Release Notes

1. Service Packs and Updates
• 8.4.1.14
• 8.4.1.13
• 8.4.1.12
• 8.4.1.11
• 8.4.1.10
• 8.4.1.9
• 8.4.1.8 was cancelled
• 8.4.1.7
• 8.4.1.6
• 8.4.1.5
• 8.4.1.4
• 8.4.1.3
• 8.4.1.2
• 8.4.1.1
• 8.4.1.0
• 8.4.0.12
• 8.4.0.11
• 8.4.0.10
• 8.4.0.9
• 8.4.0.8
• 8.4.0.7
• 8.4.0.6
• 8.4.0.5
• 8.4.0.4
• 8.4.0.3
• 8.4.0.2
• 8.4.0.1
2. ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.0
• Critical Changes
• Enhancements
3. Product Obsolescence Notice
4. OS Requirements
5. Compilers

Copyright ©  2019
Applied Dynamics International.
All Rights Reserved.

ADvantage 8.4 Release Notes

ADvantage 8.4 is supported only on the Microsoft Windows platform. SIMsystem 7.2 was the last release that supported AIX/4 and Solaris.

A guide for migrating from earlier versions of ADvantage to ADvantage 8.4 is given in
%ADI_HOME%/help/advde_using/to_migrate_project.htm.

ADvantage Framework 8.4 Service Packs and Updates

ADvantage Framework distributions are numbered as follows:

MajorRelease.MinorRelease.ServicePack.Update

ADvantage 8.4.1.14 is the baseline distribution of ADvantage Framework 8.4.

The installed baseline may be identified in the file %ADI_HOME%/adv084_id.txt.

Updates may be identified in the file %ADI_HOME%/adv084_update_id.txt, if it exists.

Note:  After you install a new release, service pack or update, be sure to re-build your simulation in ADvantageDE.

History:

8.4.1.14

8.4.1.13

8.4.1.12		update
8.4.1.11		update
8.4.1.10		update
8.4.1.9		update
ADvantage 8.4.1.8 was cancelled
8.4.1.7		update
8.4.1.6		update
8.4.1.5		update
8.4.1.4		update
8.4.1.3		update
8.4.1.2		update
8.4.1.1		update
8.4.1.0		service pack
8.4.0.12		update
8.4.0.11		update
8.4.0.10		update
8.4.0.9		update
8.4.0.8		update
8.4.0.7		update
8.4.0.6		update
8.4.0.5		update
8.4.0.4		update
8.4.0.3		update
8.4.0.2		update
8.4.0.1		update
8.4.0.0		release

Be sure to examine the notes for all distributions since you last installed ADvantage Framework.

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.14

ADvantage8.4.1.14.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain ADvantage8.4.1.14.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework.

To install update 8.4.1.14, double click on ADvantage8.4.1.14.exe. It detects the value of ADI_HOME and installs to that location. It makes a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before installing.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.14 is a complete installation of ADvantage. It does not overwrite any previous installation, and you do not need to have any previous installation of ADvantage 8.4 on your PC.

Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.14

• The initial_position application parameter of the rtxldv_adi565_qdec logical device has been changed from an int_32 to a double.


• The rtxldv_scu_ctl and rtxldv_scu_flt logical devices were enhanced to function on the same rtX that is running the fcp_srv utility.

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.13

ADvantage8.4.1.13.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain ADvantage8.4.1.13.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework.

To install update 8.4.1.13, double click on ADvantage8.4.1.13.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It makes a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before installing.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.13 is a complete installation of ADvantage. It does not overwrite any previous installation, and you do not need to have any previous installation of ADvantage 8.4 on your PC.

• ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.13


• The C preprocessor failed on code targeted to the C99 standard.


• Previously, RTS builds would sometimes fail on Windows 10 hosts because the dwarf2coff utility would not run.


• Previously builds would sometimes fail on Windows 10 hosts because some of the Unix-like utilities would not run. The cp, echo, mv, and rm utilities have been replaced.


• A message now appears in the ADvantageDE output window indicating any failure to obtain a license token.


• ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.13


• The regexp intrinsic function failed in ADvantage 8.4.1.12.


• An update setup with dynamic dictionaries caused ADvantageVI to crash.


• A large number of variables in dynamic external dictionaries caused ADvantageVI to hang.


• The playback schedule previously chose the next data point rather than the closest.


• ADEPT panel stripchart performance has been improved.


• Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.13


• Support for these I/O boards has been added:
  
  • ADI DIOS variable resistor board 3 mA 100-250 ohms (ADI part number D205A0841)
  • Ballard ARINC-429 112-425-425 (ADI part number A200A0772)
  • Ballard ARINC-429 212-442-442 (ADI part number A200A0791)
  • General Standards PXI-SIO4BXR (ADI part number A200A0783)
  • Moxa CP-114EL-I (ADI part number A200A0777)
  • National Instruments NI-7852 (ADI part number A200A0776)
  • North Atlantic 76CS3-LCLCZ0Z0Z01C01 (ADI part number A200A0749)
  • North Atlantic 76CS3-W6Z01A1A1A1C01 (ADI part number A200A0760)
  
  
• The rtxldv_ni7841r_presstrans logical device now has ports to dynamically set span and RU ranges.


• EtherCAT master support has been added for RTS and rtX.


• The rtxldv_adiudpmsg">rtxldv_adiudpmsg logical device ignored floating-point constants unless they had a decimal point.


• The PMC-SIO4 software now supports HDLC operation on the RTS.


• The PMC-SIO4 software now supports configuration as four independent channels on the rtX.


• Four channels of fuel flowmeter emulation with the NI-7831r is now available.


• Error reporting from the BTI ARINC-429 logical devices has been improved.


• A problem in the low-level driver for the Goebel P2P that caused the board's "open" routine to fail has been corrected.


• The headers required to build the rtxldv_ni7831r_2011_fuelflowmeter.c, rtxldv_ni7831r_fuelflowmeter.c, and rtxldv_ni7831r_vibsensor.c logical device source code have been added to the distribution.


• The rtxldv_goebel664_DB logical device did an extra byte swap when transmitting data.


• The rtxldv_tcpip logical device now has a logical device port that can force the client or server to sever the connection to the other end.


• NA76CS3 logical device load times have been reduced. A new application parameter can disable reset of the board.




• Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.1.13


• Support for R2018b has been added.
• Support for R2019b has been added.

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.12

8.4.1.12.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain 8.4.1.12.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.12, double click on 8.4.1.12.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It makes a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before installing.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.12 is a complete installation of ADvantage. It does not overwrite any previous installation, and you do not need to have any previous installation of ADvantage 8.4 on your PC.

• ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.12


• Auto-started panels would always use DAS stream 1 regardless of which DAS stream had been specified in ADvantageDE.


• Previously, any Python command that translates to an Interact command, when used in a vi.When(vi.StartRun, command) function, would hang ADvantageVI.


• ADvantageVI would sometimes show the simulation as halted before model termination completed.


• A short delay was added in reattach after an update_setup when external models are in use.


• ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.12


• The default QNXsdk compiler version is now 6.4. See How can I switch back and forth among QNXsdk 6.2, QNXsdk 6.4, and QNXsdk 6.5? for additional information.


• Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.12


• Support for the Moxa CP-114U serial board has been added.


• A new function file for the rtxldv_thermocouple logical device has been added: AO16_thermocouple_function_typeK_10degStep.csv. It provides a higher-resolution Type-K thermocouple emulation.


• The serial power supply (instrument) control logical devices would segmentation fault intermittently.


• The maximum allowable size of UDP packets in QNX has been increased.


• The rtxldv_adiudpmsg logical device now accepts float and double constants in transmitted messages.


• Support for the two-channel NA75DL1 board has been added.


• The Modbus serial logical devices rtxldv_modbus_sio_DB_232 and rtxldv_modbus_sio_DB_485 now require additional information that is generated by ADEPT-DB released with ADEPT 10.0.9. You must regenerate files from ADEPT-DB to use these logical devices.


• Modbus signals now support a Byte Order option in ADEPT-DB. You can set the byte ordering of signals to Big-Endian or Little-Endian


• Distributed simulation using VMIC-5565 is now supported.


• Support for the Moxa CP-138U has been added.


• The lower limit has been removed from rtxldv_ni7841r_speedsensor.


• The low-level driver for the NI-7831r would segmentation fault if a board used in the ADvantage project was not present in the rtX.


• At a baud rate of 115200, data on the Blastronix serial device was transmitted in groups of 32 bytes with empty messages between.


• The rtxldv_CAN_DB logical device status value was always 0.


• The rtxldv_CAN_DB logical device stopped transmitting if the hardware queue filled up.


