Author Topic: uTasker project page and new documents (MODBUS)  (Read 6451 times)

Offline mark

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uTasker project page and new documents (MODBUS)
« on: April 27, 2009, 01:16:58 PM »
Hi All

I would like to draw your attention to a new project page on the uTasker web site and also a new MODBUS module which will be available shortly for Coldfire, SAM7X, Luminary-Micro and LPC23XX devices.

•   Web Site
The uTasker web site has been reworked slightly, including a new project page. The project page is aimed at being a central item (thus the direct navigation to it on the left hand side, just under “forum”) and may be used by all users without any charges to provide a logo, short description and link to their own project, products etc. The page is presently quite empty but I hope that it will fill up with a quantity of interesting items as supplied by yourselves.
If you have anything good to say about the project here is your opportunity to help advertise it by adding it here too!
[If there are bad things to say, please also send these to me so that I can try to get things improved where possible ;-) ]

Everyone is welcome to send me any items that they would like to be positioned on the page – the initial ordering will be as received (first received will be highest on the page!) although it may be modified (say alphabetically) after an initial period of 90 days if this proves to make it easier to manage items. So, if you are quick your are guarantied of securing yourself a high placing for this initial period! Note also that semiconductor manufacturers and distributors (FAEs for example) are also welcome to use the project page to inform of the way that the uTasker project has helped their customers’ work – either with customer’s links or their own links.

•   New Documents and MODBUS Module
As well as reworks of existing documents, new documents are in progress. The aim is to improve the complete documentation, making the project as user-friendly and informative as possible. This involves new descriptions of peripherals, their general characteristics, their generic support and use in the project, as well as device specific guides. This involves a lot of work but is important and has a high priority during the following months.

New documents now appear also as ‘preliminary’ versions towards the bottom of the documents page: http://www.utasker.com/docs/documentation.html This allows you to monitor any topics of interest whilst they are still in the development stage. During the work all projects are being reviewed, verified and – where necessary – optimized. The result is that it can take several weeks or even months before a new document is changed from preliminary to released status , but it generally also contains a lot of useful information and can already serve as practical reference.

Specifically I would like to mention the preliminary MODBUS document: http://www.utasker.com/docs/MODBUS/uTasker_MODBUS.PDF This is in its final stages of development, together with a ‘no-holds-barred’, fully configurable MODBUS master/slave/RTU/ASCII module. The module development has been (secretly) in progress for around 6 months now and is nearing its final practical validation stage in a small number of industrial projects. A few dedicated souls have kindly agreed to take over the role of playing guinea-pig and hopefully finally benefiting from a solution which not only allows MODBUS to be dropped into an existing uTasker project, but also a solution which should challenge any existing solution in terms of performance, features, flexibility, completeness, ease of use, documentation and efficiency (plus of course support). This module will be made available for commercial use at a fair price – the same price as the base uTasker project (project or full licensing agreements), including the same personal support periods.
Since the MODBUS module is aimed at high-end (small-footprint) industrial use it will not generally be available for hobby users, where it is (probably) also not that relevant. Educational establishments are however welcome to contact me directly if the module is of importance to a specific study class, since a specific agreement for this is always possible. It is also possible to use the uTasker simulator to simulate and develop a complete, self-contained (master and slave) system!

I hope that you are enjoying your work with the uTasker project and I wish you continued success.

Good luck

Regards

Mark