented finalizers for the
TpsControl
,
RapidDataBindingSouce and
SignalBindingSource classes. Due to
Microsoft’s implementation, however, the .NET runtime nonetheless refuses to destroy these objects unless their
Dispose method is called. This behavior is under debate. If you are curious to find out more about this, these community articles may be of interest.
Dispose, Finalization, and Resource Management (Joe Duffy): http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/PermaLink.aspx?guid=88e62cdf-5919-4ac7-bc33-20c06ae539ae
Garbage Collection: Automatic Memory Management in the Microsoft .NET
Framework (MSDN-magazine): ms-help://ms.msdnqtr.v80.en/ms.msdn.v80/dnmag00/html/GCI.htm
Finalization - cbrumme's WebLog: http://blogs.msdn.com/cbrumme/archive/2004/02/20/77460.aspx
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Application Framework usage - ITpsViewSetup
The application framework TAF, which hosts the controls that make up a
FlexPendant application, offers some mechanisms that should be used by client applications. For more information about TAF, see
Understanding the FlexPendant application life cycle on page 38 .
Your application view class should implement
ITpsViewSetup and
ITpsViewActivation
. For general information on these interfaces, see
ITpsViewSetup and ITpsViewActivation on page 44
and to learn how to use
ITpsViewActivation to improve performance, see
- ITpsViewActivation on page 172
.
The
ITpsViewSetup interface has two methods:
Install and
Uninstall
.
Install is called when the view is being created, right after the constructor has been executed.
Uninstall is called when the client view is closed down. After
Uninstall has been called, TAF will also call the
Dispose method of the view class. These methods thus offer the last opportunity for you to clean up and release memory and system resources held by the custom application.
Note
You should close down the application by using the close button, [x], in the upper right corner of the display, in the same way as the Program Data or other standard applications are closed. Never implement a close button on the first view. When the application is closed the correct way, first
Deactivate
, then
Uninstall and finally
Dispose will be called by TAF.
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Continued
How to program the Dispose method - example
When starting a new FlexPendant project in Visual Studio a skeleton for the
Dispose method is auto generated. You should use it to add code for cleaning up as shown in the following screenshot:
7.2_1Dispose
Note
Error handling should be added to the
Dispose method (left out in the figure).
Note
Ensure you have unsubscribed to any events from the robot controller before you call the
Dispose method of a CAPI object. If it has been done in the
Deactivate method, which is what is usually recommended, you should not do it again in the
Dispose method. Also ensure you do not try to access an object after it has been disposed.
Discover memory leaks
When your application interacts with the robot controller, unmanaged objects are created under the hood. If you forget to call
Dispose on such objects there will be memory leaks.
You are recommended to test the memory consumption of your application. Use a controller console window on your PC and the command fpcmd_enable_console_output
3 to enable printouts. Then use the
"-memShow" command with a period argument that produces a printout every 500 second for example, like this:
-> period 500, fpcmd, "-memShow"
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Continued
3
4
Step
1
2
For more information on console window, see
Exception error codes on page 181
Result:
task spawned: id = 0xba7f3b8, name = t2value = 195556280 =
0xba7f3b8-> [fp]: Available memory: 20881408 (tot 40394752), disk: 737148 (tot 1728512) load: 54(261955)[fp]:
The load component indicates the amount of used RAM memory on the FlexPendant
(expressed in percentage of the total amount) and the number in the parenthesis indicates the time taken in ms after start-up. For example in the perceding Result,
54 is the percentage of used memory in the FlexPendant and 261955 ms is the time taken after start-up.
Test all functions of your application with several other FlexPendant views visible in the task bar and possibly one or several RAPID tasks executing. Observe how your implementation affects memory. Close your application and make sure the same amount of memory is available as before opening it.
The following procedure shows yet another way of checking that your application cleans up correctly:
5
Action
Log out from the FlexPendant by clicking Log Off on the ABB menu.
In the controller console window write fpcmd_enable_console_output
.
Write fpcmd "-a"
.
For each cpp class check Number of instances. It shall be 0, except for
AdaptController
(1) and
AdaptEventImpl
(1).
If the previous step shows that there are unmanaged objects left, you need to search your code for missing
Dispose calls.
Note
You must use the real FlexPendant device when verifying memory consumption and looking for memory leaks in your code.
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6.3 Performance
6.3 Performance
About performance
A FlexPendant application cannot meet hard real time demands. There should however be no difference in performance between a FlexPendant SDK application and the standard applications of the device. If your application is slow, the advice in this section will be useful.
Tip
Do not get overwhelmed by the number of restrictions presented in this section.
Most of the time you will not notice any difference if you decide to neglect a few of them. Yet - it is good to know what can be done whenever performance does become an issue.
Less code means faster code
A general piece of advice (maybe too obvious a recommendation) is that less code normally means faster code. Remember that methods that are executed frequently, such as
OnPaint
, event handlers and so on. must be efficient. Everything that can be computed once and stored for future use should be computed only once.
Fewer controller accesses means faster code
The best thing you can do to improve performance is probably to ensure that you do not access controller functionality more often than necessary. To achieve this you need to understand CAPI, the SDK class libraries used to access robot controller functionality.
It is very easy to use a property of a class and not realize that an access to the controller is actually made. A general recommendation is to try to use subscriptions to controller information (events) where applicable, and let your application store updated values instead of performing numerous reading operations toward the same controller resource.
Tip
You can easily get an estimate of the number of controller accesses your application performs in different user scenarios by using a robot controller console. The console command robdisp_watch 2 monitors and prints controller accesses made by the FlexPendant to the console. Click a button of your application for example, and study how the FlexPendant and the controller communicate in response to this action. Enter the command robdisp_watch
0 to turn this service off. (The monitor service slows down the response time of your application, due to printing to the console. So do not get worried if your application seems unusually slow!)
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Continued
Note
Keep in mind that an excessive number of controller accesses will slow down the performance of your application. At worst, it may even affect the performance of the robot controller.
Note
Excessive use of subscriptions may also be a problem. If your application has to handle a continuous load of Rapid data and I/O signal events, and your event handlers need to manipulate the data before presenting it, GUI interaction may become slow. As a rule of thumb, do not estimate more than 20 events/sec. and keep the event handlers thin.
Fewer objects means faster code
Fewer objects means better performance. If you know that an object will be used again, create it once and keep a reference. Also, try not to create objects that may not be used.
Reusing existing objects instead of creating new ones is especially important when executing the same code repeatedly, for example in tight loops.
The following example shows how this should be done: object _o = new object(); for (int i = 0; i < 100000; i++)
{ ... }
Tip
Do not create several
Controller objects, but reuse it by sending it as a parameter when creating a new view, or share it between classes as a public property.
Transferring files
Transferring files between the device and the robot controller takes time and also occupies storage memory on the device. Write efficient and fault-tolerant code if it must be done.