• New logical devices for the NI-6220 (rtxldv_ni6220_vrms) and NI-6224 (rtxldv_ni6224_vrms) support reading of a sine wave that has a frequency of 29-72 Hz.


• Previously, the rtX motherboard serial device failed during initialization.


• The rtxldv_scu_ctl logical device now errors if the status port is unconnected.


• The rtxldv_tcpip logical device now sets the NO_DELAY socket option. This causes the driver to send data immediately. The name of the Server machine is now specified within the initialization file rather than being specified by the name of the initialization file.


• The rtxldv_tcpip client would fail to initialize if its associated server is not running when the client initialization occurred. The client now runs in a SERVER_DOWN state until the server becomes ready.


• rtX Runtime Changes in 8.4.1.12


• Some rtXs do not reboot when the shutdown command is issued at the QNX command line. A new shutdown utility has been provided. See My rtX does not reboot when I issue the shutdown command on the Troubleshooting page for additional information.


• Enhanced error message reporting for initialization file parsing has been implemented for the following logical devices:
  • rtxldv_adidac16
  • rtxldv_adidac32
  • rtxldv_thermocouple
  • rtxldv_ni7841r_currtrans
  • rtxldv_ni7841r_presstrans
  • rtxldv_ni7841r_speedsensor
  • rtxldv_pick_res
  • rtxldv_pick295_10_16
  • rtxldv_pick295_5_16
  • rtxldv_pick_pot_40_294_021
  • rtxldv_pick_pot_40_296_121
  • rtxldv_pick_res_40_294_011
  • rtxldv_pick_res_40_294_021
  • rtxldv_pick_res_50_295_021
  • rtxldv_pick_res_50_295_121
  The enhanced reporting includes:
  • Initialization file line number where the error occurred
  • Check for consistent row dimensions
  • Check for monotonically increasing independent variables
  • Support of # comments in initialization files
  The enhanced error reporting functions that were added are rtl_enh_read_lookup_file and rtl_check_lookup_rows.


• Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.1.12


• Support for Matlab R2017b and R2018a was added

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.11

8.4.1.11.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.11.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.11, double click on 8.4.1.11.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.11 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.11 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.11 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.10	(update)
8.4.1.9	(update)
8.4.1.7	(update)
8.4.1.6	(update)
8.4.1.5	(update)
8.4.1.4	(update)
8.4.1.3	(update)
8.4.1.2	(update)
8.4.1.1	(update)
8.4.1.0	(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.11. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.11.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.11


• Previously, network IPC connections were not being made properly.


• Previously, deleting a project, deleting network IPC connections, then autoconnecting again caused ADvantageDE to crash.


• Previously, model I/O ports were appearing in only one direction.


• Variable assignments between models and external dictionaries can now be made through the use of a CSV file. See Use an External Dictionary (%ADI_HOME/help/advde_using/to_use_ex_dict.htm).




2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.11


• External models may now be associated with a GP project.


• Previously, if a control widget has a Python data change command, when the data was changed the command was issued properly, but focus was set to the ADvantageVI command line.


• ADEPT panel widgets no longer re-use IDs from deleted widgets.


• Previously, shorts and chars were handled as long, which resulted in bad data in a dataset.


• ADvantageVI now displays an error message and suspends the simulation if a distributed logical devices is running on a non-primary model.




3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.11


• GP simulations can now emulate hardware I/O with code. See Simulate I/O Operations in GP (%ADI_HOME%/help/advde_using/gp_hooks.htm).


• Support for the GSC 16AO64 analog output device has been added.


• Previously, the rtxldv_sio_powersupply logical devices did not consistently update the six power supplies on the second Go.


• Previously the modbus logical devices blocked the initialization of other logical devices.


• On the RTS, the base number of Ethernet packets has been increased to 500. additionally, the low-level Ethernet driver issues a warning but does not suspend the simulation if the limit is reached.


• The VMIC3123 logical device now has an application parameter to disable the read function software filter (sample 3 times per channel then output the best result to the logical device port).


• Previously, the driver for the PCI version of the NI-6509 failed to open.


• The rtxldv_scu_ctl logical device has been enhanced to allow for multiple instance of the logical device to control more than 1018 fault channels.


• The low-level driver for the Dynamic Engineering Bi-Serial VI has been enhanced to support the board's V8 firmware.




4. Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.1.11


• Support for Matlab R2017a was added

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.10

8.4.1.10.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.10.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.10, double click on 8.4.1.10.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.10 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.10 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.10 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.9	(update)
8.4.1.7	(update)
8.4.1.6	(update)
8.4.1.5	(update)
8.4.1.4	(update)
8.4.1.3	(update)
8.4.1.2	(update)
8.4.1.1	(update)
8.4.1.0	(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.10. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.10.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.10


• It is now possible to select multiple devices in the physical device selection dialog.


• ADvantageDE now has additional system preferences for setting data dictionary merge options.


• Previously, the GNU C compiler provided with ADvantage software did not run if there was an existing installation of MinGW in c:\MinGW.




2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.10


• It is now possible to write statistical data to a CSV file from the Device Browser and Statistics views.


• The number of allowable custom menu items has been increased from 100 to 1000.




3. I/O Board Software Changes in 8.4.1.10


• Support has been added for the Dynamic Engineering SpaceWire interface.


• Support has been added for CANopen master devices.


• Support has been added for the PCIe version of the NI-6509.


• Support has been added for the NA76CS1006CRA-LN (ADI part number A200A0689), six channels with 1.8-kHz reference.


• A generic analog output logical device has been added for the NI-7841r.


• Previously, the PMC-SIO4 board on an MVME-5500 IOP did not allow setting the oscillator frequency.


• Previously, the CE-5500 Ethernet interface would hang if no active cable was connected.


• Previously, for the Pickering 40-296-121, changing the resistance of one channel caused another channel's B-side resistance to change.


• Previously, the UDP Ethernet driver for the RTS caused lost messages.


• A new Ethernet logical device is available for the RTS: adildv_udpsocket.


• Previously, the P2P board would halt with a Receive Limit error.

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.9

8.4.1.9.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.9.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.9, double click on 8.4.1.9.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.9 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.9 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.9 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.7	(update)
8.4.1.6	(update)
8.4.1.5	(update)
8.4.1.4	(update)
8.4.1.3	(update)
8.4.1.2	(update)
8.4.1.1	(update)
8.4.1.0	(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.9. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.9.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.9


• ADvantageDE now has a system preference, Create Default Project on New Framework. If checked (this is the default for ADvantageDE), ADvantageDE creates a default project containing basic objects. If unchecked, ADvantageDE creates an empty project.


• ADvantageDE now reports removed connections that are removed during a Simulink build.




2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.9


• The Python function vi.Put now takes a list of values for array variables.


• Short forms (suitable for use at the ADvantageVI command line) for several Python functions are now available:
  

  get Var
  put Var
  go
  stop
  get_string Var

• Extraneous newline characters have been removed from Python output.




3. Device Driver Changes in 8.4.1.9


• Support for the following devices has been added:
  
  
  • Dynamic Engineering Bi-Serial VI
  • Modbus protocol, serial and TCP/IP
  • NI-6529
  • NI-7841 Current Transformer, Pressure Transducer, and Speed Sensor
  • Pickering 294
  • Pickering 296
  • Pickering 40-115-121
  • Pickering 40-140A-221
  • TEWS 465


• A new logical device for the ADI cPCI 16-Channel DAC: rtxldv_thermocouple

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.7

8.4.1.7.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.7.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.7, double click on 8.4.1.7.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.7 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.7 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.7 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.6	(update)
8.4.1.5	(update)
8.4.1.4	(update)
8.4.1.3	(update)
8.4.1.2	(update)
8.4.1.1	(update)
8.4.1.0	(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.7. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.7.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.7


• Previously, the Help > About selection was not available when editing a data dictionary outside of an ADvantage framework.


• Previously, exceeding the limit on the number of groups in a data dictionary (254 groups) caused ADvantageDE to crash.


• A change in the run-time target from one rtX to another rtX (or from one RTS to another RTS) no longer prompts for a rebuild.


2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.7


• The keyboard shortcut for "quit" has been changed from Ctrl-q (which is too easy to type by mistake for Ctrl-a) to Ctrl-e.


• Previously, secondary tabs on ADept did not always update properly. If secondary tabs had a DAS stream number set, ADvantageVI was applying the stream number obtained from ADvantageDE only to the first tab.


• ADvantageVI now has a system preference that enables display of the data dictionary field LongDescription in the Data Browser.


• The ADvantageVI COM interface has been enhanced with functions for getting override information.


• Previously, ADvantageVI did not properly interpret large unsigned values in the data dictionary for ufixed types.


3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.7


• Support for the Pickering 50-295-021-5/16 (ADI part number A200A0680) has been added.


