Michael Haberler wrote: > Alex, > > I glossed over your references and am shocked, it's just a single > *table* ;-) > > I'm proposing a much more moderate goal: to encode the current EMC > tool table such that it can be reused by other programs, and with some > self-description features (field names, types, version number, machine > type, the like). The intent is to prevent breakage when the tool table > is extended, that's all. > > Is that something useful enough to pursue? > Yes (and no :) )
We had some discussions, around the time cradek was adding the "random_toolchange" code, about what a tool table should be. There were more or less two schools of thought. 1) a tool table is something you set up for each machine / job, which holds the list of tools installed in that tool holder. Some of the tools change per job, maybe some are left alone, but T5 on one job may be totally different from T5 on another job. 2) a tool table is a database of tools that you have available in your shop, and you specify which tools are available for a particular job by giving them a valid pocket number. The tool numbers might be 1-10000, though you won't have all of them available (unless you have a massive toolchanger :) ). In this scenario, T5 is T5 is T5 - they're always the same tool. The pocket number will likely change from job to job though. This is more or less like 1, except that the pocket number is what varies, and the tool number is like an additional identifier that lets you pick out the right tools from the crib. This is a gross simplification of the IRC discussions we had on the subject. So yes, making changes so that extra information could be added as necessary would be great. Making a format that humans can't read or write without software help (XML) isn't high on my priority list, but it's been discussed for this and other configuration settings, and may be the best solution in the end. - Steve ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Verizon Developer Community Take advantage of Verizon's best-in-class app development support A streamlined, 14 day to market process makes app distribution fast and easy Join now and get one step closer to millions of Verizon customers http://p.sf.net/sfu/verizon-dev2dev _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