Application Framework usage - ITpsViewActivation
The
ITpsViewActivation interface is used by TAF to hide and display your application. It has two methods:
Activate and
Deactivate
. The former is called by TAF at the creation of the client view, right after the
ITpsViewSetup.Install
method has been executed. The latter is called at shut down of the client view, right before the
ITpsViewSetup.Uninstall method is executed.
The interface is also used when you select another application on the task bar.
TAF then calls
ITpsViewActivation.Deactivate
(but not
ITpsViewSetup.Uninstall
). Likewise, when the application regains focus via
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Continued the task bar icon, TAF calls
ITpsViewActivation.Activate
(but not
ITpsViewSetup.Install
).
It is recommended to enable and disable any subscriptions to controller events in the
ITpsViewActivation methods, as valuable resources should not be held when the application is not used. Note that current values should be read before enabling the subscription.
For the same reason, any timers can be activated and deactivated in these methods.
That way timers will not run when other applications are in focus, thus saving processor power.
Excessive string manipulation is costly
The string class is an immutable type, that is, once a string is created its value cannot be changed. This means that string methods that seem to modify the string in fact create new strings.
Look at a this string concatenation example: string name = "192.168.126.1"; string str = "/" + name + "/" + "RAPID";
Four strings will be appended to one resulting string. No less than four additional strings will be created and allocated when the right hand side of the assignment is executed. A better idea is to use the
StringBuilder class or string.Forma
t
(which uses the
StringBuilder internally): string str = string.Format("/{0}/RAPID", name);
As a rule, if you are going to do only one string operation on a particular string, you can use the appropriate string method. It is when you start doing numerous string operations that you need to use
StringBuilder or string.Format.
Avoid Control.Refresh
Control.Refresh() must only be used when an immediate update of the GUI is absolutely required.
Refresh makes a direct call to the
OnPaint method of the
Control, and is therefore much more costly than
Control.Invalidate()
.
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Continued
Several calls to
Invalidate will not mean several calls to
OnPaint
. When the
GUI thread processes the
Invalidate message all queued up messages of the same control are handled at the same time, thus saving process power.
Note
In the 2.0 version of .NET CF there are new methods to be used for GUI controls inheriting
System.Windows.Forms.Control
:
•
SuspendLayout()
•
ResumeLayout()
•
BeginUpdate()
•
EndUpdate()
These methods are used to control GUI updates while modifying a GUI element.
The control will not be drawn when
SuspendLayout has been called, for example, but is blocked until
ResumeLayout is called.
Avoid boxing and unboxing
A common reason for slow code is unintentional boxing and unboxing. To avoid this, you need to be aware of the difference between reference and value types.
Reference types (the keyword class is used) are always allocated on the heap, while value types are allocated on the stack; unless embedded into a reference type.
Boxing is the operation where a value type, is converted to a reference type. It is done automatically when a reference to a value type is required. Then a new object will be created, allocated on the heap with a copy of the original data.
Here are some examples of not so obvious boxing/unboxing:
• Using the foreach statement on an array that contains value types will cause the values to be boxed and unboxed.
• Accessing values of a Hashtable with a value type key, will cause the key value to be boxed when the table is accessed.
• Using an ArrayList with value types; this should be avoided - use typed arrays instead. Typed arrays are also better because of type safety, as type checking can be performed at compile time.
• The following methods should be overridden in order to avoid unnecessary boxing/unboxing: Equals( ), GetHashCode( ).
Foreach
Using a for loop is often faster than using the foreach statement, especially if a large number of iterations are made. The reason is that the JIT compiler (see
About terms and acronyms on page 17
) is prohibited to optimize the code execution when foreach is used.
However, foreach makes the code more readable and is therefore a better option when performance is not crucial.
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Reflection is performance demanding
Reflection is a mechanism used to read the meta data of an assembly. The
typeof operator, for example, uses reflection to determine the type of an object. Another example is object.ToString()
, which also uses reflection.
As reflection is very performance demanding you are recommended to override or to avoid the
ToString() method for reference types.
Efficiently parsing Xlm
XmlTextReader and
XmlDocument can both be used to parse xml data. The
XmlTextReader is the preferred option in most cases; it is more light weight (less memory footprint) and a lot faster to instantiate. The limitation of the
XmlTextReader is that forward only reading is possible.
The xml structure may also have an impact on performance. If xml data is organized in non- flat way, search operations will be faster, as a large portion of the information can be skipped. This is achieved by using categories and sub categories.
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6.4 Reliability
Overview
This section presents information on how to make the application robust. The most important mechanism related to robustness and reliability is error handling. Avoiding thread conflicts and memory leaks are however also important means of improving reliability.
Error handling in .NET applications
As already pointed out in this manual, Microsoft recommends that exceptions are used to discover and report anomalities in .NET applications. If you are not sure about when to use exceptions or how to do the implementation you should read
to understand the general idea before moving on to the FlexPendant specific information of this section.
SDK exception classes
The
ABB.Robotics
namespace provides quite a few exception classes, used by the FlexPendant SDK and SDK applications. In addition, the SDK also uses
System exceptions and may throw a
System.ArgumentException
object for example.
Whenever an exception is thrown, your application must catch it and take proper action. You catch an exception by using the try-catch(-finally) statements.
For more information about how to implement these statements, see
.
As you see in the following image
GeneralException derives from
BaseException
, which in turn derives from
System.ApplicationException
of the .NET Framework class library.
ApplicationException is thrown by user programs, such as the FlexPendant
SDK, not by the Common Language Runtime (CLR, for more information, see
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Continued
). It therefore represents a way to differentiate between exceptions defined by applications versus exceptions defined by the system.
As you see there are derived types under
GeneralException
. The following table lists and briefly describes these types:
7.4_1General
7.4_2FP_SDK_
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Continued
Tip
For more information on FlexPendant SDK exception classes, see Reference
Manual FlexPendant SDK.
Thread affinity
You should be aware that execution of code modifying the user interface, has to be done on the thread that created the GUI control, the so called GUI thread.
An application initially starts with a single thread. Normally all user interface controls are created by this thread. Windows CE user interface objects are characterized by thread affinity, which means that they are closely coupled with the thread that created them.
Interacting with the message queue of an interface control from a thread other then the creating thread may cause data corruption or other errors. This restriction applies to the thread pool as well as to explicitly created threads.
When executing on a secondary thread, a so called worker thread, an update of the user interface must therefore be done very carefully, enforcing a switch to the
GUI thread. This is in fact a very common scenario, as controller events use their own threads and should often be communicated to the end user by a GUI update.
Note
Thread affinity is especially relevant as for robot controller events, as these by default execute on a background thread. For more information and code samples, see
Controller events and threads on page 51
and
Controller events and threads on page 51
. The following section also deals with the same issue.
Invoke
In order to execute a method on the GUI thread
Control.Invoke
can be used.
It should however be done carefully, as it makes a synchronous call to the specified event handler, which blocks execution until the GUI thread has finished executing the method. All concurrent calls to
Invoke will be queued and executed in their queue order by the GUI thread. This could easily make the GUI less responsive.
