[erlang-questions] Erlang for a measurement system?

[Pablo Platt]

I couldn't find an implemntation except for serial port with a c bridge:
http://www.erlang.org/user.html#serial-1.0

Is it possible to communicate directly with hardware without using c code?

I understand that on linux hardware is a file so is it possible to talk with the hardware with io erlang functions?

Thanks





________________________________
From: Ulf Wiger (TN/EAB) <ulf.wiger@REDACTED>
To: Pablo Platt <pablo.platt@REDACTED>
Cc: erlang-questions@REDACTED
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 5:46:54 PM
Subject: Re: [erlang-questions] Erlang for a measurement system?


How precise do the measurements need to be?
You write "resolution of ms". If by that you mean +-1 ms,
then you're problably going to have to control the machine
pretty tightly, make sure that there are no cpu-bound tasks
that can prolong context switches, etc. If it's ok to be off
by some milliseconds now and again, then it will probably
work. You should use a multi-core machine and make sure that
the load stays fairly low.

>From a programming perspective, controlling different devices
was one of Erlang's core requirements from the start. It's
one of the things it does really, really well.

BR,
Ulf W

Pablo Platt skrev:
> Hi,
> 
> We are considering erlang for building a controlled measurement system in our laboratory.
> The erlang software will control several devices using VISA (GPIB, RS232, USB).
> 
> Are there any advantages for using erlang for this implementation?
> Will erlang be able to control two different devices in parallel in a reliable way because of its 'share nothing' principle?
> Is synchronizing several process (resolution of ms) an advantage of erlang or is it mainly an hardware issue?
> Is synchronizing several computers(resolution of ms) an advantage of erlang?
> Are there know implementations of erlang for controlling measurement devices (VISA)?
> Is there an advantage of using erlang compared to python (http://pypi.python.org/pypi/PyVISA/1.3).
> 
> Appreciate your feedback,
> Pablo
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
> erlang-questions mailing list
> erlang-questions@REDACTED
> http://www.erlang.org/mailman/listinfo/erlang-questions



      
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://erlang.org/pipermail/erlang-questions/attachments/20081124/cf3639a6/attachment.htm>