• The rtxldv_pkt_sock logical device now works properly with the QNXsdk 6.4 and QNXsdk 6.5 compilers.


• Previously a problem in the "close" routines in the rtxldv_sbs1553 and rtxldv_sbs1553_multi logical devices caused the device to fail to open after multiple go/stop/go cycles.


• Previously, large Ethernet messages were not always correctly received.


• Previously, file I/O on the RTS failed on the second GO.


• Previously, calling a user I/O group with an undefined group name caused all devices to respond.


4. Documentation Changes in 8.4.1.7


• The documentation for the Ballard MIL-STD-1553 board now describes how to use the application parameters on a two-channel board.


• The documentation now indicates the limitation on the acceptable filename extensions (.a) on libraries specified in ADvantageDE for GP projects.


• The documentation now describes the COSAPIhalt function, the Halt interact command, and the vi.Halt Python script as being for use in emergency situations only, as they leave the target in a state where the simulation cannot be resumed.


• The documentation now correctly describes the location of our registry entries on 64-bit Windows machines.


• The documentation of the UDP Message Manager now clarifies the control of endianness (byte swapping) in the logical device and the Manager.


• The documentation of the my_ip_address my_ip_address application parameter in the adildv_adiudpmsg logical device.


• Runtime Changes in 8.4.1.7


• The ability to us a software function to allow your model to "hook" the timing of each simulation step has been added. See %ADI_HOME%/help/advde_using/realtime_clock.htm for additional information.


• Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.1.7


• Support for Matlab R2016a and R2016b has been added.


• The ext_in and ext_in_workspace blocks have been enhanced to initialize their variables in the generated code.


• The Simulink Toolbox no longer supports Matlab R2009b and R2010a on 64-bit Windows (32-bit Windows is still supported).

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.6

8.4.1.6.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.6.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.6, double click on 8.4.1.6.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.6 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.6 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.6 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.5	(update)
8.4.1.4	(update)
8.4.1.3	(update)
8.4.1.2	(update)
8.4.1.1	(update)
8.4.1.0	(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.6. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.6.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.6


• The dictionary merge process no includes initial values from the debug dictionary generated during a Simulink build. This is controlled by a new system preference.


• Previously, when loading a framework, if no license token for a toolbox (such as ADI's Simulink Toolbox) was available, ADvantageDE deleted the model assembly. Now the toolbox license is checked only when the model is added.


• It is now possible to specify from ADvantageDE the size and location of Altia panels in ADvantageVI. See Configure Altia Panel Run-Time Properties.


2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.6


• Previously, when the vi.Get Python function was called with an invalid argument, ADvantageVI would crash.


• Previously, an override in ADvantageVI was changed to 0 if it was selected while another override is being defined, and the new override was not added.


3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.6


• A new logical device (for the NI PCI-GPIB or PXI-8232 IEEE-488 interface) has been added.


• An application parameter has been added to the rtxldv_irig logical device that allows you to force the first frame to synchronize with a 1-PPS signal.


• The rtxldv_goebel664_DB logical device now allows selection of 10 or 100 Mbit/second (via an application parameter), and supports the EDE protocol.


• Previously, the Tews-901 CAN device failed to open after 13 go/stop cycles.


• Previously, update of ARINC-429 receive labels and status was intermittent. The affected logical devices are:

  rtxldv_bti429
  rtxldv_bti429_421
  rtxldv_bti429_423
  rtxldv_bti429_423_persist
  rtxldv_bti429_425
  rtxldv_bti429_428
  rtxldv_bti429_428_persist



• The PMC-SIO4 low-level drivers librtxpmcsio4.a and librtxpmcsio4bx.a have been enhanced to support the latest version of the board, and to provide better transmit interrupt handling. The librtxpmcsio4.a driver has had improvements in its RS-485 operation.


4. Documentation Changes in 8.4.1.6


• Information on configuring the rtX to use the rtxldv_pkt_sock logical device has been added.


• Documentation of the NA76CL1 logical device application parameters has been improved.


• An additional FAQ has been added:  "Some of my I/O devices are missing in ADvantageDE". Related FAQs are:  "Why can't I expand my RTS/rtX in the list of known targets to see the I/O?" and "Why can't I see my RTS/rtX in the list of known targets".

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.5

8.4.1.5.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.5.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.5, double click on 8.4.1.5.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.5 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.5 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.5 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.4	(update)
8.4.1.3	(update)
8.4.1.2	(update)
8.4.1.1	(update)
8.4.1.0	(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.5. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.5.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.5


• Previously, if ADvantageDE could not create projectName.cmds, the error message showed an empty file name.


