spinapi: spinapi.c File Reference


Functions
SPINCORE_API int	pb_count_boards (void)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_select_board (int board_num)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_init (void)
SPINCORE_API void	pb_set_clock (double clock_freq)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_close (void)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_start_programming (int device)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_stop_programming (void)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_start (void)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_stop (void)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_inst_tworf (int freq, int tx_phase, int tx_output_enable, int rx_phase, int rx_output_enable, int flags, int inst, int inst_data, double length)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_inst_onerf (int freq, int phase, int rf_output_enable, int flags, int inst, int inst_data, double length)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_inst_pbonly (int flags, int inst, int inst_data, double length)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_inst_direct (int flags, int inst, int inst_data_direct, int length)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_set_freq (double freq)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_set_phase (double phase)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_read_status (void)
SPINCORE_API char *	pb_get_version (void)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_get_firmware_id (void)
SPINCORE_API char *	pb_get_error (void)
SPINCORE_API void	pb_set_ISA_address (int address)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_outp (unsigned int address, char data)
SPINCORE_API char	pb_inp (unsigned int address)
SPINCORE_API int	pb_outw (unsigned int address, unsigned int data)
SPINCORE_API unsigned int	pb_inw (unsigned int address)
SPINCORE_API void	pb_sleep_ms (int milliseconds)
SPINCORE_API void	set_clock (double clock_freq)
SPINCORE_API int	start_programming (int device)
SPINCORE_API int	stop_programming (void)
SPINCORE_API int	start_pb (void)
SPINCORE_API int	stop_pb (void)
SPINCORE_API int	set_freq (double freq)
SPINCORE_API int	set_phase (double phase)
SPINCORE_API int	read_status (void)
SPINCORE_API void	pb_bypass_FF_fix (int option)

Detailed Description

This page describes functions which are used with all products. It also includes several functions for use with DDS enabled boards that are not relevant to digital-only PulseBlaster cards. For a complete list of spinapi functions, including those which are used only with RadioProcessor boards, please see the spinapi.h page.

Function Documentation

SPINCORE_API int pb_count_boards ( void )

Return the number of SpinCore boards present in your system.

Returns:: The number of boards present is returned. -1 is returned on error, and spinerr is set to a description of the error.

SPINCORE_API int pb_select_board ( int board_num )

If multiple boards from SpinCore Technologies are present in your system, this function allows you to select which board to talk to. Once this function is called, all subsequent commands (such as pb_init(), pb_set_clock(), etc.) will be sent to the selected board. You may change which board is selected at any time.

If you have only one board, it is not necessary to call this function.

Parameters:

board_num

Specifies which board to select. Counting starts at 0.

Returns:: A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error. 0 is returned on success.

SPINCORE_API int pb_init ( void )

Initializes the board. This must be called before any other functions are used which communicate with the board. If you have multiple boards installed in your system, pb_select_board() may be called first to select which board to initialize.

Returns:: A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error. 0 is returned on success.

SPINCORE_API void pb_set_clock ( double clock_freq )

Tell the library what clock frequency the board uses. This should be called at the beginning of each program, right after you initialize the board with pb_init(). Note that this does not actually set the clock frequency, it simply tells the driver what frequency the board is using, since this cannot (currently) be autodetected.

Also note that this frequency refers to the speed at which the PulseBlaster core itself runs. On many boards, this is different than the value printed on the oscillator. On RadioProcessor devices, the A/D converter and the PulseBlaster core operate at the same clock frequency.

Parameters:

clock_freq

Frequency of the clock in MHz.

SPINCORE_API int pb_close ( void )

End communication with the board. This is generally called as the last line in a program. Once this is called, no further communication can take place with the board unless the board is reinitialized with pb_init(). However, any pulse program that is loaded and running at the time of calling this function will continue to run indefinitely.

Returns:: A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error. 0 is returned on success.

SPINCORE_API int pb_start_programming ( int device )

This function tells the board to start programming one of the onboard devices. For all the devices, the method of programming follows the following form:
a call to pb_start_programming(), a call to one or more functions which transfer the actual data, and a call to pb_stop_programming(). Only one device can be programmed at a time.

