Weekly DCAF Blog

[Burt_S]

DCAF has a lot of features and capabilities that aren't yet well-documented or marketed. We will continue to improve our more detailed documentation over time, but in the meantime a weekly blog covering lesser known features and capabilities seems like a great way to start getting the word out.

Here is a list of topics that I had in mind in no particular order:

• Executing plugins Asynchronously using the Standard Engine
• Standard Engine error handling options explained
• Standard Engine priorities explained
• Using the DCAF GraphViz generator
• Building and using plugins that configure themselves at runtime
• Execution engines as framework plugins
• Timing sources as framework plugins
• Building plugins as source distributions/packed libraries that are loaded from disk
• Reloading new configurations without stopping the main VI
• Accessing engine data using the CVT
• Default values explained
• Tips and tricks for building advanced plugins
• Creating new forms of scaling plugins
• Understanding engine safe-state behavior
• Manage and share FPGA references across plugins and user code

I hope to get started on these next week! Please let me know in the comments below if there are particular topics of interest. I'd be happy to add new items to the list as well. If I don't hear anything I'll just start picking them out at random.

[brindle]

As someone that started using TBDF, I know i have only scratched the surface of what this is capable of.

I would be interested in seeing these first

• Reloading new configurations without stopping the main VI
• Building and using plugins that configure themselves at runtime

[Burt_S]

Thanks for the suggestion! FYI, I just added two new topics that came to mind in case you'd like to modify your recommendation.

[BeCeGa]

Reloading new configurations without stopping the main VI is part of one of the 2 runtime templates that are included in the isntall. DCAF Execution Service has this feature already implemented.

Best Regards

Benjamin

[Burt_S]

Yes this is the short answer if you'd like to start using this functionality now. There are caveats and alternative approaches that I would want to discuss in more detail with a blog post though.

[cgibson]

How about simply documenting the standard modules. I came looking for a description of the TDMS module.

[Burt_S]

This is certainly a big gap at the moment. The feedback is noted and can help us prioritize our documentation vs. feature gaps.

What questions do you have about the TDMS module? We may be able to help get those answered for you directly for now. I also want to make sure that when we do spend time on documentation that we are documenting the right things.