• Previously, conversion of ADI_STEP_TIME from a double to integer (microseconds) on the RTS (internal to the code generated by ADvantageDE) was incorrect by a microsecond.


• Previously, ADvantageDE generated code (based on the data dictionary) that caused compiler warnings with QNXsdk 6.4 and QNXsdk 6.5.


2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.5


• The maximum number of schedule items (the total for all schedules) has been increased to 16,000.


• ADvantageVI now displays an error message if the maximum number of schedule items is exceeded.


• Previously, to close a running ADept panel by clicking the X in the corner, you had to click it twice.


• Previously, project load failed on a distributed simulation when ADvantageVI could not open the .net file for slave targets.


• Previously a vi.Get() with an empty string caused ADvantageVI to crash.


• The Data Browser now reads back (and updates its display) values that are changed in the Data Browser. This is not done for scripts; many put operations from a script could adversely affect the performance of ADvantageVI.


• Previously, external applications deleting an ADvantageVI COM object caused ADvantageVI to exit. Now ADvantageVI stays running.


• Previously, a panel would accept user input only for the first 300 widgets. This limit has been changed to 500.


3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.5


• Support for the BEC IOC-DOC64-VME digital output board has been added.


• Previously, the rtxldv_CAN_DB logical device would fault if a CAN message had no signals defined.


• The "device close" routine in rtxldv_acm408 now closes the device properly.


• Previously, the rtxldv_goebelp2p_DB logical device sent four extra bytes in each message.


• Support for the PAS 9797 was added.


4. Documentation Changes in 8.4.1.5


• Previously, the resistance interpolation values for the rtxldv_na6906_rtd_0_1638 application parameters CHN_R_tbl were incorrectly listed in the documentation.


• Information on the mapping of BTI 429 connector pins to logical device ports has been added.


5. Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.1.5


• Support for Matlab R2015b has been added.
  
  Note:  Because of a software problem within Matlab R2015b, a "MATLAB System Error" occurs when ADI's Simulink vehicle model (vehicle_with_17dof.mdl) is opened from ADvantageDE. See %ADI_HOME/help/de_tutor_simulink_stateflow/to_add_edit_model.htm for information on loading this model outside the ADvantageDE environment.
  
  Note:  Because of a software problem within Matlab R2015b, the Simulink Coder build will fail when MinGW (TDM-GCC) is set up (using mex -setup) as the Matlab/Simulink compiler. In this case, Simulink Coder creates the makefile for the MinGW toolchain instead of creating the makefile from the ADvantage template make file (.tmf). To fix this issue, see the instructions in the following Mathworks bug report:
  http://www.mathworks.com/support/bugreports/1271231.


• Previously, startup.m ran init.m (an m-script that you can write to perform initializations when you start Matlab) in the context of our startup.m function. As a result, any variables were created local to the function and ceased to exist after startup.m finished. Now, startup.m runs init.m in the context of the Matlab workspace, such that variables are created in the Matlab workspace and can be used by the model.

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.4

8.4.1.4.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.4.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.4, double click on 8.4.1.4.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.4 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.4 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.4 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.3	(update)
8.4.1.2	(update)
8.4.1.1	(update)
8.4.1.0	(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.4. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.4.

1. ADSIM Changes in 8.4.1.4


• Previously, ADSIM REGION terminal on a non-primary model was not executed on the GP target.


2. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.4


• The Auto-Create Ports feature has been enhanced:
• A pop-up menu choice was added to the "logical devices" tree item: Remove All Auto-Create Ports.
• If you change the Preferences to disable the feature, you are prompted: "Automatically Remove All ACP Information?" from all open framework projects.


• ADvantageDE now makes all generated path names relative to the project folder, so that it is easier to move projects to a different location on the host.


• Previously, if a project was built by one user, it could not be re-built by another use because of file permissions.




3. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.4


• Previously, tabbed ADept panels displayed "ADept Panel - Panel Name". Now they display only the panel name, to conserve display space.


• Previously, inter-process communication between models on the same rtX stopped with no other problem indications.


• Previously, multiple hyperfast threads caused overruns to be incorrectly reported at the end of the simulation.


• Previously, I/O in hyperfast threads could cause faults when the model started or stopped.


• In ADvantage 8.4.1.3, a GP autogen model created with "Make Editable C Model" would hang at run time.


4. Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.4


• Previously, the rtxldv_sio_power_supply logical device crashed every seventh run of the simulation. This has been corrected.


• The rtxldv_adiudp_DB and rtxldv_adiudpmsg logical devices have been enhanced. When there are multiple Ethernet devices and one of them errors, the error message now specifies which device had the problem.


• Previously, the Dynamic Engineering serial board device driver could not handle open faults under heavy loads. In correcting this, the number of logical device receive packet ports has been increased from 128 to 140.


• The rtxldv_bti429_blk logical device has been enhanced to allow restart of its FIFO, and to sense electrically fauulted receive channels.


• Previously, when a bit field in a CAN message spans more than one byte, the rtxldv_CAN_DB logical device errored in packing and unpacking the bit field.


• A new logical device template has been created for the six-channel NA 76CL1 board.


• Previously, when other I/O device initialization times are long, the PMC-SIO4 would sometimes stop receiving data in the first frame.




5. Documentation Changes in 8.4.1.4


• The description of .cdd files has been corrected in %ADI_HOME%/help/file_extensions.htm




6. Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.1.4


• The Simulink Toolbox now supports Matlab R2015a.
  
  To accommodate changes needed to support R2015a, the r2014b Simulink Toolbox now has a separate template makefile for each Embedded Coder system target file. Models configured to use Embedded Coder must be updated to use the new Embedded Coder template makefile. To update your model, do one of these:
  
  
  • Open Matlab from ADvantageDE. Right-click on the model assembly and select Edit. Click Yes when you are prompted to update the model. After Matlab opens, an m-script automatically updates the template makefile based on the type of bound target.
  
  
  • If you open Matlab outside of ADvantageDE, run the script %ADI_HOME%/adimatlab/r2014b/src/adi_update_templateMakefile. For more information, enter help adi_update_templateMakefile at the Matlab prompt.
  
  If you use Generic Coder, no changes are required.
  
  See Toolbox Configuration for additional information.

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.3

8.4.1.3.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.3.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.3, double click on 8.4.1.3.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.3 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.3 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.3 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.2	(update)
8.4.1.1	(update)
8.4.1.0	(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.3. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.3.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.3


• A parameter to set the model core assignment has been added to the python function de.SetModelAttribute.
  


2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.3


• Previously the Simulation dashboard reported only the primary model overrun totals; now it shows total overruns from all models.


• The default probe time on the RTS has been increased from 100 microseconds to 200 microseconds, to allow time for multivariable reads.


• Previously, setting ADI_SPEED_UP on the rtX worked correctly only if it was set prior to the first go after the project is loaded. Now it can be set prior to any go.


• Performance in the execution of large Python scripts has been improved.


3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.3


• Support for the rtX PCI/PMC-SIO4BXR-SYNC serial interface (part number A200A0605) has been added.


• Support for the RTS Acromag 464 (part number A200A0603) has been added.


• The rtxldv_bti429_blk logical device has had its memory management improved.


• The adildv_adiudpmsg logical device is now compatible with the output of the UDP Message Manager.


• Status reporting of the state of the SCRAMNet ring has been added to the rtxldv_scrm_sock logical device.


• The rtxldv_bti429_blk and rtxldv_bti429_blk_pci now correctly unpack BCD data.


• A small delay between register writes has been added to the rtxldv_na75dl1, to increase reliability of two-wire mode operation.


• Previously the adildv_cwscgt logical device did not set the SCRAMNet node ID.


• Previously, the rtxldv_adiudpmsg logical device did not correctly report CSV file errors when more than one instance of the logical device was in use.

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.2

8.4.1.2.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.2.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.2, double click on 8.4.1.2.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.2 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.2 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.2 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.1	(update)
8.4.1.0	(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.2. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.2.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.2


• In ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and 8.4.1.1, the build for an RTS IOP failed when the linker could not find adi_process_index.
  


• In ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and 8.4.1.1, the build for an RTS failed for a project with an IRIG-B device when the linker could not find ADI_FRAME_INTR_TIME.
  


• The QNXsdk version 6.5 compiler is now available. The default version remains at 6.2.
  