There is now an asynchronous version of
Invoke
, which should be used instead whenever possible.
TpsControl.BeginInvoke
is a non blocking method, which lets the worker thread continue execution instead of waiting for the GUI thread to have processed the method
Remember that
Invoke as well as BeginInvoke should only be used on code that modifies the user interface. You should keep the execution on the background thread as long as possible.
Note
If your code tries to access a GUI control from a background thread the .NET
common language runtime will throw a
System.NotSupportedException
.
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Continued
Memory leaks
As FlexPendant applications are supposed to run without interruption, no memory leaks can be permitted. It is your responsibility to properly clean up and call
Dispose
. Take your time studying
How to avoid memory leaks on page 77
,
and
Technical overview of the FlexPendant device on page 165
.
Utilizing multi-threading
Threading enables your program to perform concurrent processing so you can do more than one operation at a time. For example, you can use threading to monitor input from the user, and perform background tasks simultaneously. The
System.Threading
namespace provides classes and interfaces which enable you to easily perform tasks such as creating and starting new threads, synchronizing multiple threads, suspending threads and aborting threads.
The classes
Thread and
ThreadPool can be used to execute methods on a worker thread. Use
ThreadPool for temporary usage of a background thread when a task is meant to terminate fairly soon. Use
Thread only for background work that will persist, for example a thread that fetches data from the controller continuously.
There are two timers available in .NET CF that can be used to execute methods periodically at specified intervals. There is however, an important difference between these. The
System.Threading.Timer
executes the method on a background thread, while the
System.Windows.Forms.Timer
executes the method on the
UI thread.
Note
Use
System.Threading.Timer
if you want to poll data from the controller in order to reduce the load on the GUI thread.
Lock statement
The lock statement is used in multi-threaded applications to make sure access to a part of the code is made by one thread exclusively. If a second thread attempts to lock code which has already been locked by another thread, it must wait until the lock is released.
Remember to limit the code segment that you want to control, that is, only lock what is absolutely necessary to make the code thread safe:
Object thisLock = new Object(); lock (thisLock)
{
// Critical code section
}
Deadlocks must be avoided. They can occur if more than one lock is used. If more than one lock object must be held, they must always be locked and released in the same order, wherever they are used.
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Continued
Note
If a deadlock occurs, the FlexPendant system will hang. If this happens you should attach the device to the Visual Studio debugger and study the call stack of the threads in the Threads window.
CAUTION
Using the lock statement in combination with a call to
Invoke is a potential cause to deadlock situations, since
Invoke is a blocking call. In short, be careful if you use locks!
Multicast delegates
If a multicast delegate is executed, the execution of the delegates is terminated if an exception is thrown by one of the delegates. It means that the remaining delegates in the list will not be executed if an exception is thrown. This situation can cause erratic behavior, which may be tricky to trace and debug.
Therefore, if you have numerous delegates which are to execute as the result of the same event, you may want to implement the
GetInvocationList method. It retrieves a list with a copy of the delegates. This list can be iterated and each delegate called directly:
7.4_3.GetInv
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7.1 Debugging
7 FlexPendant - Debugging and troubleshooting
7.1 Debugging
Introduction
Using the Visual Studio debugger for a FlexPendant SDK application presents no difference compared to standard .NET development. Debugging can be done using the virtual IRC5 in RobotStudio or a real controller.
Exception error codes
Some exceptions that may appear during development have error codes associated with them. The error codes may help you correct the problem.
Code
0x80040401
0x80040402
0xC0040401
0xC0040402
0xC0040403
0xC0040404
0xC0040405
0xC0040406
0xC0040408
0xC0040409
0xC0040410
0xC0040411
0xC0040412
0xC0040413
0xC0040414
0xC0040415
0xC0040416
0xC0040417
Description
The requested poll level could not be met, poll level low is used.
The requested poll level could not be met, poll level medium is used.
No connection with controller.
Error connecting to controller.
No response from controller.
Message queue full. (Should only happen if asynchronous calls are made.)
Waiting for a resource.
The message sent is too large to handle.
A string does not contain characters exclusively from a supported encoding, for example ISO-8859-1 (ISO-Latin1).
The resource can not be released since it is in use.
The client is already logged on as a controller user.
The controller was not present in NetScan.
The NetScanID is no longer in use. Controller removed from list.
The client id is not associated with a controller user. Returned only by methods that need to check this before sending request to controller. Otherwise, see 0xC004840F.
The RobotWare version is later than the installed Robot Communication Runtime. A newer Robot Communication Runtime needs to be installed. Returned by RobHelperFactory.
The major and minor part of the RobotWare version is known, but the revision is later and not fully compatible. A newer Robot
Communication Runtime needs to be installed. Code returned by RobHelperFactory.
The RobotWare version is no longer supported. Code returned by RobHelperFactory.
The helper type is not supported by the RobotWare. Helper might be obsolete or for later RobotWare versions, or the helper may not be supported by a BootLevel controller. Code returned by RobHelperFactory.
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Continued
Code
0xC0040418
0xC0040601
0xC0040602
0xC0040603
0xC0040604
0xC0040605
0xC0040606
0xC0040607
0xC0040608
0xC0040609
0xC0040701
0xC0040702
0xC0040703
0xC0040704
0xC0040705
0xC0048401
0xC0048402
0xC0048403
0xC0048404
0xC0048405
0xC0048406
0xC0048407
0xC0048408
0xC0048409
0xC004840A
0xC004840B
0xC004840C
0xC004840D
0xC004840F
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Description
System id and network id mismatch, they do not identify the same controller.
Call was made by other client than the one that made the
Connect() call.
File not found on the local file system. Can be that file, directory or device does not exist.
File not found on the remote file system. Can be that file, directory or device does not exist.
Error when accessing/creating file on the local file system.
Error when accessing/creating file on the remote file system.
The path or filename is too long or otherwise bad for the Vx-
Works file system.
The file transfer was interrupted. When transferring to remote system, the cause may be that the remote device is full.
The local device is full.
Client already has a connection and can not make a new connection until the present one is disconnected.
One or more files in the release directory is corrupt and cannot be used when launching a VC.
One or more files in the system directory is corrupt and cannot be used when launching a VC.
A VC for this system has already been started; only one VC per system is allowed.
Could not warm start VC since it must be cold started first.
The requested operation failed since VC ownership is not held or could not be obtained.
Out of memory.
Not yet implemented.
The service is not supported in this version of the controller.
Operation not allowed on active system.
The data requested does not exist.
The directory does not contain all required data to complete the operation.
Operation rejected by the controller safety access restriction mechanism.
The resource is not held by caller.
An argument specified by the client is not valid for this type of operation.
Mismatch in controller id between backup and current system.
Mismatch in key id, that is, options, languages and so on.
between backup and current system.
Mismatch in robot type between backup and current system.
Client not allowed to log on as local user.
The client is not logged on as a controller user.