Parameters:

device

Specifies which device to start programming. Valid devices are:

PULSE_PROGRAM - The pulse program will be programmed using one of the pb_inst* instructions.
FREQ_REGS - The frequency registers will be programmed using the pb_set_freq() function. (DDS and RadioProcessor boards only)
TX_PHASE_REGS - The phase registers for the TX channel will be programmed using pb_set_phase() (DDS and RadioProcessor boards only)
RX_PHASE_REGS - The phase registers for the RX channel will be programmed using pb_set_phase() (DDS enabled boards only)
COS_PHASE_REGS - The phase registers for the cos (real) channel (RadioProcessor boards only)
SIN_PHASE_REGS - The phase registers for the sine (imaginary) channel (RadioProcessor boards only)

Returns:: A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error. 0 is returned on success.

SPINCORE_API int pb_stop_programming ( void )

Finishes the programming for a specific onboard devices which was started by pb_start_programming().

Returns:: A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error. 0 is returned on success.

SPINCORE_API int pb_start ( void )

Send a software trigger to the board. This will start execution of a pulse program. It will also restart (trigger) a program which is currently paused due to a WAIT instruction. Triggering can also be accomplished through hardware, please see your board's manual for how to accomplish this.

Returns:: A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error. 0 is returned on success.

SPINCORE_API int pb_stop ( void )

Stops output of board. Analog output will return to ground, and TTL outputs will remain in the same state they were in when the stop command was received. This also resets the pulseblaster so that the pulseblaster core can be run again using pb_start() or a hardware trigger.

Returns:: A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error. 0 is returned on success.

SPINCORE_API int pb_inst_tworf	(	int	freq,
		int	tx_phase,
		int	tx_output_enable,
		int	rx_phase,
		int	rx_output_enable,
		int	flags,
		int	inst,
		int	inst_data,
		double	length
	)

Program an instruction of a pulse program to the board. This function programs instructions for boards with 2 DDS outputs. (such as PulseBlasterDDS-III) There are other forms of this instruction (see below) design to program boards with differing instruction formats.

Instructions can also be programmed by calling pb_inst(), but you must use an appropriate define before including spinapi.h. See the example programs for how to do this.

Parameters:

freq

The frequency register to use for this instruction

tx_phase

The TX phase register to use for this instruction

tx_output_enable

Set to ANALOG_ON to enable output, or ANALOG_OFF to output nothing

rx_phase

The RX phase register to use for this instruction

rx_output_enable

Set to ANALOG_ON to enable output, or ANALOG_OFF to output nothing

flags

Set every bit to one for each flag you want to set high

inst

Specify the instruction you want. Valid instructions are:

Opcode #	Instruction	Meaning of inst_data field
0	CONTINUE	Not Used
1	STOP	Not Used
2	LOOP	Number of desired loops
3	END_LOOP	Address of instruction originating loop
4	JSR	Address of first instruction in subroutine
5	RTS	Not Used
6	BRANCH	Address of instruction to branch to
7	LONG_DELAY	Number of desired repetitions
8	WAIT	Not Used

See your board manual for a detailed description of each instruction.

inst_data

Instruction specific data. Internally this is a 20 bit unsigned number, so the largest value that can be passed is 2^20-1 (the largest value possible for a 20 bit number). See above table to find out what this means for each instruction.

length

Length of this instruction in nanoseconds.

Returns:: The address of the created instruction is returned. This can be used as the branch address for any branch instructions. A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error.

SPINCORE_API int pb_inst_onerf	(	int	freq,
		int	phase,
		int	rf_output_enable,
		int	flags,
		int	inst,
		int	inst_data,
		double	length
	)

This is the instruction programming function for boards with only one DDS output channel. Syntax is identical to that of pb_inst_tworf(), but the second RF channel is not used.

SPINCORE_API int pb_inst_pbonly	(	int	flags,
		int	inst,
		int	inst_data,
		double	length
	)

This is the instruction programming function for boards without a DDS. (for example PulseBlaster and PulseBlasterESR boards). Syntax is identical to that of pb_inst_tworf(), except that the parameters pertaining to the analog outputs are not used.

SPINCORE_API int pb_inst_direct	(	int	flags,
		int	inst,
		int	inst_data_direct,
		int	length
	)

This function allows you to directly specify the fields for an instruction, which will then be passed directly to the board without any modification by software. See your product manual for a discussion of the meaning of each field.

This function is provided mainly to help us debug the boards. It is highly recommended that users make use the higher level instruction functions such as pb_inst_pbonly(), pb_inst_tworf(), pb_inst_radio(). These allow the creation of instructions in a more user-friendly manner and also perform additional error checking to help you avoid accidentally using paramaters that are out of range for your board.

