Re: regarding future plans for EMC

[rehenry <rehenry-at-up.net>]

Saw this note on the LinuxPLC list right after John's post and couldn't 
resist a snipped bit of it here.

-----snipped from LinuxPLC list-----
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2002 15:56:38 -0500
From: "Ken Emmons, Jr." <KEN-at-qatech.com>
To: linuxplc-at-linuxplc.org
Subject: LinuxPLC:Re: Open Hardware
Reply-To: linuxplc-at-linuxplc.org

Hello Curt,

<S>I'd like =
to fit into an all in one ISA based solution if we could. The ISA stuff =
initially scared me off at first because ISA is seen in the PC industry 
as =
dying off, yet in your SOC and CPU module markets you almost always see a=
full ISA implementation. Is ISA somehting we can count on in the 
semi-long =
term future?? I hope so, since PCI is overly complex for automation 
tasks. =
Well, you could easily implement a PCI to ISA bridge (PLX makes such a  =
chip) and put that on your CPU module if everyone stops making ISA bus.=20

-----end of snippet-----

I really like the idea that proving and improving the modular approach 
that exists within the current EMC, gives us the freedom to assign parts 
of the task to whatever hardware/software combination that we choose.  

I remember visiting with Bert in Endhoven.  (Thanks again Bert.) He tried 
to explain how he had sorted out software in the core of the EMC system, 
piped GUI/HMI stuff that he'd written to run under NT into the EMC motion 
and IO planning and piped the cubic splines from the EMC into Nyquist 
axis drive boards.   I was certainly impressed with the result both in 
ease of operator use and great motion by the machine.

I understand that the channels and devices available within the hardware 
affect the final product.  I'm just ignorant enough not to know how much 
they affect it.  How will the choice of channel, be it ISA, PCI, PC104, 
EPP, Firewire, RS232, etc affect the logic of a module like EMCMOT or 
EMCIO?  

Can these differences be configured after a make with variables in the 
ini?  Do we need to provide some kind of automake with a pre compile 
configuration setup?  Would probing for devices help?  Or do we, as John 
S suggests, need to throw some possibilities out?  

Ray


On Tuesday 05 February 2002 05:04 pm, John Sheahan wrote:
> just a couple of points that touched my fancy
>
<s>
> ISA has reached the end of its life and should be quietly buried.
> Sure its easy to design an isa card. but pci is not a lot harder.
> A remote box , say with ethernet and a socket interface makes sense.
> Rabbits and other things can support ethernet with just a couple of
> chips.