SHIPHarbour Master

From Serious Documentation
Revision as of 13:36, 3 August 2016 by TerryWest (talk | contribs) (Custom Applications with SHIPHarbour Master)
Jump to: navigation, search

SHIPHarbour Master was introduced in SHIPv5.1 Badge SHIPv5.gif

The SHIPHarbour Master application provides connection management between a PC-based applications and SIMs/SCMs running the SHIPBridge Communications Protocol.

Basic Operation

SHIPHarbour Master can be launched manually, but is launched automatically when any of the SHIP PC-based tools (including the SHIPTide GUI authoring tool as well as SHIPCrane and SeaShell programming tools) require it. It sits in the system tray on Windows as a background application, and provides a Windows 10 notification pop-up whenever a SIM/SCM running the SHIPBridge Protocol is connected to the PC:

SHIPHM Connected.jpg

SHIPHarbour Master, as released in SHIPv5.1.0, has minimal functionality in the operator console beyond its inherent connection management features. The intent, over time, is to increase its functionality so you will be able to (for instance) discover directly in the application what firmware is installed in a given device.

Minimizing the app back to the system tray shows this note:

SHIPHM Docked.jpg

Custom Applications

You can write your own applications to talk to the SHIPHarbour Master application. For example, you may want to integrate functionality similar to the SHIPCrane programming tool into your own manufacturing framework (written, say, in Python or .net/C#) rather than using the SHIPCrane tool directly. SHIPHarbour Master exposes a socket interface to PC-based applications, and supports simultaneous connected applications and simultaneous connected devices. The socket interface is defined in the SHIPHarbor API documentation.

Connections and Plugins

SHIPHarbour Master supports the concept of plugins for different connections to SIMs/SCMs. Currently plugins are only implementable by Serious, however we expect in 2017 a plugin writers' guide will be available for custom plugins.

USB

USB (via a PCs USB host port to a SIM/SCM's USB Device port) is the normal connection method from a PC to a SIM/SCM, and this plugin is fully implemented and supported. You can use one (or several) multi-port USB hubs and SHIPHarbour Master will manage these connections in parallel.

CAN

This support is currently in development, and will be initially released on a custom basis to customers in Q3'2016.

UART over USB/CDC

This support is planned.

UART

This support is planned.

TCP/IP over Ethernet or WiFi

This support is planned.

Debug Log

If you are having difficulties using SHIPHarbour Master, including SIM/SCM connectivity issues and custom application development issues, it may be helpful to examine the connection/communications log or even save and forward it to the Serious support team.

The log can be found in the SHIPHarbour Master tool and saved in a .html format to preserve the helpful formatting and color coding. Find the system tray icon for SHIPHarbour Master and "Show" the control panel, then select File->Save to save the log in a .html file in a handy location.

SHIPHM SaveLog.jpg

You can then use any web browser to view the log at a later time. The log output includes the details of SHIPBridge packets (in bright yellow) with return codes, and more. It is recommended to use the 'CLEAR' button, then connect your SIM/SCM, recreate the situation you want to capture, then save the log. That way you do not end up with extraneous information in the log and you can focus on debugging the specific issue at hand.