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7.1 Debugging
Continued
Code
0xC0048410
0xC0048411
0xC0048412
0xC0048413
0xC0048414
0xC0048415
0xC0048416
0xC0048417
0xC0048418
0xC0048419
0xC004841A
0xC004841B
0xC004841C
0xC004841D
0xC004841E
0xC004841F
0xC0048420
0xC0048421
0xC0048422
0xC0048423
0xC0049000
0xC0049001
0xC0049002
0xC0049003
0xC0049004
0xC0049005
0xC0049006
0xC0049007
0xC0049008
0xC0049009
0xC004900A
0xC004900B
0xC004900C
0xC004900D
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Description
The requested resource is already held by caller
The max number of the requested resources has been reached.
No request active for the given user.
Operation/request timed out on controller.
No local user is logged on.
The operation was not allowed for the given user.
The URL used to initialize the helper does not resolve to a valid object.
The amount of data is too large to fulfill the request.
Controller is busy. Try again later.
The request was denied.
Requested resource is held by someone else.
Requested feature is disabled.
The operation is not allowed in current operation mode. For example, a remote user may not be allowed to perform the operation in manual mode.
The user does not have required mastership for the operation.
Operation not allowed while backup in progress.
Operation not allowed when tasks are in synchronized state.
Operation not allowed when task is not active in task selection panel.
Mismatch in controller id between backup and current system.
Mismatch in controller id between backup and current.
Invalid client id.
RAPID symbol was not found.
The given source position is illegal for the operation.
The given file was not recognized as a program file, for example the XML semantics may be incorrect.
Ambiguous module name.
The RAPID program name is not set.
Module is read protected.
Module is write protected.
Operation is illegal in current execution state.
Operation is illegal in current task state.
The robot is not on path and is unable to restart. Regain to or clear path.
Operation is illegal at current execution level.
Operation can not be performed without destroying the current execution context.
The RAPID heap memory is full.
Operation not allowed due to syntax error(s).
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7.1 Debugging
Continued
Code
0xC004900E
0xC004900F
0xC0049010
0xC0049011
0xC0049012
0xC0049013
0xC0049014
0xC0049015
0xC004A000
0xC004A001
0xC004A002
0xC004A003
0xC004A004
0xC004A005
0xC004A006
0xC004A007
0xC004A008
0xC004A009
0xC004A00B
0xC004A00C
0xC004A200
Description
Operation not allowed due to semantic error(s).
Given routine is not a legal entry point. Possible reasons are: routine is a function, or routine has parameters.
Illegal to move PCP to given place.
Max number of rob targets exceeded.
Object is not mod possible. Possible reasons are: object is a variable, object is a parameter, object is an array.
Operation not allowed with displacement active.
The robot is not on path and is unable to restart. Regain to path. Clear is not allowed.
Previously planned path remains. Choose to either consume the path, which means the initial movement might be in an unexpected direction, or to clear the path and move directly to next target.
General file handling error.
The device is full.
Wrong disk. Change disk and try again.
The device is not ready.
Invalid path.
Not a valid device.
Unable to create directory.
The directory does not exist.
The directory already exists.
The directory contains data.
Unable to create file.
File not found or could not be opened for reading.
Disable of unit not allowed at trustlevel 0.
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7.2 Debug output
7.2 Debug output
Overview
It is possible to get debug output from the FlexPendant by using the network. This is useful for several reasons. It will reveal any exceptions thrown during execution, for example, providing you with error messages and call stacks. Moreover, it can help you check memory consumption and memory leaks in your application.
The FlexPendant message is packed into a network message and sent out on the network as a broadcast message on port 9998. Such a message can be picked up in different ways:
• Connect a hub on the local FlexPendant network and connect a PC to it. Use nc.exe to pick up the messages (nc - lup 9998).
• The messages sent are also stored in a ring-buffer of size 100kB. To read the buffer to file and store it on the controller, you can use the FlexPendant
Command Server. Use fpcmd “-d”.
• It is also possible to start a task on the controller that listens to port 9998 and displays all messages in the console buffer. Use command fp_enable_console_output.
Tip
For a list of exceptions that the IRC5 Controller may throw, see
.
Enable debug output
To enable debug output write fpcmd_enable_console_output in the controller console window. For more information on console window, see
Exception error codes on page 181 .
These are the console commands used to enable and disable printouts:
Console command
fpcmd_enable_console_output 1 fpcmd_enable_console_output 2 fpcmd_enable_console_output 3
Result
Starts producing printouts from RobotWare to the robot controller console.
Starts producing printouts from SDK application.
Combines the two preceding: RobotWare + SDK printouts.
Stops printout to the robot controller console.
fpcmd_disable_console_output
The following command can be used to retrieve detailed status of the robot controller, which may be useful, although it may not be specifically related to your application.
Console command
fpcmd “-d”
Result
Produces a log file with extensive information on system status to the robot controller file system(hd0a/temp). Use an ftp client or the File Manager in RobotStudio to transfer the file to your PC.
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7.2 Debug output
Continued
FlexPendant Command Server
By using the command line on the controller you can send commands to the
FlexPendant. The FlexPendant has a command server that interprets the commands and performs the requested operation. The syntax for command line commands is fpcmd “<command>”. The only command you need to remember is fpcmd "-h"
, which is the Help command. It produces a printout of available FlexPendant commands in the controller console:
-> fpcmd "-h" value = 8 = 0x8-> [fp]: FlexPendantCmd: Help
The following table lists the command with the specific actions:
Command
fpcmd "-h" fpcmd "-a" fpcmd "-m" fpcmd "-i" fpcmd "-f" fpcmd "-x" fpcmd "-s" fpcmd "-d" fpcmd "-as" fpcmd "-rd" fpcmd "-restart" fpcmd "-memshow" fpcmd "-module" fpcmd "-filePut" fpcmd "-filleted" fpcmd "-diarist"
Action
Help
Adapter show routine
Measure time in adapters
Display FlexPendant Information
Bring GTPU Services to front
Hide startup progress bar
Start application
Copy Debug file to controller
Print screen
Robot Communication Runtime debug
Restart Device
Available memory
Module information of a process
Upload a file to the FlexPendant
Download a file to the FlexPendant
List a directory
Note
All commands support -? (for example fpcmd “-memShow -?”), which gives further information about the specific command.
Tip
It is possible to monitor memory consumption in the robot controller console window:
1 Write fpcmd_enable_console_output 3
.
2 Write fpcmd "-memShow"
.
For more information, see
.
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Continued
Trace and Debug
The
ABB.Robotics.Diagnostics namespace provides trace and debug services. Its
Trace and
Debug classes are specifically designed for the FlexPendant environment.
The properties and methods in the
Trace class are used to instrument release builds, which allows you to monitor the health of your application running in a real-life setting. Tracing can help you to isolate problems and fix them without disturbing a running system.
If you use methods in the
Debug class to print debugging information and check your logic with assertions, you can make your code more robust without impacting the performance and code size of your shipping product. In Visual Studio, creating a debug build enables
Debug
.
