Specifications

47
55
Software Interface
• Packet Structure 47
• Interface Specifics 51
• Sample Driver Code 57
This chapter describes the communication between the host computer and the
SmartSet controllers. The basic packet structure is introduced and how packets are
sent and received. The SMARTSET utility is used as a demonstration. Specifics
about each interface are given next, followed by a sample driver in machine-
independent C source code.
PACKET STRUCTURE
High-level communication with all SmartSet controllers is through an eight-byte
packet. Packets sent to the controller are called command packets. Packets
received from the controller are called response packets. The command and
response packets are identical for all SmartSet controllers.
For PC-Bus and Micro Channel controllers, packets are transmitted and received
through eight consecutive read/write I/O ports. For serial controllers, the eight-
byte packet is transmitted over the serial line framed by two additional bytes for
synchronization. Specifics on the bus and serial interfaces will be covered later in
this chapter.