Ability to SELECT / INITIALIZE test resources for UUT before performing TEST.

[kekin]

TESTSTAND is capable of interfacing so many devices & instrument to a UUT.

Incase of ATE(Automatic test equipment), where lot of resources are made available to test the UUT, not all the resources or instruments will be used through out the test for a particular UNIT. Hence there should be facility to select the resources required for particular test, which will be then only initialized & used.

For example a simple power device requires only POWER SUPPLY, LOAD & DMM. Where as a data acquisition system requires POWER SUPPLY, DIO & AIO cards & so on.

Thus one should only select the resources required for test & hence no need to have init function separately for each sequence. This may sound a bit complicated but It really helps for LARGE ATEs, where optimization is KEY. Same thing can be implemented for TERMINATING resources once test is done.

[Dennis_Knutson]

If you are not going to put the initialization of specific instruments in the test sequence that uses them, where are you proposing to put them? Isn't placing the initialization in the specific sequences a method to select resources?

[kekin]

Yes I agree that each specific sequence requires the INIT for resources it uses. But for every sequence u have to add it separately.

Instead of that we can have menu selection for that while writing sequences. Because in ATEs there are at-least 15-20 different resources present & not all of them are used.  So just like how REPORTS are generated with default template & settings, in the same manner the required resources can be INITIALIZED & then automatically TERMINATED at the end of test sequence depending on resources selected for particular sequence by programmer.

Why to keep on putting INIT in every sequence? Because this FUNCTION will be called for all sequences, only its parameters will change.......like what we do in C language.

[RayFarmer]

Not sure what C programs you write but I only every call the init once not every time I call a function. I agree that's its a bit tricky with teststand but the same applies. What you can do, particular if you want to run selected steps at lower levels and your inits are at high levels is to make use the the Interactive Callbacks to do your initialisation  and closees.

Regards

Ray

[WireWeaver]

I'm declining this idea due to lack of community support.