Trace and
Debug give printout information during execution. Messages are displayed on the FlexPendant screen or in the robot controller console. The functionality is similar to that provided by the .Net
Trace and
Debug classes.
The
Assert method checks for a condition and displays an assert message on the FlexPendant, including detailed information and a stack trace, if the condition is false. The message is also displayed in the controller console window if you enter the command
fpcmd_enable_console_output first.
Note
Add the
ABB.Robotics.Diagnostics namespace to the using section at the top of your source code file.
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7.3 Debugging the virtual FlexPendant
7.3 Debugging the virtual FlexPendant
Overview
When debugging your application it is often convenient to use the virtual environment, but it is almost as easy to attach the Visual Studio debugger to the real FlexPendant device. For information about how that is done see
Debugging the FlexPendant device on page 192
.
This section describes how to start the Visual Studio debugger, attach a running
Virtual FlexPendant to it, set up break points and step through the source code of a FlexPendant application.
Debugging procedure
There are several ways of attaching a Visual Studio debugger to a running Virtual
FlexPendant application. In this section one method is described in detail.
There is no way to start your FlexPendant application from inside the Visual Studio environment. You must start by deploying the application to the Virtual FlexPendant in RobotStudio. How to do this is described in
Hands on - Hello world on page 70 .
Then you start the Virtual FlexPendant and attach the Visual Studio debugger to it.
Note
In order to use break points the project build configuration must be Debug. You set it in the the Build tab of the Project Properties. The output directory, where you find the assembly (*.dll), the proxy assembly (*gtpu.dll) and the program database (*.pdb) is the bin/Debug directory, a sub-directory of your Visual Studio project.
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Continued
Attach to Process
When you have a running application on the Virtual FlexPendant follow these steps:
Step
1
Action
In Visual Studio on the Debug menu, select Attach to Process. It brings up this dialog:
2
3
4
9.1.3_1Attac
Select the Virtual FlexPendant.exe process and click the Attach button.
Set a break point in your source code.
On the Virtual FlexPendant, click a button of your application or something else that will make program execution hit the breakpoint.
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Step
5
Action
On the Debug menu, point at Windows and select the debugging information to be displayed while debugging. See following example:
6
7
9.1.3_2StepB
On the Debug menu, select the appropriate Step command when stepping through your code.
On the Debug menu, click Detach All or Stop Debugging when you want to stop debugging.
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Windows Task Manager
You can also attach a running application through the Windows Task Manager.
Step
1 Start Windows Task Manager and select the Processes tab.
9.1.3_3TaskM
2
3
Select the Virtual FlexPendant.exe process and right-click to get the context menu. In that menu select Debug. You will get a warning message, but select
Yes.
A Just -In -Time Debugging dialog will appear. Select your application project as the debugger to use.
Launching debugger programatically
Yet another way of attaching a debugger is to launch it programatically, by writing code in your application.
Step Action
Insert the following line where you want the debugger to start:
System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Launch()
Start the application in the Virtual FlexPendant and perform the action which is to launch the debugger. A Just- In-Time Debugging dialog will appear.
Select your Visual Studio project as the debugger. Click OK and start the debug session.
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7.4 Debugging the FlexPendant device
7.4 Debugging the FlexPendant device
Overview
This section provides information on how to do debug an application executing on the real FlexPendant device.
In general, using the Visual Studio debugger to debug the device works very well and is strongly recommended, but depending on the OS, Visual Studio version and FlexPendant version you are using the requirements for setting up and attaching the Visual Studio debugger will differ somewhat.
Further information and updates concerning this topic will from this release be published on the FlexPendant SDK User Forum (and not in theApplication manual).
For more information, see
FlexPendant SDK User Forum on page 194 .
Prerequisites
The following requirements have to be met:
• Service Pack 1 or 2 for .NET Compact Framework 2.0 (.NET CF 2.0 SP2) is required for setting up and using the Visual Studio debugger on the
FlexPendant device. It can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads.
• To debug with Visual Studio 2008 (as well as Visual Studio 2005 without SP1) you must follow a procedure that will be presented on the FlexPendant SDK
User Forum. The procedure will be different for each RobotWare release.
• If your PC is running under Windows Vista “Windows Mobile Device Center” needs to be installed in order to connect to the device.
Setting up the network
This illustration shows how to connect the FlexPendant, the Robot Controller and your PC in order to debug your application using the Visual Studio debugger.
9.1.4_3Debug
The FlexPendant has a static IP address 192.168.126.10. Your PC IP address must be one on the 126 subnet, that is, 192.168.126.x (not 1 or 255).
Note that this setup is completely independent of the LAN and Service ports. You are plugging the TPU cable from the RC into the switch, a cable from the switch to the RC, and a cable from your PC to the switch.
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A connection over the LAN port is optional, but useful, as you may need to use
RSO or FTP at the same time. To use both connections, your PC requires two
NICs.
Debugging procedure
Follow these steps to set up and attach the Visual Studio 2005 SP1debugger to the FlexPendant device:
Step
1
2
Action
On the Tools menu in Visual Studio 2005 click Options.
In the Options dialog expand the Device Tools node and select Devices. Select
Windows CE 5.0 Device as shown in the following screenshot.
3
4
9.1.4_6FPDeb
Note! If your FlexPendant version is SxTpu1 the option Windows CE 5.0 Device is not available. Instead you should select Pocket PC 2003 Device.
When the right device has been selected click Properties and then Configure.
Apply the settings shown in the picture.
9.1.4_7FPDeb
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Continued
Step
5
Action
On the Debug/Tools menu in Visual Studio click Attach To Process. In the dialog select Smart Device for Transport and click the Browse button to specify platform and device. Then click Connect.
6
7
8
9.1.4_8FPDeb
In the Available Processes list select taf.exe. Click Attach.
Set a break point in your source code.
On the FlexPendant, click a button of your application or something else that will make program execution hit the breakpoint.
Note
If your PC is NOT using XP with Visual Studio 2005 SP1 you need to find information on how to attach the Visual Studio debugger for your specific environment on the FlexPendant SDK User Forum.
FlexPendant SDK User Forum
The User Forum of ABB’s RobotStudio Community has a section dedicated to
FlexPendant SDK. Here beginners as well as experts discuss code and solutions online. This is also where you find FlexPendant SDK releases for free download and any information that the development or support team want to share with you.
For more information, see
RobotStudio Community on page 16 .
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7.5 Troubleshooting FlexPendant applications
7.5 Troubleshooting FlexPendant applications
Overview
If you encounter problems when running your application there are a few things you should do before contacting your service organization. The following steps represent a rough guideline:
1
2
3
4
5
Action
Is it possible to start your application? If not see
FlexPendant application does not start on page 195 .
Have you checked the FlexPendant SDK Release Notes? Many questions will find an answer in the Release Notes of the specific release. These are available on the RobotWare DVD and at the Software Download Site.
