Tankplayer Configuration File Commands

(last revised April 24, 2010)
Page Index:
1. Example configuration file
2. Functional command listing
3. Alphabetic command listing & description

Tankplayer reads file(s) containing waveform messages (of either TYPE_ADBUF, TYPE_TRACEBUF, or TYPE_TRACEBUF2) from a single data source. It places the waveform messages into shared memory in simulated real time, using the delta-t between time-stamps in successive message headers to determine its timing. On startup, tankplayer reads the configuration file named on the command line. Commands in this file set up all parameters used in playing back waveform messages from a file to a shared memory ring. In the control file, lines may begin with a valid tankplayer command (listed below) or with one of 2 special characters:

#  marks the line as a comment (example: # This is a comment).

@ allows control files to be nested; one control file can be
accessed from another with the command "@" followed by
a string representing the path name of the next control file
(example: @model.d).
Command names must be typed in the control file exactly as shown in this document (upper/lower case matters!).

1. EXAMPLE CONFIGURATION FILE

# tankplayer config file for playing TYPE_TRACEBUF2 waveforms
# tankplayer config file for playing waveform files

RingName WAVE_RING # play waveforms into this ring
MyModuleId MOD_ADSEND_A # as this module id
PlayMsgType TYPE_TRACEBUF2 # msg type to read from file
LogFile 1 # 0=no log; 1=keep log file
HeartBeatInt 30 # seconds between heartbeats
Pause 10 # seconds to pause between wavefiles
StartUpDelay 10 # seconds to wait before playing 1st file
ScreenMsg 1 # (optional) if non-zero, informational messages will be
# written to the screen as data is played
# SendLate 10.0 # (optional) if present, packets will be
# timestamped this many seconds before
# current time;
# if absent, packets will have original time
# stamps
#
Debug 1 # for verbosity

# List of files to play (up to 50 allowed):
WaveFile e:\QAnew\900819a.ew1.tbuf

# or you could use a GetFromDir in lieu of WaveFile entires: (new in 2008-09-09)
#GetFromDir /home/paulf/memphis/params/live_tank # where to get tank files from (all must be the same format)
#OpenWait 200 # wait time between tries in msecs
#OpenTries 5 # number of retry times for copies in of files ot GetFrom Dir
#CheckPeriod 1 # number of seconds to check the dir and then sleep
#SaveDataFiles 1 # set to 0 to have tanks deleted

# IgnoreTBVersionNumbers -
# Prevents tankplayer from objecting to tracebuf2 packets that don't have
# the correct version field. Not recommended.
#IgnoreTBVersionNumbers 0

2. FUNCTIONAL COMMAND LISTING

Below are the commands recognized by tankplayer, grouped by the function they influence. All of the commands are required; they must be specified in the control file in order for tankplayer to operate.

	Earthworm system setup:
HeartBeatInt required
MyModuleId required
RingName required

Waveform Playback:
Pause required
PlayMsgType required
StartUpDelay required
SendLate optional
WaveFile required
IgnoreTBVersionNumbers optional
GetFromDir optional
InterMessageDelayMillisecs optional
OpenWait optional
OpenTries optional
CheckPeriod optional
SaveDataFiles optional

Output Control:
LogFile required

3. ALPHABETIC COMMAND LISTING & DESCRIPTION

In the following section, all configuration file commands are listed in alphabetical order. Listed along with the command (bold-type) are its arguments (in red), the name of the subroutine that processes the command, and the function within the module that the command influences. A detailed description of the command and is also given. Default values and the values used by Calnet are listed after each command description.


command arg1 processed by function

CheckPeriod n 			tankplayer_config	Playback		

Defines the n seconds delay that the GetFromDir should be checked for new tank files. Note that this only effects checks when no tanks are being played back.
Default:  1				



GetFromDir dir 			tankplayer_config	Playback		
Defines the directory  dir where to find tank files. This cannot be used in conjunction with WaveFile mode of running. If you set this parameter, then you may also set the OpenWait, OpenTries, CheckPeriod, and SaveDataFiles.
Default:  none				

InterMessageDelayMillisecs n_msecs 			tankplayer_config	Playback		
Defines the speed with which to release tracebufs  in units of milliseconds n_msecs This should be used with caution since it speeds up the playback and can overwhelm some modules if buffers are not sufficient sizes and CPU speed is not fast enough. Some experimentation is required to use this option for rapid playback.
Default:  none				

HeartBeatInt nsec 			tankplayer_config	Earthworm setup		
Defines the number of seconds nsec between TYPE_HEARTBEAT messages issued by tankplayer.

