GTCO Roll-Up II - Users Guide - Manual (Page 49)

Roll-Up II 49
Advanced Programming Information
NOTE: The following information is not required for normal Roll-Up II operation.
If you are programming for the Roll-Up II product line, the topics listed below will be useful:
 Coordinate Formats
 Measurement Scales
 Digitizing Modes
 Programming Examples
These topics refer to commands that put Roll-Up II in a different operating state. The
previous Remote Commands section contains detailed information about remote
commands.
Command emulations for CalComp and Summagraphics digitizer SuperSet menu selection.
Only Roll-Up II commands, however, are referenced in this section.
Coordinate Formats
Coordinate format refers to the way the Roll-Up II encodes XY coordinate information
before it sends the data out through a communication interface. The Roll-Up II and your
application program must speak the same coordinate “language” for information to be
properly transferred.
You have three basic format choices to make:
 GTCO versus CalComp or Summagraphics emulation
 Binary versus ASCII coordinates
 Coordinate resolution
The sections that follow describe the formats available and show you how to select them.
If you are developing your own software, these sections will also help you choose a format
that suits your needs.
Binary Formats
Binary formats encode coordinate information compactly. Binary coordinate formats are
shorter than ASCII formats, transmit faster and take up less space if stored. On the other
hand, binary formats cannot be directly displayed on a terminal or printed-they must be
converted first into displayable characters.