Have you tried to pinpoint the problem by debugging the FlexPendant? If not see
Debugging the FlexPendant device on page 192
for information about how to do it.
Have you tried to get debug printouts? For more information, see
.
Is the problem FlexPendant hangings? Make sure you use
Invoke when modifying the user interface due to a robot controller event. For more information, see
GUI and controller event threads in conflict on page 51
and
When a hanging occurs attach the Visual Studio debugger to the FlexPendant. On the Debug menu, point at Windows and select Threads. Examine the threads to discover any deadlocks.
Tip
If you still have not found a solution to your problem, take a look at the User
Forum of RobotStudio Community, which includes a forum dedicated to discussion and chat on FlexPendant SDK, RAPID and IRC5 development topics.
For more information, see
Documentation and help on page 15
FlexPendant application does not start
If you are unable to start your application the following table suggests possible scenarios.
Problem
The proxy assembly (*.gtpu.dll) is not built.
Possible solution
Correct any parameter error in the TpsView attribute.
For more information, see
FlexPendant TpsView attribute on page 40 .
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Problem
The ABB Compliance Tool complains it cannot find the C# compiler.
Possible solution
It happens that the installation of Visual Studio does not set the path to the C# compiler properly. The C# compiler is necessary for running the ABB Compliance
Tool.
Confirm that the C# compiler is available by starting a command window and run “CSC.EXE”. If the result is similar to this the path is properly set:
C:\>csc.exe
Microsoft (R) Visual C# .NET Compiler version
7.10.3052.4
for Microsoft (R) .NET Framework version
1.1.4322Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 2001-2002.
All rights reserved.
fatal error CS2008: No inputs specified
If not, find CSC.EXE and copy its path to the Properties dialog of your Visual Studio project. Also add the path to the system PATH environment variables.For Windows 2000 Pro and Windows XP find the dialog for this at:Control Panel -> System -> Advanced ->Environment
Variables -> System variables-> Add new. Add the path to the directory where the C# compiler is kept. Notice that a semicolon separates the path items.Verify in the command window afterwards that the CSC.EXE runs.
The application does not appear in the ABB menu.
Make sure the robot system has the FlexPendant Interface option.
Null reference exception or “Can’t
find object” when tapping the application icon in the ABB menu.
Make sure all arguments in the TpsView attribute are appropriate. For more information, see
TpsView attribute on page 40 .
The bitmap constructor fails when the real FlexPendant tries to load your images, in the virtual environment this does not happen.
Change your images if they use more than 256 colors.
The operating system of the first generation FlexPendant device (SxTPU1) only supports 256 colors.
The Virtual FlexPendant process remains alive.
If you forget to dispose an object that has a COM reference, such as the Controller object or a Signal, the
Virtual FlexPendant process might stay alive. Go through the application and make sure that you dispose of all objects that have a Dispose method.
Important support information
If you cannot solve the problem on your own, make sure that before taking contact with a support organization this information is available:
• Written description of the problem.
• Application source code.
• System error logs.
• A backup of the system.
• Description of work-around if such exists.
Tip
Even better than the complete application is a small repro program, which exposes your problem.
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8 Localizing a FlexPendant application
8.1 Adding support for several languages
8 Localizing a FlexPendant application
8.1 Adding support for several languages
Introduction
This chapter provides the information needed to localize a customized application.
The FlexPendant has built-in support for localization, and the mechanisms used by the standard FlexPendant applications can also be used by FlexPendant SDK applications.
This enables customized applications to be presented in the active language of the FlexPendant, that is, the language selected in the standard view Control Panel
- Language.
For this to work the texts displayed in the customized application must be translated and the application localized as described in this chapter.
Get started
Develop the application using English as the default language. The recommendation is to design, implement and test the application before adding support for other languages. To localize a FlexPendant application carefully complete each procedure of this chapter.
Note
A method is needed to handle localization when new application functionality is added.
1 Create project for text resources
This procedure sets up a separate project for the user interface texts.
Step
1
Action
Create a new project in the solution. Choose a Smart Device - Windows CE 5.0 -
Empty Project and name the project <YourAppName>Texts.
2
3
4
Note
Both projects should belong to the same solution. The application will now compile to three assemblies: <YourAppName>.dll , <YourAppName>.gtpu.dll and
<YourAppName>Texts.dll.
In the Texts project add a reference to System (.Net ).
Set the Output type to Class Library (this is done in the Project Properties).
The namespace used for the Texts project must be the same as used for the main project. As the namespace is not visible in the resource file you must change it in the Project Properties like this:
10.1_5String
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Continued
Step
5
6
Action
Add a Resources file to the project by right clicking the project in Solution Explorer and selecting Add New Item. Set the name of the file to “strings.resx". This file will contain the texts of the default language (normally English).
Open the resource file and add name and value for the texts of the default language.
Use capital letters in the name column.
7
6.5.1_1Multi
In the Texts project create a folder with the culture short form as name, for example de for German and sv for Swedish.
8
10.1_6FPLang
Note
Russian (ru) has been added in RobotWare/FlexPendant SDK 5.11.
CAUTION
The standard short forms listed in the preceding screenshot must be used.
Note
To use Chinese or another language with non-western characters, you must use the FlexPendant font,
TpsFont
, for any UI controls. It internally checks what language is currently active on the FlexPendant and uses the correct font for that language.
Copy the “strings.resx” file to the folder(s) created in the previous step.
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8.1 Adding support for several languages
Continued
Step
9
Action
The name of the file used for the foreign resources should be strings.<culture>.resx, for example “strings.sv.resx" as in the following screenshot. Right click the file and rename it.
10
10.1_4String
Open the resource file and translate the texts in the value column. The name is the identity of the text and should remain the same.
Note
Obviously, texts might get longer or shorter when translated. You may therefore need to increase the sizes of some GUI controls when you have tested the application.
2 Prepare main project for localization
Follow these steps to add localization to your main project:
Step
1
2
Action
Add a reference to ABB.Robotics.Taf.Base in the main project.
In the
TpsView attribute of the view class insert the name of the Texts dll like this:
[assembly: TpsView("ABB_MENU_TITLE_TXT","tpu-Operator32.gif","tpu-Operator16.gif", "TpsViewIRC5App.dll",
"TpsViewIRC5App.TpsViewIRC5App", StartPanelLocation.Left, TpsViewType.Static,"TpsViewLocalizedApp-
Texts.dll", TpsViewStartupTypes.Manual)]
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Continued
Step
3
Action
Declare a
TpsResourceManager object at the top of the class as a private member variable and initialize it in the constructor.
Add a call to an
InitializeTexts method.
//declaration private ABB.Robotics.Tps.Resources.TpsResourceManager _tpsRM;
//constructor method
_tpsRM = new ABB.Robotics.Tps.Resources.TpsResourceManager("TpsViewLocalizedApp.strings", ABB.Robotics.Taf.Base.TafAssembly.Load("TpsViewLocalizedApp-
Texts.dll"));
InitializeComponent();
InitializeTexts();
4
5
Note
The first constructor argument should be the name of your application with .strings
as an added suffix. The second argument is the name of the assembly containing the resources.
