RTWin is a very powerful, versatile and complex product. It is therefore very likely that it is directly suitable for regular end customers only in the rarest of cases. We only actively support RTWin's integration into OEM's/VAR's products that harness its power and complexity.

Overview

RTWin is the powerful and flexible tool intended for the rapid development of the control and monitoring systems (CMS). The package provides all the necessary possibilities for creation of the modular, distributed and scalable CMS functioning in real time. RTWin relates to the class of systems designed for computer aided control system design (CACSD).

As an integrated package, RTWin includes two sets of tools:

• Development Kit, which contains resource editors of and is used to design CMS;
• Runtime, which contains resource managers and ensures CMS functioning.

RTWin was designed by the SWD Real Time Systems Ltd. as a versatile system that can be applied to create CMS for various industries.

Picture 1. Fragment of the RTWin Development Kit: Scheme Editor (background), Object Editor and On-Line Help through Photon HTML Helpviewer.

Basic RTWin Features

• create CMS prototypes of any complexity in the visual programming mode in no time;
• develop CMS by a group of developers working simultaneously;
• provide any number of CMS operator working places;
• generate CMS both on the level of the executable modules and on the level of program source codes;
• set up CMS user accounts with login name, password and various level of access to the presented information and to the control elements;
• create the custom user libraries of the algorithms for the data processing and user interface;
• configure distribution of CMS modules over the QNX network with great flexibility;
• alarm management provides immediate detection and user defined handling of emergency and pre-emergency situations;
• establish communication between several CMS working concurrently.
• design the user interface of the CMS in any national language;

RTWin Conception

The RTWin conception is based on the idea of the modular and open architecture of a CMS. As a rule, the functionally complete parts, called modules, can be distinguished in CMS. These modules interact with each other by means of information exchange. Thus we can present CMS as a set of modules connected with each other by information flows. RTWin is based on this model of the CMS and enables a designer to develop CMS using the concepts of system modules and data flows. The data flow represents the sequence of the messages which have predefined length and structure. There are the following types of the modules depending from their functional purpose in RTWin:

• The modules called object realize the algorithm specified by the designer. This is the most multi-purpose module type. It allows to solve the wide range of the tasks including mathematical models of the processes, work with input/output devices and files, preparing the data for display, establishing inter process communications and so on. Each object is realized as an independent loadable and executable program (task) in the environment of the multitasking network operating system QNX. The complete C source code is generated for each object.
• The modules called control panel provide the interface with CMS's operator. The exterior of the control panel is created by using the set of graphic primitives. Each graphic primitive (widget) has a certain set of resources such as: color, coordinates, size, cursor shape, text string, etc. Thus, any alteration in the state of a controlled process or mechanism can be displayed by altering some resources. In this way, alteration of the input data results in the dynamic alteration of the pattern. Text, color, position and size of widgets can be varied in this pattern and this allows to obtain the animation effect. Furthermore, additional windows can be opened or closed and messages can be issued. The input incoming data can be presented as graphs and diagrams. Various controls can be located on the control panel: buttons, sliders, fixed position buttons, etc. Each control can be assigned its own access level: some numerical value from 0 to 100. In this case only those operators whose access level is not lower than that specified will be able to use these controls.
• The modules called object-PhAB application are destined for insertion in CMS of the applications created with Photon Application Builder (PhAB).
• The modules called gate makes it possible to transmit data between CMSs running in parallel.

In general, the data coming via input channels to a module can be processed by this module itself or transmitted via output channels to other modules. However, is it always necessary to create a separate module in order to fulfill various operations with data going by a channel? A number of standard operations with data which do not change data values can be distinguished, indeed, e.g. archiving. RTWin makes it possible to fulfill such operations simultaneously with data transmission by a channel without adding special modules. Such a concept as points of data handling is introduced for this purpose. Each kind of data handling is designated by an appropriate point. RTWin provides the following kinds of data handling:

• saving channels in the data base;
• data analysis to reveal specified situations;
• viewing the data going by a channel as tables and graphs.

Modular architecture of CMS created in RTWin provides for such their important performances as:

• Multitasking and distributiveness - CMS modules can be placed on various nodes of a local network, that provides the possibility of their parallel execution, and allows to use the hardware resources of the computing system most efficiently.
• Multiuser mode - due to distribution of control panels contained in a CMS, simultaneous work of several operators (users) becomes possible.
• Scalability - CMS of any complexity can be created with the help of RTWin, from the simplest ones containing a single control panel and one or two objects and working on a single computer, to complex multiuser systems consisting of tens or even hundreds of modules and working in a local network including tens of computers.
• Configurability - RTWin provides a way of flexible altering the composition of CMS's modules and their distribution over nodes of the QNX network.
• Capability of Adding Features - using RTWin, a rather complex CMS can be created by the method of stage-by-stage adding the fulfilled functions. You may start with the system "skeleton" and then gradually add new modules. This method is very effective, because in so doing you can start the system and adjust it at every stage. RTWin does not impose any notable limitations on the amount of modules, inputs, outputs and so on.

When we talk about open architecture we have in mind two things:

• Extending Functional Capabilities - it is obviously impossible to foresee every functional capability in a CACSD system for organization of operator interface and data handling which can ever be required by a designer. This is especially topical for a versatile system designed for a wide range of use. That is why the mechanism of extending the functional capabilities of arranging operator interface and data handling is provided in RTWin.
• Information Exchange with Other Systems - a CMS created in RTWin is capable of exchanging information both with other RTWin CMS and with any systems or separate programs external with respect to RTWin. For each of these cases special means for realization of such information exchange are provided.

Picture 2. The example of the CMS operator workplace. Kindly provided by Computer Aided Control Systems Department of the Moldavian Steel Works, Rybnitsa, Moldova