Default: none Calnet: HeartBeatInt 15

IgnoreTBVersionNumbers switch		tankplayer_config	Playback
Prevents tankplayer from objecting to tracebuf2 packets that don't have the correct version field. Not recommended.
Default: 0	False

LogFile switch				tankplayer_config	output		
Sets the on-off switch for writing a log file to disk. If switch is 0, no log file will be written. If switch is 1, tankplayer will write a daily log file(s) called tankplayerxx.log_yymmdd where xx is tankplayer's module id (set with "MyModuleId" command) and yymmdd is the current UTC date (ex: 960123) on the system clock. The file(s) will be written in the EW_LOG directory (environment variable).

Default: none

MyModuleId mod_id			tankplayer_config	Earthworm setup		
Sets the module id for labeling all outgoing messages. mod_id is a character string (valid strings are listed in earthworm.d) that relates (in earthworm.d) to a unique single-byte number. Tankplayer also places this module id in the module id field of each waveform message header before it puts the message into shared memory.

Default: none
Example: MyModuleId MOD_ADSEND_A

OpenTries n 			tankplayer_config	Playback		
Defines the number  n of times to retry opening a tank file found in the GetFromDir directory. The purpose of this parameter is that sometimes if a copy is used to move the file, it will not be finished writing by the time the tankplayer module gets to it. For that reason, the OpenTries number of open attempts is made to open the file for updating (even though it is just being read from). This assures the file can be read exclusively by the tankplayer module. If the file is not readable after 5 tries it is not attempted. Between each try, the program waits OpenWait milliseconds.

Default:  5				

OpenWait n 			tankplayer_config	Playback		
Defines the number  n  milliseconds to pause before retrying an open of a file in the GetFromDir directory.

Default:  200				


Pause nsec				tankplayer_config	Playback		
Defines the integer number of seconds nsec to pause after completing the playback of one waveform file before starting the playback of the next. Tankplayer will continue to issue its heartbeat while it is in pause-mode.

Default: none
Example: Pause 15

PlayMsgType type			tankplayer_config	Playback		
Tells tankplayer what type of message the waveform file(s) contain. type is a character string (valid strings are listed in earthworm.d) that relates (in earthworm.d) to a unique single-byte number. By the message-type, tankplayer knows the format of the waveform message; currently tankplayer only knows how to read and manipulate TYPE_ADBUF TYPE_TRACEBUF, and TYPE_TRACEBUF2 waveform messages.

Default: none
Example: PlayMsgType TYPE_TRACEBUF2

RingName ring				tankplayer_config	Earthworm setup		
Tells tankplayer which shared memory region to use for output. ring is a character string (valid strings are listed in earthworm.d) that relates (in earthworm.d) to a unique number for the key to the shared memory region.

Default: none Calnet: RingName WAVE_RING


SaveDataFiles n 			tankplayer_config	Playback		
If  n  is set to 1, then the tankfiles found in the GetFromDir directory are saved to GetFromDir/save. If n is set to 0, the tank files are deleted..

Default:  1				

SendLate xsec			tankplayer_config	Playback		
Defines the integer number of seconds xsec before current time to label the packets with. This is useful for carlsubtrig usage and tuning.

Default: none, this is an optional setting.
Example: SendLate 45

StartUpDelay xsec			tankplayer_config	Playback		
Defines the integer number of seconds xsec to wait on startup before beginning the playback of the first waveform file. Tankplayer will continue to issue its heartbeat while it is in startup-delay mode.

Default: none
Example: StartUpDelay 45

WaveFile path-file			tankplayer_config	Playback		
Gives the name path-file of one waveform file that tankplayer should play back. path-file is a character string up to 45 characters long. Up to 50 "WaveFile" commands may be issued. Tankplayer will play the files in the order that they were listed in the configuration file, pausing between files by amount of time set in the "Pause" command. All files must contain the same type of waveform message (specified in the "PlayMsgType" command).

Default: none
Example: WaveFile event1.waves

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