Programming language translator and enabling translation of machine-centric commands for controlling instrument

• US 8,572,589 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2009
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Keysight Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Jefferson, Stanley T., Cataldo, James Adam, Huynh, Long Bill
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatri, Anil
• Application Number:
  US12/495,300
• Publication Number:
  US 20100333076A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: 717136-143, 717124-129
• US Class Current: 717/140
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/53 Decompilation; Disassembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/03 Protocol definition or specification protocol conformance testing H04L1/244
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

A computer readable medium stores a program, executable by a computer, for enabling translation of machine-centric commands in an instrument protocol to a programming language for controlling an instrument configured to use the machine-centric commands. The computer readable medium includes an identifying code segment for identifying instrument protocol commands executable by the instrument, and a generating code segment generates methods corresponding to the instrument protocol commands, each method including programming language source code or compiled machine code for executing the corresponding instrument protocol command. A storing code segment stores the methods in a program library associated with the instrument, the program library enabling selection of at least one method by a programming language program that controls the instrument, in order to execute the instrument protocol command corresponding to the selected method.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium storing a program, executable by a computer, for enabling translation of machine-centric commands in an instrument protocol to a programming language for controlling an instrument configured to use the machine-centric commands, the computer readable medium comprising:

an identifying code segment for identifying a plurality of instrument protocol commands executable by the instrument;

a description code segment for retrieving computer readable descriptions of the plurality of instrument protocol commands from a description file;

a generating code segment for generating a plurality of methods corresponding to the plurality of instrument protocol commands based on the computer readable descriptions for translating the instrument protocol commands to the programming language, each method comprising programming language source code or compiled machine code for executing the corresponding instrument protocol command; and

a storing code segment for storing the plurality of methods in a program library associated with the instrument, the program library enabling selection of at least one method by a programming language program that controls the instrument, in order to execute the instrument protocol command corresponding to the selected method.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instrument protocol comprises Standard Commands for Programmable Instrumentation (SCPI) protocol.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein the programming language comprises one of C++, C#, Visual Basic®

, Matlab®

, Java®

, Python®

, Perl®

, Tcl, Ruby, PHP, JavaScript®

, ML, Haskell, Lisp, Scheme, Erlang, Smalltalk, Objective-C®

, Fortran, Cobal, or Pascal.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the description file comprises an XML description file.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the generating code segment comprises:

a syntax identifying code segment for identifying a syntax of each instrument protocol based on the description file;

an input identifying code segment for identifying at least one of a parameter input and a unit input for each identified syntax; and

a string converting code for converting the at least one of the parameter input and the unit input into a string formatted in accordance with the instrument command protocol and executable by the instrument.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the generating code segment further comprises:

a response code segment for receiving a response from the instrument in response to the executable string.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein documentation of each of the plurality of methods corresponding to the plurality of instrument protocol commands is generated based on translating the description file, the storing code segment further storing the generated documentation in association with the corresponding methods.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the programming language is a high-level, human-centric programming language.

9. A computer program product, comprising modules embodied in a computer readable medium, for enabling translation of Standard Commands for Programmable Instrumentation (SCPI) protocol commands and queries to a programming language for controlling an instrument configured to use SCPI commands and queries, the computer program product comprising:

a translation module configured to receive computer readable descriptions of SCPI commands and queries identified with respect to the instrument, and to generate programming language routines for translating the SCPI commands and queries to be compatible with the programming language; and

a program library module configured to store the programming language routines, wherein the programming language routines are accessible to a control program written in the programming language for controlling at least one operation of the instrument.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the programming language comprises one of C++, C#, Visual Basic®

, Matlab®

, Java®

, Python®

, Perl®

, Tcl, Ruby, PHP, JavaScript®

, ML, Haskell, Lisp, Scheme, Erlang, Smalltalk, Objective-C®

, Fortran, Cobal, or Pascal.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the computer readable descriptions of the SCPI commands and queries are included in an XML description file.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the translation module comprises:

a syntax identification module configured to identify a syntax of each SCPI command and query based on corresponding information in the description file provided by the description module;

a parameter input identification module configured to identify at least one input for each parameter of each syntax identified by the syntax identification module; and

a string conversion module configured to convert each parameter input into a string having an appropriate format for the parameter of the command or query.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the translation module further comprises:

an instrument interface module configured to provide interfaces between the programming language routines and the instrument for communicating with the instrument using the strings corresponding to the respective SCPI commands and queries.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the program library module stores documentation associated with respective programming language routines in association with respective programming language routines.

15. A system for controlling an instrument using Standard Commands for Programmable Instrumentation (SCPI) protocol commands and queries, the system comprising:

a program library configured to store a plurality of previously generated methods for translating the SCPI protocol commands to a high-level human-centric programming language, each method being associated with execution of one SCPI protocol command or query associated with the instrument and written in the high-level human-centric programming language; and

a processor configured to control operation of the instrument based on a control program written in the high-level programming language, the control program retrieving one of the previously generated methods from the program library and executing the retrieved method to perform one of a SCPI command or query associated with the retrieved method.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the program library is further configured to store descriptions associated with the previously generated methods.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the descriptions comprise a translation of the description of the SCPI command or query associated with the retrieved method.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the description of the SCPI command or query is included in an XML description file.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the one of the previously generated methods comprises:

syntax identifying code for identifying a syntax of the SCPI command or query;

input identifying code for identifying a parameter input for the SCPI command or query; and

string converting code for converting the parameter input into a string formatted in accordance with the SCPI command or query.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the one of the previously generated methods further comprises:

response code for receiving a response from the instrument in response to the executable string.