Abaco ARINC429 Configuration Python API Tool

Description

A Python API has been created to provide an interactive/scriptable way of generating an ARINC-429 configuration from a (Python) command-line.

The API allows the user to create and validate a loadable ARINC-429 configuration file (in JSON format) that can be then loaded directly in RT-LAB using the ARINC-429 Imporeter tool addressed in the driver documentation.

List of Functions

The following is a list of the Functions available in this API:

These functions are detailed in the functions details section.

Workflow Description

This section explains the steps needed to generate a valid ARINC-429 configuration file that can be loaded by the ARINC-429 Importing tool using RT-LAB.

To interactively create the ARINC-429 configuration in RT-LAB we can make use of the included Python tools already available:

From the Tools menu select Python >Open console and select Python console in the pop-up window.

Using the newly-opened console, import the required arinc.py module by typing:

from opal.drivers.arinc import *

To start creating a new configuration type:

my429Config = create_config("ARINC429_config")

Now we will add a board, channels and messages to the configuration:

     board = my429Config.add_board(name='RAR PCIE Board', device_id=0,clock=Clock.Internal)
     tx_channel_1 = board.add_transmission_channel(name='tx_channel_1')
     tx_message_1 = my429Config.add_transmission_message(name='tx_message_1')
     tx_message_1.add_signal(name='signal_1')

We will need to assign a channel and board for the message we just created:
```
tx_message_1.set_board_and_channel(board, tx_channel_1)
```

To have a look at our current configuration we can use:

my429Config.print_config()

and save it with:

my429Config.save_config()

Your JSON format ARINC429 file is now available in your RT-LAB project directory. You can import it using the ARINC-429 Configuration Importer.

Note: If you need to re-generate a JSON file from a pre-existing Python script, you can also do it as shown in the image below:

Function Details

To avoid potential errors in the creation of configuration files, a list of enums has been created. The valid values for each enum appear in the following table:

Enums Table

Enum Name	Valid Values
Card	RAR_PCIE_22 RAR_PCIE_44 RAR_PCIE_88 RAR_PCIE_1616
Clock	Internal External_IRIGB
SdiOrSsm	_00 _01 _10 _11
Bitrate	Low High Custom
TxParity	None Even Odd
RxParity	On Off
BitError	Disabled Low_Bits High_Bits
Encoding	BCD BNR DIS

