CustomInstrument

class CustomInstrument : public CommunicationProtocol

An instrument which has a non-QIODevice communication method.

Similar to VirtualInstrument, this class leaves the device pointer null. Its purpose is to provide keys that are used in the CommunicationDialog to present the user with widgets for entering and information needed to configure the device’s communication. For example, the user may need to specify a device path or serial number in order to initialize the object. By assigning values to the keys defined in the BC::Key::Custom namespace in the final HardwareObject implementation’s constructor, the CommunicationDialog will construct the UI and obtain values from the user.

This is done by first creating a SettingsStorage array with the key BC::Key::Custom::comm. For each quantity that is needed from the user, add a SettingsStorage::SettingsMap with, at minimum, definitions for BC::Key::Custom::label, BC::Key::Custom::key, and BC::Key::Custom::type. As an example, the followng code would add entries for a device path (string) and serial number (integer >0). It is important to check for the existence of the BC::Key::Custom::comm key first so that existing settings are not overwritten.

if(!containsArray(BC::Key::Custom::comm))
    setArray(BC::Key::Custom::comm, {
              {{BC::Key::Custom::key,"devPath"},
               {BC::Key::Custom::type,BC::Key::Custom::stringKey},
               {BC::Key::Custom::label,"Device Path"}},
              {{BC::Key::Custom::key,"serialNo"},
               {BC::Key::Custom::type,BC::Key::Custom::intKey},
               {BC::Key::Custom::label,"Serial Number"},
               {BC::Key::Custom::intMin,0}}
           });

Public Functions

explicit CustomInstrument(QString key, QObject *parent = nullptr)

virtual QIODevice *_device() override

Returns a pointer to the underlying device.

Returns:

QIODevice pointer or nullptr

Public Slots

void initialize() override

bool testConnection() override

namespace BC

Blackchirp global namespace

namespace Key

Global SettingsStorage keys

namespace Custom

Namespace for CustomInstrument communication details

Variables

static const QString comm = {"comm"}

Key for communication array.

static const QString type = {"type"}

Type of data entry field (stringKey or intKey).

static const QString key = {"key"}

Identifier key for this data field.

static const QString intKey = {"int"}

Key for integer data entry type.

static const QString intMin = {"min"}

Minimum allowed integer value.

static const QString intMax = {"max"}

Maximum allowed integer value.

static const QString stringKey = {"string"}

Key for string data entry type.

static const QString maxLen = {"length"}

Maximum allowed length of string.

static const QString label = {"name"}

Label displayed to user for this data field.