Building an embedded system can be very complex. The successful mixture of hardware, electronics and software requires sophisticated modeling and simulation tools. Control system and software modeling tools such as Telelogic Statemate and Rational Rose are staples in this process. It is also common for software developers to simply build C or C++ based models and run and test them on a host computer — prior to choosing target hardware.

Altia Connections are software modules and an application program interface (API) that allow you to connect Altia graphics to your models. These are the same graphics developed as early concept prototypes. They are also the same graphics that can be used later to generate deployable graphics code.

Adding Altia graphics to your simulations maximizes the value of your models. It provides a way to allow customers to participate in the development process without having in-depth knowledge of your modeling tool methodology. The value of this combination can be further explored in a white paper entitled: Simulation Graphics - Maximizing Your Modeling Investment to Reduce Cycle Times.

There are two types of Altia connections. For non-programmers, such as systems and hardware engineers, Altia Connections are simply additional function blocks inserted in your models. Inputs and outputs are connected the same as every other block in your modeling tool. Events, signals and data are transparently sent between the model and the graphics. This interface requires no programming knowledge or compilers.

"By connecting Altia graphics to my models I can now communicate complex modeling concepts to customers and management."The second type of connection is for programmers who already use languages such as C and C++. These are people who want to continue using the programming paradigm. For these developers, Altia has an application program interface (API) that can be linked into the programmer’s code. This is used to connect application code to graphics code. In simulation mode, signals are sent via a TCP/IP protocol, allowing you to run your application code as a separate executable from your graphics code. This greatly shortens the design, test, and debug cycle. When you generate deployable graphics code you can link this code directly with your application into one executable, without changing the API calls. Moving from simulations to final code becomes extremely quick and easy.