Programming information

Code for this library should look exactly like current MCBInterface code. The exceptions to this are pieces of code that manipulates bit-fields in an MCB control word, which should be re-coded to use the command writeBits( address, startingBit, numBits, val) in the MCB Interface Library. For instance, the MCBInteface library code contains functions that read a word from the MCB, set the appropriate bits, and then write out the new data word. In the new system, the user program simply tells the MCB Software Layer to set that particular bit, thereby saving bus traffic.

Other new functions in the MCB Interface Library are:

reset

initializes the SIB and downloads the current values that the MCB software thinks ought to be in there.

test

performs some test routines on the SIB.

blockRead

reads a bank of several registers from the SIB. This is intended to be used in the case where a controlled delay between samples read is needed. It should be atomic, with no other transactions between reads.

blockWrite

writes a bank of several registers in the SIB. This is intended to be used for cases such as initializing, etc.