User`s guide

1 Getting Started
1-4
Creating an Adaptor
To create an adaptor, you must implement the C++ routines and the classes required
by the adaptor framework. The following outlines one way to develop an adaptor that
divides the task into several smaller tasks, called stages. This staged development model
has been shown to be an effective way to create an adaptor.
• “Stage 1: Familiarize Yourself with the Adaptor Kit and Device SDK” on page 1-4
• “Stage 2: Set Up Your Build Environment” on page 1-4
• “Stage 3: Provide Hardware Information” on page 1-5
• “Stage 4: Define Your Adaptor Class” on page 1-5
• “Stage 5: Implement Virtual Functions in Adaptor Class” on page 1-5
• “Stage 6: Choose Which Device Properties to Expose” on page 1-5
Staged Development Model
Stage 1: Familiarize Yourself with the Adaptor Kit and Device SDK
Before you start developing an adaptor, you must gather information about the device (or
devices) to help you make design decisions.
• Familiarize yourself with adaptors and adaptor development by looking at the demo
adaptor which is included with the adaptor kit — see “Looking at the Demo Adaptor”
on page 1-7
• Familiarize yourself with your device's SDK. Devices provide the tools you need
to access and control them programmatically. You must learn your device's
requirements for initialization, startup, and acquiring data, and the SDK functions
used to perform these tasks.
• Determine what device or devices you want to support with your adaptor. You can
create an adaptor to support one particular device, a group of devices offered by a
particular vendor, or a group of devices that all support a common interface. You must
also determine the formats supported by the device and the properties of the device
that you want to make available to users of your adaptor.
Stage 2: Set Up Your Build Environment
You must set up the required adaptor build environment, which includes specifying
the names and locations of required header files and libraries. “Setting up a Build
Environment on Windows Systems” on page 2-2 provides this information.