XCP and CCP Master Add-On for NI VeriStand feedback.

[StephenB]

Please use this thread for questions and comments on the XCP and CCP Master Add-On for NI VeriStand.

[Dustin DD]

Is it possible to use this add-on to write out a set of parameters from, or record a set of parameters to, a parameter set file (i.e. PAR, DCM, CVX, PaCO or CDF 2.0 file)? 

[StephenB]

Hi Dustin DD,

I'm not familiar with these types of files, and there is no built in support in the add-on to use these files.

However, using the API of the add-on, one should be able to write a tool to get/set any of the parameters on the ECU. Therefore, with enough information about the file format... a tool could be created.

Take care,

[StephenB]

Version 12 will be the last one for NI VeriStand 2009. Any bugs found or new features will only be added for NI VeriStand 2010

[StephenB]

Posted a large update to the custom device. Version 13.0 has this update list:

• <Feature> New API call for getting a list of available items of a specific type from the custom device (meas, scalar char, curve char, field char)
• <Feature> Get Item Properties now allows you to retrieve a single or multiple item properties at once, and it returns every property of the specific item instead of just a few
• <Feature> API call for getting "meta" data about a characteristic or property has been renamed and merged into a single "get item properties" polymorphic VI.
• <Bug> Single measurement and single characteristic workspace controls no longer incorrectly allow you to resize their borders, they also look better
• <Change> Now requires ECUMC Toolkit 2.1.5+
• <Feature> Workspace controls will no longer throw error dialogs when mapped to an item that is no longer available, instead their text simply turns red.
• <Feature> Workspace controls have better error handling and shouldn't throw errors anymore unless something catastrophic happens
• <Feature> Workspace controls can now be dropped and configured on the workspace even if the system is offline if the database file used with the custom device is present on the system
• <Feature> Workspace controls have an easier to use item selection dialog which shows all available items to select in a searchable list. Items are listed regardless of if they have been added to your system definition, and regardless of if the A2L file is present on your host system. This dialog also allows selecting items from multiple different targets and multiple different custom devices running on those targets. Additionally, the user no longer needs to type the target IP or custom device TCP port.
• <Change> Workspace controls from revision prior to 13.0 will need to be remapped to their items, right click them to remap
• <Change> Channels can no longer be renamed. Rename them in the database and reimport if you need to.
• <Feature> The custom device can now be disabled or enabled by a right click selection. You should no longer need to remove the custom device to prevent its operation.
• <Feature> Large numbers of channels are created significantly faster
• <Bug> Fixed misplacement of byte order indicator in configuration GUI
• <Bug> The required status and connect channels can no longer be deleted
• <Bug> Deleting the custom device no longer throws error
• <Feature> Configuration GUI for the main custom device item has been rearranged and resized to be more user friendly
• <Feature> Configuration GUI for custom device has been updated to no longer contain the X delete button, as it is always present in the 2010 system explorer
• <Feature> API calls now all have context help and icons
• <Feature> API calls are now significantly better performance and more robust
• <Feature> New polymorphic VIs make calling the API easier
• <Feature> Get Characteristic data calls no longer require a 'size' input
• <Feature> New API calls for getting and setting multiple characteristics or measurements
• <Change> Completely rewrote the API. The API included in 13.0 is not compatible with earlier versions, and applications using the API prior to 13.0 will need to change their API calls to be 13.0+ compatible.
• <Change> API now requires the STM library from http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/epd/p/id/2739

This comes with one known issue:

#1. If the workspace is open with a field or curve control as well as a graph and you select run, deploy, or connect. Rarely, the system can pause and then report a target sync error. If you close the workspace and reopen it, everything works fine.

Next few things I'm working on for Version 14:

• Investigate automatic connection handling
• "Offline" API calls so you can add this custom device to your system configuration pragmatically- not through the system explorer GUI.

[JWilson98]

Where can I download ECUMC 2.1.5?

[StephenB]

Hmm good catch. I didn't realize it wasn't posted yet. It will get posted today.

[StephenB]

One thing I forgot to mention in the readme, if you are using a version prior to v13 and you already have the XCP/CCP workspace controls dropped on your workspace... you can force them to update to the new v13 ones by going into your project directory and deleting the 'temporary screen items' directory.

I've also seen cases where opening the workspace will crash if controls dropped don't match the version currently installed. ex. I dropped some controls with v12 and then updated to v13... opening the workspace can crash. To fix this, just delete the 'temporary screen items' directory to force an update.

[Lucabeer]

Hello,

we have started testing this add-on (version 13) with Veristand 2010 and 2.1.5 ECU Measurement and calibration tookit.

So far so good, as we have prepared a simple A2L file with a few measurements and calibrations (scalars, 1D and 2D): the A2L is parsed with no errors, and CCP communication with the ECU is started (we also have a CAN analyzer tool to check messages on the bus).

If we try to read a measurement by means of a "single measurement" control, and we click on "get value", we read the correct value of the variable. On the other hand, if we try to plot the same meaurement with a Graph... nothing happens: the graph runs, but the value is stuck to 0.

We had a look at CAN traffic: whenever we click on "get value", we see the correct CAN messages. On the other hand, when the graph is active, there is no CAN traffic. Since we had established a DAQ list at 20ms (but angular or 100ms makes no difference), we expected to see traffic going from the ECU to our testing system. Please note that we successfully used DAQ lists previously, in Labview, with the same A2L file.

Second HUGE problem: we have some arrays and maps to be calibrated. We have successfully edited the values in them (both 1D and 2D), and written them to the ECU. Our problem comes when we try to edit the "breakpoints" of the arrays/maps (defined in the AXIS_PTS section of the A2L file according to ASAP2 specifications). This is an operation that we normally do for example with INCA... but there doesn't seem to be the option of doing it here. Are we missing something? Is it a feature not yet implemented, or actually a limitation in Veristand/Labview (yes, we also tried that)?

Please have a look at the attached A2L file we are using, in case we had forgotten something important...

Thank you very much!

[StephenB]

Hmm that's no good.

One thing I should point out is that the single measurement and single characteristic controls allow you to grab any data from the ECU (that's defined in the A2L) even if that channel is not imported to the system definition. It actually has a different code path... It doesn't query the NI VeriStand channel for the item you pick because it assumes that channel doesn't exist and you're picking something you never imported. If you have imported the item as a measurement channel inside the system definition, you can use a normal numeric control.

So it sounds like the channels are simply not updating with a valid value.

1. Can you check the connection status channel and the error code channel and let me know the values?
2. Can you also try polling mode for measurements and see if that works?
3. You said the measurements worked with LabVIEW? Can you try running the ECUMC example program "Measurement and Calibration Application.vi" and see if it works in DAQ list mode with your event channel specified?

As far as the breakpoints, I'm not familiar with this and I couldn't find anything in the toolkit about it. I suggest emailing R&D about it: canpse@ni.com