Intelligent Motion Systems Modular LYNX System - Manual (Page 23)

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Modular L
YNX System
Modular LYNX System 12.05.2003
LY N X C o n t r o l M o d u l e M o d e s o f O p e r a t i o n
There are three modes of operation for the LYNX control module. These are Immediate Mode, Program
Mode, and EXEC Mode.
I m m e d i a t e M o d e
In this mode, the control module responds to instructions from the user that may be a result of the user
typing instructions directly into a host terminal, or of a user program running on the host which commu-
nicates with the control module.
P r o g r a m M o d e
The second mode of operation of the control module is Program Mode. All user programs are written in this
mode. Unlike the other modes of operation, no commands or instructions can be issued to the control
module in Immediate Mode. This mode is exclusively for writing programs for the controller. The
command to enter Program Mode is PGM <address>. When starting Program Mode, you must specify at
what address to enter the program instructions in the program space. Simply type PGM again when you
have finished entering your program commands to go back to Immediate Mode.
E X E C M o d e
In EXEC Mode a program is executed either in response to the EXEC instruction from the user in Immediate
Mode, or in response to a specified input. While the control module is running a program, the user may still
communicate with it in Immediate Mode. As part of a user program, the control module may start a second
task using the RUN instruction. Thus, there can be two tasks running on the control module at the same
time, a foreground task (started by the EXEC instruction in Immediate Mode) and a background task (started
by the RUN instruction in Program Mode).
LY N X C o n t r o l M o d u l e C o m m u n i c a t i o n M o d e s
When the control module is operating in Immediate Mode, there are two methods of communicating. The
first is ASCII where the instructions are communicated to the control module in the form of ASCII mnemon-
ics and data is also given in ASCII format. The second is binary where the instruction is in the form of an
OpCode and numeric data is given in IEEE floating point hex format. In binary mode, there is also the option
of including a checksum to ensure that information is received properly at the control module. The BIO flag
controls the method of communication. When it is True (1) the binary method should be used, and when it is
False (0) the ASCII method should be used.
A S C I I
ASCII is the most common mode of communicating with the LYNX System. It allows the use of readily
available terminal programs such as HyperTerminal, ProComm, and the new IMS Terminal.
When using the ASCII method of communications, the control module tests for four special characters each
time a character is received. These characters are given in the table below along with an explanation of what
occurs when the character is received.
The command format in ASCII mode when the control module is in Single Mode (PARTY = FALSE) is:
<Mnemonic><white space><ASCII data for 1 st parameter>, <ASCII data for 2 nd parameter>, … , <ASCII data
for n th parameter><CR/LF>
The mnemonics for Control Module instructions, variables, flags and keywords are given in Part III
Software Reference of this manual. White space is at least one space or tab character. CR/LF represent the