Campbell Scientific Software Development Kit Beginner's Guide - Manual (Page 5)

1-1
Section 1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Campbell Scientific dataloggers process measurements made with a wide
variety of sensors and store summaries and statistics of these measurements as
data. Dataloggers carry out these operations based on instructions in a
datalogger program. Users create these datalogger programs with CSI software
such as Short Cut, Edlog and CRBasic Editor. Programs can be sent to
dataloggers via a variety of communication channels (e.g. phone modem or
RF).
A network of dataloggers may contain anywhere from one to several hundred
dataloggers, each with its own set of sensors, communication links, and
schedule for making measurements. Management of datalogger networks is an
intricate task. Campbell Scientific software such as LoggerNet handles the
task of network management by:
• sending user-created programs to a datalogger
• checking computer and datalogger times and synchronizing if necessary
• managing the schedule of data collection from each datalogger
• storing values in the LoggerNet server data cache in tables that correspond
to a given datalogger and datalogger program
• keeping log files for all communications, errors, etc.
Campbell Scientific customers have a wide variety of measurement interests—
agriculture, weather, water resources, and vehicle testing, to name a few. Users
often need applications that can be customized to suit their needs. The
LoggerNet software product offers a number of general purpose clients that
work with the LoggerNet server to perform the above tasks. However, there
are times when users may need to write their own custom applications.
Therefore, CSI offers different Software Development Kits that help
developers create applications that extend or replace standard Campbell
Scientific software products.
1.2 Advantages of Using an SDK
When developers need to write custom applications, SDK controls play an
intermediary role (Figure 1-1) in performing desired tasks, such as sending a
program to a specific datalogger or retrieving data from a datalogger. One can,
in principle, achieve the same results without SDK controls by directly
interacting with the LoggerNet server or the dataloggers through a “messaging”
process, but this can be a very complex process. SDK controls greatly simplify
the communication process and provide a layer of insulation from future
changes of the messaging protocol to the datalogger.