Countdown Timer

[aviation76]

Hello, I would like to create a timer that will begin counting down automatically when a unique bit goes high.  I have a derived parameter that will output either 0-3 depending on which condition is true. 

 

When the value is 0, countdown from 30 seconds. 

When the value is 1, countdown from 2 minutes. 

When the value is 2, countdown from 30 minutes. 

When the value is 3, count UP from zero to show time elapsed.

 

How do I create a derived parameter that will encompass the above conditions and incorporate into a timer display?  I am envisioning a display that will be a simple box in HH:MM:SS format and will begin counting down automatically when one of the aforementioned conditions is true.  The box will require attributes to allow it to change colors.  How do I create this display?

 

I have read the “Creating a Countdown Timer” in the IADS help but it requires manual input from the user.  I would like my display to be automatic.  

 

I am using IADS v6.6.

 

Thanks in advance!

[James Bretz]

Hi,

 

I think you can do everything from the IadsStopWatch display.

 

1) Right click on the DisplayBuilder and add the display “IadsElectronicComponents.IadsStopWatch”. Drop the display on your window.

2) Drop your derived “0 to 3” control parameter on the display and attach it to the “Mode” property.

3) Setup the Dynamics for the Mode property to set the mode to “Countdown Timer” for values 0..2 and “Stop Watch” for value 3

4) Again, drop your control parameter on the display and this time attach it to the StartTime property

5) Setup the Dynamics for the StartTime property to set the StartTime to 00:30 for the value of 0, 02:00 for the value of 1, 30:00 for the value of 2

6) Set the “StopTime” property to 0

7) Now, drop your “trigger parameter” on the “TimerIsRunning” property and set the proper Dynamics to trigger it when the bit goes high. Alternatively, you could create a derived parameter that picks this bit and then drop the derived parameter into this property. That method might be better for testing purposes.

 

The “Creating a Countdown Timer” section is a little outdated. I think that was more relevant before we had this display.

 

I skipped through the steps fairly fast and without great detail. Let us know if you need more clarification,

Jim

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[aviation76]

Thanks, Jim!  I will give this a try at my next opportunity and let you know if I encounter any issues.

[aviation76]

Hi Jim,

 

 I did not see a "Mode" property in the Stopwatch display in version 6.6.  Is it not available in this version?  If not, can you provide an alternate method to create a display as I previously discussed?

[Adam Chant]

We will have to look into if it’s possible for version 6.6. I will do my best to test out a possible solution and get back to you.

Adam Chant
Symvionics, Inc.
IADS Application Engineer
(661) 273-7003 x 210

 

From: ia...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ia...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of aviation76

Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 7:34 AM
To: ia...@googlegroups.com

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[aviation76]

Thanks, Adam!

[aviation76]

Hi,

 

Since we now have IADS 7.3.3 installed, I have an opportunity to create the timer.  I was able to add the stopwatch display and modify the attributes.  However, I am not able to see the countdown and stopwatch modes work properly.  When the value indicating the mode (0, 1, 2, or 3) is toggled, I only see the milliseconds cycling but not the hour, minutes, or seconds values.  I wonder if it has something to do with my “trigger parameter”.  How should the “trigger parameter” be configured?  I was using the control parameter as the “trigger parameter” and setting it to be true when the value is >0.  Not sure if this is causing the issue or if another property is causing the time to not work properly.  Any assistance to troubleshoot this issue would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Adam Chant]

The Mode property of  the IadsStopWatch has only 2 values (Stop Watch and Countdown Timer)
The Stop Watch mode counts up from 0 to n and the Countdown Timer mode counts up from the property value of StartTime to the property value of StopTime.

The counter is active when the property TimerIsRunning is True or 1.

 

If you wanted to have the counter start at the IRIG time that the timer is started then you would have to add the value into the StartTime property when the TimerIsRunning value goes True. This would require a derived equation that latches the IRIG time value when the TimerIsRunning is true and dropped to the StartTime property. DO NOT DROP IRIG TIME directly to the StartTime property as it will override all functions of the timer and the stop watch will  become an IRIG clock display.

Let me know if you want additional details on the Latch parameter Arguments details.

