I'm upgrading some industrial equipment. I plan to use a PC running Linux for the main control computer. Part of the upgrade involves replacing the legacy laser controller with a new, modern one. The new, modern replacement that I have found apparently is only operable through a .Net API--it has serial and remote TCP/IP interfaces, but they are crippled compared to the capabilities that are available through the API methods.
From TFM:
Code:
The API is implemented in Microsoft C# language and is distributed as Windows .Net assemblies.
In order to use this API to develop an application you have to refer the following two DLL's:
• Etl.Hardware.ScanDevice.Base.dll
• Etl.Hardware.ScanDevice.ScanInterface.dll
In order to run the application with the EC1000 Scan card, the following two DLL's must be available in
the application folder:
• Etl.Hardware.ScanDevice.dll
• Etl.Hardware.ScanDevice.EC1000.dll
Rev. 1.0.0_
Will I (or rather, will the programmers that I hire) be able to control this device through the API using a Linux box?
It boggles the mind that a company would use .Net to do this for a piece of industrial equipment that is expected to have a 20 year lifespan.
