A programmable system scheduler for control oriented local area networks (COLAN)

Graduation date: 1990The Control-Oriented Local Area Network (COLAN) is a\ud distributed control system for a series of networked\ud microcontrollers, which has been under development at Oregon\ud State University since 1986. A reliable master controller, functioning\ud both as a task scheduler and as a network controller, is\ud required to allow users to perform task programming, the\ud transmission and reception of commands and data packets, and\ud network status monitoring.\ud The Task Master Controller (TMC) has been designed and\ud developed to provide these capabilities. The TMC provides an\ud integrated environment to aid in the editing of task programs, the\ud execution of task programs, the interpretation of program\ud statements, the manipulation of files, the maintenance of a\ud communication protocol between the host computer and remote\ud microcontrollers, the maintenance of a device and task library, and\ud the display of network status. The TMC provides two different\ud modes of operation, a user mode and a command mode, to allow\ud both the novice user and the experienced system developer to use\ud the system.\ud The TMC language also includes such basic programming\ud language elements as conditional statements, repetitive statements,\ud and block statements. It also includes such built-in functions as\ud time delay, print message, reception of data, and save response.\ud These elements provide the skilled system developer with a\ud powerful tool to program tasks in any desired sequence. It\ud provides the novice user with a friendly user interface to schedule\ud tasks by selecting from a menu of high level commands included in\ud the system library