Implement
InitializeTexts
( ). Use the
TpsResourceManager object and call
GetString
( ) using the identity (name) of the text you want as argument. Depending on the active language of the FlexPendant this call will retrieve the corresponding language resource.
Example:
InitializeTexts()
{ this.Label1.Text = _tpsRM.GetString("TXT_INSTR_LABEL");
}
Leave the contents of the
InitializeComponent method as it is, for example
Label1.Text = "Signals" and so on.
The
TpsResourceManager object has not yet been created when the application icon and title are to appear in the ABB menu, and therefore another technique must be used to have them correctly displayed. Add a resource name for the application title and a value in the resource file of each language.
In the
TpsView attribute the first argument is the application title. Replace it with the resource name. It may look like this:
[assembly: TpsView("ABB_MENU_TITLE_TXT", ...,...
TpsViewIRC5AppTexts.dll")]
The corresponding resource value will now be used. In case no resource is found the name will be used as is.
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3 Build satellite assembly
Follow these steps to create a satellite assembly of the localized resx file:
Step
1
Action
The localized resource file should not be built with the ordinary build process, that is, the property Build Action should be set to “None". Right click on the strings.<culture>.resx file and select properties:
2
6.5.1_4resxP
You should now use the Visual Studio 2005 tool resgen.exe to compile the resx file to a binary resource. After this the Visual Studio 2005 assembly linker tool al.exe should make a satellite assembly of the binary resource.
Read the following steps very carefully to make sure the satellite assembly is built correctly.
Note
Localization with Visual Studio 2008 has not yet been tested.
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Continued
Step
3
Action
Create a post-build event in the Texts project in order to automate the building process.
Example:
TpsViewLocalizedApp with resources in Swedish: mkdir ..\..\language mkdir ..\..\language\sv mkdir ..\..\language\sv\tps cd ..\..\sv\ del *.resources
del *.dll
if exist strings.sv.resx ( resgen strings.sv.resx TpsViewLocalizedApp.strings.sv .resources al /t:lib /embed:TpsViewLocalizedApp.strings.sv.resources
/culture:en /out:TpsViewLocalizedAppTexts.resources.dll
copy TpsViewLocalizedAppTexts.resources.dll ..\language\sv\tps\TpsViewLocalizedAppTexts.resources.dll)
10.1_9PostBu
The resgen command is written like this: resgen strings.<culture>.resx
<Namespace>.strings.<culture>.resources
where
<culture> should be replaced with the correct language short form and
<Namespace> should be replaced with the application namespace.
The al command takes the resulting dll located in the same directory as the resx file and makes a satellite assembly of it: al /t:lib /embed:<Namespace>.strings.<culture>.resources
/culture:en /out:<AssemblyName>.resources.dll
Note
The name of the satellite assembly will be the same for all localized languages.
The third argument of the al command, culture:en, should be “en” . The reason is that the FlexPendant operating system has English as the underlying language.
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Step
4
Action
It is necessary to ensure that the post-build step is executed with the correct versions of resgen.exe and al.exe. The easiest way to do this is to use a Visual Studio 2005
Command prompt to build the project (or solution) or to start Visual Studio from that prompt.
First click Windows Start menu to launch the Command Prompt (at Programs >
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 > Visual Studio Tools).Then use the command devenv in order to start Visual Studio 2005.
Now open your solution and build it. The post-build command is now guaranteed to execute with the correct settings.
6.5.1_5VSCmd
Note
As default, Visual Studio will run post-build commands using the PC’s user settings
(paths and so on.). If you had Visual Studio 2003 installed earlier the post-build command is therefore very likely to use the wrong versions of resgen.exe and al.exe.
The preceding procedure described guarantees that the Visual Studio 2005 versions are used.
(These can be found at: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio
8\SDK\v2.0\bin/resgen.exe C:\WINNT\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727/al.exe)
4 Test a localized application
In order to test a localized application, the resources must be correctly organized in the file system of the controller. This should be done in the same way either the test is done on a virtual or a real FlexPendant. Follow these steps to test the application on a real FlexPendant:
Step
1
Action
Transfer, using an FTP client or the File Manager of RobotStudio, your application assemblies to the HOME directory of the active system. (TpsViewLocalizedApp-
Texts.dll, TpsViewLocalizedApp.gtpu.dll, TpsViewLocalizedApp.dll in the following screenshot).
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Step
2
Action
Copy the language folder that was created by the post-build event to the HOME directory.
3
10.1_3Langua
Note
It is also possible to have both the assemblies and the language folder located under the SYSTEM folder one level up. The advantage of using HOME is that the files are included in a backup.
Verify that the language folder has folders for each language and that each tps folder have a .resources dll. If this is not the case, you need to go back to the post-build event of your Texts project and check what has gone wrong.
4
5
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10.1_3bLangu
Note
The name of the satellite assembly is the same for all languages, TpsViewLocalized-
AppTexts.resources.dll in the preceding example.
Switch to another language (Control Panel - Languages) and restart the FlexPendant.
Verify that the name of your application in the ABB menu is correct.
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8.1 Adding support for several languages
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Step
6
Action
Open the application and verify that the GUI texts are correctly displayed. Especially verify that text boxes, labels, listview columns and so on. are wide enough to display the translated texts.
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9 Deployment of a FlexPendant SDK application
9.1 Overview
9 Deployment of a FlexPendant SDK application
9.1 Overview
Introduction
For the end customer to use your application, it has to be deployed to the customer’s robot controller. This is done when the customer robot system is created, by using the System Builder in RobotStudio. The custom application can then either be added as an additional option by using a license key, or added to the
Home directory of the controller file system by using one of the dialog box of the
System Builder wizard.
For an application with multi-language support there are a few more things to deal with.
Note
Using an FTP client to upload the application from a PC to a robot controller can be done for testing purposes. It can also be done if the custom application needs to be added to an existing system, which is already running in production. For more information, see
Deployment using FTP on page 215 .
Making a product
These are the steps to make a product of a custom FlexPendant application:
1 Approval of the FlexPendant SDK product requirement specification.
2 Design and development of a FlexPendant SDK GUI prototype.
3 Approval of the FlexPendant SDK GUI prototype.
4 Design and development of a FlexPendant SDK functional prototype.
5 Approval of the FlexPendant SDK functional prototype.
6 Design and development of a FlexPendant SDK product.
7 Approval of the FlexPendant SDK product.
8 Design and development of a deployable FlexPendant SDK product.
Deployment of a FlexPendant SDK product
Before deploying a custom application you need to consider these issues:
• Should the product be licensed, that is, be sold as an option?
• Is there a need to localize the product, that is, create support for native languages?