 

Thanks,

 

Adam Chant
Symvionics, Inc.
IADS Application Engineer
(661) 273-7003 x 210

 

From: ia...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ia...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of aviation76
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2014 7:38 AM
To: ia...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [IADS] Re: Countdown Timer

 

Hi,

 

Since we now have IADS 7.3.3 installed, I have an opportunity to create the timer.  I was able to add the stopwatch display and modify the attributes.  However, I am not able to see the countdown and stopwatch modes work properly.  When the value indicating the mode (0, 1, 2, or 3) is toggled, I only see the milliseconds cycling but not the hour, minutes, or seconds values.  I wonder if it has something to do with my “trigger parameter”.  How should the “trigger parameter” be configured?  I was using the control parameter as the “trigger parameter” and setting it to be true when the value is >0.  Not sure if this is causing the issue or if another property is causing the time to not work properly.  Any assistance to troubleshoot this issue would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

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[aviation76]

Thanks, Adam, for your response.

I am still not having any success.  It appears that timers resets within milliseconds after activation in a never ending loop.

 

Here is how I have it setup:

The control parameter, which drives whether or not to display countdown or stopwatch, was attached to the “Mode” property and setup with the respective dynamics.  The control parameter was also attached to the “StartTime” property with its dynamics setup per the fifth step in Jim’s instructions.  The “StopTime” property was set to “0”.

For my trigger parameter, I selected a parameter that is always nonzero.  I attached this to the “TimerIsRunning” property and set the dynamics to be true when value > 0.

Do you see anything I am doing wrong?

[James Bretz]

It appears as though we fixed 2 bugs in the timer for version 8.1.1. I suspect that these bugs are causing the problem.

 

“The order of data set to the display is dictated by the IDL. The TimerIsRunning property is before StartTime and Mode properties so if you attach parameters to these 3 properties to try and control the display, it's doesn't run properly”

 

“The timer is not checking for a change in StartTime/StopTime properties before resetting time, thus any parameters attached to these properties will effectively freeze the display”

 

Since you’re not running version 8.1.1 yet, we might want to try and get you the updated dll for the StopWatch control. Unfortunately our ftp is down until tomorrow. I’ll attempt to zip up and send the updated dll (along with instructions) to your hotmail account ,

Jim

 

 

From: aviation76

Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 5:41 AM

To: ia...@googlegroups.com

Subject: [IADS] Re: Countdown Timer

 

Thanks, Adam, for your response.

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[aviation76]

Thanks, Jim.  That updated DLL did the trick!

 

A couple of new issues have crept up. 

 

The timer does not reset to the specified start time when the next condition is true.  The TimerReset property is set to TRUE.  Do I need to add a control parameter to this setting?

 

It also appears that when the timer stops, a delta time is being added to it. Is an elapsed time being added?  I have this field set to “0”.   

[James Bretz]

Well, we’re getting closer ;)

 

Actually, without reviewing all the code, I’m not sure how it is suppose to act. Let me ask the developer and see if he knows,

Jim

 

From: aviation76

Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 7:10 AM

To: ia...@googlegroups.com

Subject: [IADS] Re: Countdown Timer

 

Thanks, Jim.  That updated DLL did the trick!

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[Lindsay Graves]

Hi Mr Bretz, I was wondering if Symbionics or any of your current customers are using any automated test tools to test IADS releases at any level ? Such as Hp Products QTP, WinRunner or Loadrunner ?

 

Thanks,

Lindsay Graves

ATR Pax River MD.

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[Adam Chant]

I played around a little bit more with this trying to duplicate your observation also If you could export the analysis window and email it to us iadssupport (at) symvionics (dot) com that may help.

What I found with my control was that if the Execute Action fired off too fast it left a delta in the timer. When I updated the MaxExecutionFrequency from 1 to 5 it no longer did this. While this is not the intended action for this, it may be a work around while we look into it further and untimely resolve it.
Try that and see if it works.

 

Adam Chant
Symvionics, Inc.
IADS Application Engineer
(661) 273-7003 x 210

 

From: ia...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ia...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of aviation76
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 7:11 AM
To: ia...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [IADS] Re: Countdown Timer

 

Thanks, Jim.  That updated DLL did the trick!

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[James Bretz]

Hi Lindsay,

 

Yes actually, we are using automated testing tools, but they are mostly custom built tools.

 

Having said that, LoadRunner seems to be a performance testing platform. For performance analysis, we use a tool from ‘Software Verification’ called ‘Performance Validator’. Along those lines, to hunt down memory issues we use a tool by the same company called ‘Memory Validator’. We also use some Microsoft extension tools such as ‘gflags’ for the same purpose.

 

Jim

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