Functions Table

Function Name	Example Usage(s)	Input [default value]	Output	Exceptions
create_config	config = create_config(config_name)	config_name (str) ["default"]	ARINC429Config instance	none
add_board	board_params = {'name': 'Board_X', 'card' : Card.RAR_PCIE_88, 'device_id' : 1, 'clock' : Clock.External_IRIGB} board = config.add_board(board_params ) board = config.add_board(name='Board_X', card=Card.RAR_PCIE_88, device_id=2, clock=Clock.External_IRIGB)	name (str) [""] device_id (int) [0] clock (enum) [Clock.Internal] Card (enum) [Card.RAR_PCIE_44]	ARINC429Board instance	OpalARINC429Exception
add_transmission_channel	transmit_ch_params= {'name': 'Tx_Channel_X', 'channel_number' : 1, 'bitrate' : Bitrate.High, 'tx_parity' : TxParity.Odd, 'gap_error' : True, 'inject_bit_error' : BitError.Low_Bits, 'external_tx' : True} tx_channel_1 = board.add_transmission_channel(**transmit_ch_params) tx_channel_1 = board.add_transmission_channel(name='Tx_Channel_X', channel_number=1, bitrate=Bitrate.High, tx_parity=TxParity.Odd, gap_error=True,inject_bit_error=BitError.Low_Bits, external_tx=True)	name (str) [""] channel_number (int) [0] bitrate (enum) [Bitrate.High] custom_bitrate (float) [50] tx_parity (enum) [TxParity.Off] gap_error (bool) [False] inject_bit_error (bool) [BitError.Disabled] external_tx (bool) [True]	ARINC429TransmissionChannel instance	OpalARINC429Exception
add_reception_channel	receive_ch_params = {'name': 'Rx_Channel_X', 'channel_number' : 1, 'bitrate' : Bitrate.Low, 'rx_parity' : RxParity.On, 'internal_loopback' : True, 'merged_buffer' : True} rx_channel = board.add_reception_channel(**receive_ch_params ) rx_channel = board.add_reception_channel(name='Rx_Channel_X', channel_number=1, bitrate=Bitrate.Low, rx_parity=RxParity.On, internal_loopback=True, merged_buffer=True)	name (str) [""] channel_number(int) [0] bitrate (enum) [Bitrate.High] custom_bitrate (float) [50] rx_parity (enum) [RxParity.Off] internal_loopback (bool) [False] merged_buffer (bool) [False]	ARINC429TReceptionChannel instance	OpalARINC429Exception
delete_channel	my_board.delete_channel(channel)	channel(int) [""]	none	OpalARINC429Exception
set_recording_enabled	my_channel.set_recording_enabled(True) my_channel.set_recording_enabled(False)	enable(boolean) [False]	none	OpalARINC429Exception
add_transmission_message	transmission_msg_params = {'name' : 'Tx_Message_1', 'label' : 92, 'sdi': SdiOrSsm._01, 'ssm' : SdiOrSsm._10, 'cyclic' : True, 'transmission_rate_ms' : 25, 'offset_ms' : 2} tx_message_1 = config.add_transmission_message(**transmit_msg_params ) tx_message_1 = config.add_transmission_message(name='Tx_Message_1', label=92, sdi=SdiOrSsm._01, ssm=SdiOrSsm._10, cyclic=True, transmission_rate_ms=25, offset_ms=2)	name (str) [""] label (int) [0] sdi (enum) [SdiOrSsm._00] ssm (enum) [SdiOrSsm._00] cyclic (bool) [False] transmission_rate_ms (int) [0] offset_ms (int) [0] enable_dynamic_ssm (bool) [False] enable_dynamic_sdi (bool) [False] raw_data (bool) [False]	ARINC429TransmissionMessage instance	OpalARINC429Exception
add_reception_message	receive_msg_params= {'name' : 'Rx_Message_1', 'label' : 0x65, 'sdi': SdiOrSsm._01, 'ssm' : SdiOrSsm._10, 'enable_label_filter' : True, 'monitored' : True, 'timeout_ms' : 20} rx_message_1 = config.add_reception_message(**receive_msg_params) rx_message_1 = config.add_reception_message(name='Rx_Message_1', label=0x65, sdi=SdiOrSsm._01, ssm=SdiOrSsm._10, enable_filter=True, monitored=True, timeout_ms=20)	name (str) [""] label (int) [0] sdi (enum)[SdiOrSsm._00] ssm (enum)[SdiOrSsm._00] monitored (bool) [False] timeout_ms (int) [0] buffer_count (int) [1] enable_label_filter (bool) [False] raw_data (bool) [False]	ARINC429ReceptionMessage instance	OpalARINC429Exception
add_signal	signal_params = {'name' : 'Tx_Data_1', 'encoding' : Encoding.BNR, 'start_bit': 29, 'gain' : 10, 'number_of_bits' : 12, 'max' : 512.5, 'min' : -510.275} tx_signal = tx_msg.add_signal(**signal_params ) tx_signal = tx_msg.add_signal(name='Tx_Data_1', encoding=Encoding.BNR, start_bit=29, gain=10, number_of_bits=12, max=512.5, min=-510.275)	name (str) [""] encoding (enum) [Encoding.DIS] startBit (int) [29] number_of_bits (int) [1] data (float) [0] min (float) [1] max (float) [0] gain (float) [1] offset (float) [0]	ARINC429Signal instance	OpalARINC429Exception
delete_signal	message.delete_signal (signal_name)	signal_name (str) [""]	none	OpalARINC429Exception
modify_parameter	modify_board_params = {'card' : Card.RAR_PCIE_44, 'deviceID' : 2} board.modify_parameter(modify_board_params)	Depends on the element to be modified	none	OpalARINC429Exception
print_config	config.print_config()	none	The contents of the config printed to screen.	none
validate_config	config.validate_config()	none	If errors are found, they will be printed to screen.	none
save_config	config.save_config()	none	Config serialized into a JSON file if no errors are found.	none

Abaco ARINC429 Configuration Python API Tool

Description

List of Functions

Workflow Description

Function Details

Functions Table

create_config

add_board

add_transmission_channel

add_reception_channel

delete_channel

set_recording_enabled

add_transmission_message

add_reception_message

add_signal

delete_signal

modify_parameter

print_config

validate_config

save_config