Depending on how the preceding questions are answered there are four alternatives
(detailed separately in the following sections of this manual):
1 License and localization
2 License but no localization
3 No license but localization
4 No license and no localization
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Note
If the product is to be licensed it should be deployed as an additional option. If not, RobotStudio should be used to deploy the application to the Home directory of the system.
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9 Deployment of a FlexPendant SDK application
9.2 Deployment of an application without a license
9.2 Deployment of an application without a license
Overview
If you do not make an additional option of your application, the end user does not need a license to use it.
When the customer system is created, by using the System Builder of RobotStudio, your application should be added to the Home directory of the system.
This section gives information about how this is done. The easiest alternative, which offers no support for additional languages, is explained first.
No license and no localization
Use the following procedure to deploy an application without license nor multi-language support.
Step
1
2
Action
Use System Builder in RobotStudio.
Add the application assemblies(.dll) and other resources (‘.jpg, *.gif,*.bmp) to the
Home directory:
3
10.1_2SysBui
Download the system to the robot controller.
Note
Having the application deployed to the Home directory means it will be included in a system backup.
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No license but localization
Use the following procedure to deploy an application with no license but with multi-language support.
2
3
Step
1
Action
Implement multi-language support. For more information, see
Localizing a FlexPendant application on page 197
.
Use System Builder in RobotStudio.
Add the application assemblies(.dlls) and other resources (‘.jpg, *.gif,*.bmp) to the
Home directory:
4
5
10.1_2SysBui
Note!TpsViewIRC5AppTexts.dll is missing in the figure.
Generate the robot system.
In the generated RobotWare system, add a language directory with all supported languages in the Home directory. Then for each supported language, add a culture specific and a tps directory.
10.1_3Langua
Note
Standard names (de, zh and so on.) must be used for the different languages. For complete list, see
Adding support for several languages on page 197 .
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9.2 Deployment of an application without a license
Continued
Step
6
7
Action
Transfer each resource binary to the tps sub-directory of the respective culture directory, for example:
TpsViewIRC5App.strings.de.resources.dll to language/de/tps directory and so on.
Download the system to the robot controller.
For more information on how to add support for native languages to your custom application, see
Localizing a FlexPendant application on page 197
.
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9 Deployment of a FlexPendant SDK application
9.3 Deployment of a licensed application
9.3 Deployment of a licensed application
Overview
When the customer system is created by System Builder of RobotStudio, a
FlexPendant application can be added to the system as an additional option.
This section describes how to make the additional option, which is necessary for deployment of a licensed custom application. It also describes how the customer installs the option.
CAUTION
An additional option must be distributed in accordance with RobotWare version and revision. Pay attention if you are using functionality, which has been included in a revision!
Note
An additional option must be deployed with the structure of RobotStudio.
Procedure for making an additional option
Use the following procedure to make an additional option of a FlexPendant SDK application.
Step
1
2
3
Action
Implement multi-language support if considered necessary. For more information, see
Localizing a FlexPendant application on page 197 .
Order a license and a CD Key Maker from your local ABB office, who will in turn contact ABB SEROP product support in Sweden.
Create the following structure:
10.1_12_Opti
The language folder is needed if there is to be support for other languages.
Note
Always use capital letters for the option name.
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9.3 Deployment of a licensed application
Continued
Step
4
Action
Create the version.xml file. It may look like this:
5
10.1_13Versi
Create the install.cmd file. It may look like this:
6
10.1_14Insta
Create relkey.txt file. It may look like this:
7
8
10.1_15MyOpt
With the license, which is entered in the CD key Maker, generate a key file including the serial number of the Robot controller, for example MYOPTION508.kxt
(This is the file you will enter in System Builder when the robot system is created.)
Package the product on CD the way your organization recommends.
Note
If the option is only a FlexPendant SDK application the described procedure is enough. But if the option should also include RAPID and configuration, you need to read about how to make an additional option in another manual, which is for
ABB internal use. See Related information at the end of this section.
Installing the option at the customer
The following procedure shows how the customer installs a licensed application:
1 Install the additional option from a CD.
2 Create the robot system by using System Builder.
3 In the Add Parameters/Add Additional Options dialog browse to the key file, for example MYOPTION508.kxt which came with the installation of the additional option.
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9.3 Deployment of a licensed application
Continued
10.1_16AddOp
Related information
Application manual - Additional Options, 3HAC023668-001
The manual is intended for ABB use only. Contact After Sales in Västerås, Sweden.
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9.4 Deployment using FTP
9.4 Deployment using FTP
Overview
The general rule is that deployment using an FTP client should only be done during the development phase.
If deployment to a customer is done this way each controller has to be individually updated with assembly files as well as graphical and language resources. The organization of files in the robot controller file system is the responsibility of the application developer or the system integrator.
Procedure
4
5
6
Follow these steps to deploy your application using for example the File Manager of RobotStudio or an FTP client such as Ftp Voyager:
Step
1
2
3
Action
On the controller navigate to the system you want to update with the FlexPendant application.
Transfer the assembly, the proxy assembly and graphical resources used by the application to the system directory Home.
For multi-language support, in the Language directory create sub-directories for each language using the short name of the culture.
Create a “tps” sub-directory in each of these directories.
Copy each language resource to the tps folder of the corresponding culture.
Restart the FlexPendant. The custom application should now be accessible from the ABB menu.
For more information on how to restart the FlexPendant but not the controller., see
Restart the FlexPendant on page 35 .
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Index
Index
A
C
D
F
FlexPendant
G
H
I
L
SelectionEnabledOverScrollbuttons, 98
M
N
P
R
arrays, 131 arrays dimensions, 131
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Index
S
T
U
V
W
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Contact us
ABB AB
Discrete Automation and Motion
Robotics
S-721 68 VÄSTERÅS, Sweden
Telephone +46 (0) 21 344 400
ABB AS, Robotics
Discrete Automation and Motion
Box 265
N-4349 BRYNE, Norway
Telephone: +47 51489000
ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd.
5 Lane 369, ChuangYe Road
KangQiao Town, PuDong District
SHANGHAI 201319, China
Telephone: +86 21 6105 6666
ABB Inc.
Discrete Automation and Motion
Robotics
1250 Brown Road
Auburn Hills, MI 48326
USA
Telephone: +1 248 391 9000 www.abb.com/robotics
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Key features
Develop customized FlexPendant operator interfaces
Provides access to robot controller functionality
Supports .NET programming languages
Integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio
Virtual IRC5 support for testing and debugging
Robust and high-performance applications
Extensive online help documentation
Frequently asked questions
FlexPendant SDK is a software development kit that allows programmers to create custom operator interfaces for the IRC5 robot controller.
FlexPendant SDK supports .NET programming languages, such as C# and Visual Basic.NET.
You can test and debug your applications using the virtual IRC5 in RobotStudio or by connecting to a real robot controller.
Some of the key features of FlexPendant SDK include developing customized operator interfaces, accessing robot controller functionality, supporting .NET programming languages, integrating with Visual Studio, and providing robust and high-performance applications.