Leica Biosystems LPC Software installation - Manual (Page 183)

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LabeLase ® Producer - Installation
Programmable
The "programmable" protocol is not really a protocol as such. It is instead a
mechanism for implementing simple communications between your host
system and the Producer CL program. You have the ability to customize the
message format, reply, etc.
There are actually two ways to use the programmable protocol: "Fixed
Fields" and "Standard Message Format".
Fixed Fields - When you enable this feature, you must download the data in
a rigid format where all the data fields are always the exact same length
and in the same order. You can still include the filename, quantity and cop-
ies data in the download, but they must always be the same length and in
the same position. The program extracts the fields by counting characters
as you specify in the Fixed Field Positions table of the setup form. This
method is most useful when you are replacing an existing printer from an-
other manufacturer and do not want to change your download format.
Standard Message Format - When "Fixed Fields" is disabled, you must send
the message data in the Standard Message Format as previously described.
Regardless of whether you select Fixed Fields or Standard Message Format,
each time you send a message the data will be added to the data queue
(see Data Buffering below.)
4.6 Data buffering
Any message sent in the Standard Message Format, plus messages sent
using Programmable, PPE or LDL protocols (these are converted to standard
format internally) are buffered in a message queue for printing. Messages
are printed in the order in which they are received.
There is no limit placed on the number of entries in the queue, but there is a
practical limit imposed by the amount of memory installed on the PC. Each
entry in the buffer is in Standard Message Format, so it can optionally con-
tain a layout filename, quantity and copy count. Thus, each message has the
ability to load a new layout, set multiple copies, and the quantity of cas-
settes to print.
4. Host Communication