Parameters:

	flags	Flag field (24 bits)
	inst	Instruction (4 bits)
	inst_data_direct	Instruction data (20 bits) Unlike the other pb_inst* instructions, this field is passed directly to the board and not adjusted based on the instruction used. (eg, using a value of 2 for a loop instruction will cause 3 loops to happen. The other pb_inst* functions would modify this value so the number of loops entered is the number produced)
	length	Delay field (32 bits) Note that this is the value is NOT the number of clock cycles an instruction will execute for. There is typically an additional fixed internal delay which is added to produce the actual delay.

SPINCORE_API int pb_set_freq ( double freq )

Write the given frequency to a frequency register on a DDS enabled board. To do this, first call pb_start_programming(), and pass it FREQ_REGS. The first call pb_set_freq() will then program frequency register 0, the second call will program frequency register 1, etc. When you have programmed all the registers you intend to, call pb_stop_programming()

Parameters:

freq

The frequency in MHz to be programmed to the register.

Returns:: A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error. 0 is returned on success.

SPINCORE_API int pb_set_phase ( double phase )

Write the given phase to a phase register on DDS enabled boards. To do this, first call pb_start_programming(), and specify the appropriate bank of phase registers (such as TX_PHASE, RX_PHASE, etc) as the argument. The first call pb_set_phase() will then program phase register 0, the second call will program phase register 1, etc. When you have programmed all the registers you intend to, call pb_stop_programming()
The given phase value may be rounded to fit the precision of the board.

Parameters:

phase

The phase in degrees to be programmed to the register.

Returns:: A negative number is returned on failure, and spinerr is set to a description of the error. 0 is returned on success.

SPINCORE_API int pb_read_status ( void )

Read status from the board. Not all boards support this, see your manual. Each bit of the returned integer indicates whether the board is in that state. Bit 0 is the least significant bit.

Bit 0 - Stopped
Bit 1 - Reset (this bit will always be '1' unless the board is being reset)
Bit 2 - Running
Bit 3 - Waiting
Bit 4 - Scanning (RadioProcessor boards only)

Bits 5-31 are reserved for future use. It should not be assumed that these will be set to 0.

Returns:: Word that indicates the state of the current board as described above.

SPINCORE_API char* pb_get_version ( void )

Get the version of this library. The version is a string in the form YYYYMMDD.

Returns:: A string indicating the version of this library is returned.

SPINCORE_API int pb_get_firmware_id ( void )

Get the firmware version on the board. This is not supported on all boards.

Returns:: Returns the firmware id as described above. A 0 is returned if the firmware id feature is not available on this version of the board.

SPINCORE_API char* pb_get_error ( void )

Return the most recent error string. Anytime a function (such as pb_init(), pb_start_programming(), etc.) encounters an error, this function will return a description of what went wrong.

Returns:: A string describing the last error is returned. A string containing "No Error" is returned if the last function call was successfull.

SPINCORE_API void pb_set_ISA_address ( int address )

For ISA Boards only. Specify the base address of the board. If you have a PCI board, any call to this function is ignored.

Parameters:

address

base address of the ISA board

SPINCORE_API int pb_outp	(	unsigned int	address,
		char	data
	)

Write 1 byte to the given PCI I/O address. This is a low level hardware access function.

Parameters:

	address	The I/O Register to write to
	data	The byte to write

SPINCORE_API char pb_inp ( unsigned int address )

Read 1 byte from the given PCI I/O address. This is a low level hardware access function.

Parameters:

address

The I/O Register to read

Returns:: The byte requested is returned.

SPINCORE_API int pb_outw	(	unsigned int	address,
		unsigned int	data
	)

Write a 32 bit (4 byte) word to the given PCI I/O address. This is a low level hardware access function.

Parameters:

	address	The I/O Register to write to. This should be a multiple of 4.
	data	The word to write

SPINCORE_API unsigned int pb_inw ( unsigned int address )

Read a 32 bit (4 byte) word from the given PCI I/O address. This is a low level hardware access function.

Parameters:

address

The I/O Register to read. This should be a multiple of 4.

Returns:: The word requested is returned.

SPINCORE_API void pb_sleep_ms ( int milliseconds )

This function allows you to pause execution of your software for a given number of milliseconds, and behaves like the sleep() function found on many operating systems. This is provided because the sleep() function is not standard across all operating systems/programming environments.

This function does *NOT* interact with the hardware or pulse program at all. It simply provides a portable way to access a sleep function.

Parameters:

milliseconds

Number of milliseconds to sleep (pause program) for.

spinapi.c File Reference

Functions

Detailed Description

Function Documentation