  

  If your rtX is running QNX OS 6.5 or greater	You can use either the default QNXsdk 6.2, or optionally change to QNXsdk 6.4 or QNXsdk 6.5
  If your rtX is running QNX OS 6.4	You cannot use the QNXsdk 6.5 compiler; you must use the default QNXsdk 6.2 or the optional QNXsdk 6.4
  If your rtX is running QNX OS 6.3 or less	You cannot use the QNXsdk 6.5 compiler; you must use the default QNXsdk 6.2

  
  To determine what OS your rtX is running, log on your your rtX and issue this command:
  

  uname -r

  To use the QNXsdk version 6.5 compiler, manually change all of these environment variables:
  

  QNX_HOST
  QNX_TARGET
  QNXSDK_VER

  In each variable, change 62 to 65.
  
  See the Troubleshooting Guide to diagnose a mismatch among these three environment variables.
  
  See ADvantage 8.4.0.1 for information on the update to the gdb debugger on the rtX that is required for use with QNXsdk 6.4 or QNXsdk 6.5.
  


2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.2


• The vi.ProjectReset function now takes no arguments.
  


• Previously, if you built a simulation on a 32-bit PC and copied it to a 64-bit PC (and vice versa), the simulation would be unable to copy the rtX configuration file to the target because of the differences in the values of %ADI_HOME% on the two platforms.
  


• If a device reports Failed, the Device Browser view displays that row in red and a message appears in the output window.
  


• ADvantageVI now performs variable name validation when the vi.Get and vi.Put Python functions are used.
  


• The vi.Get Python function now optionally takes a list of variable names.
  


• Previously, after a faulted distribute simulation, remote nodes failed to run another simulation unless they were rebooted.
  


• In the Data Logging Streams view, the dialog to trigger a DAS stream now allows up to 49 trigger Ids.
  


• Previously, if the source variable for an assignment schedule was an ADSIM vector element, the first element was always used instead of the specified element.
  


3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.2


• An ADvantageDB-compatible driver (rtxldv_bti717_fdr_DB) has been added.
  


• A logical device driver (rtxldv_adi565_syncpwm) has been added that supports synchronous PWM generation on the PCI-565 DPGA.
  


• The Blastronix low-level driver has been enhanced to support higher data rates (greater than 921.6 kBit/second).
  


• You can set the ARINC bus parity and transmit speed in ADvantageDB for these logical devices:
  
  • rtxldv_bti429_blk_pci
  • rtxldv_bti429_blk
  • rtxldv_bti429


• The rtxldv_simnet logical device has been changed so that Device Browser status updates can be enabled for debugging runs and are otherwise disabled.
  


• Previously, the if you ran the BX PMC-SIO4 driver followed by the legacy PMC-SIO4 driver, the BX driver left the SIO-4 device in a state that was not recognized by the legacy drive.
  


• The low-level device driver for the rtX PCI 6CAN (A200A0264) was corrected to eliminate segmentation faults caused by improperly handled interrupts within the low-level device driver.
  


4. Example Changes in 8.4.1.2


• In the missile_rts.adsim example, the arguments in the downwash function table have been corrected.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.1

8.4.1.1.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.1.1.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.1.1, double click on 8.4.1.1.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.1.1 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.1.1 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.1.1 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.1.0

(service pack)

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.1.1. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.1.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.1.1.

1. ADept Changes in 8.4.1.1


• ADept now displays the panel size in pixels to aid in selecting the size of a detached panel.
  


2. ADSIM Changes in 8.4.1.1


• The performance of the ADSIM libraries has been improved.
  


3. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.1


• Previously, deleting a logical device when it had a zoomed window would crash ADvantageDE.
  


4. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.1


• Previously, load of large Python scripts was very slow. Their performance has been improved.
  


5. Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.1


• A new logical device driver (developed with LabVIEW 2011) for the NI-7831R is available. The associated templates are:
  

  rtxldv_ni7831r_2011_ai_id6
  rtxldv_ni7831r_2011_ai_id8
  rtxldv_ni7831r_2011_ai_id6

6. Documentation Changes in 8.4.1.1


• The limitations on each component of ADvantage Framework have been moved out of the release notes and into the main documentation for each component.
  


• Information on adding "scratch" variables using the data dictionary editor has been added.
  


7. Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.1.1


• Simulink Toolbox R2014b is supported. A new version of the Simulink Toolbox is required. To use it, set the environment variable ADI_MATLAB_VER to r2014b. (Because this new toolbox was unavailable when 8.4.0.0 was released, the baseline 8.4.0.0 installation does not set ADI_MATLAB_VER to r2014b.) Also set MATLAB_ROOT to the location of your Matlab R2014b software installation.
  
  Note:  The MATLAB "Initial working folder" preference must be set to its default value of "Location based on MATLAB startup rules" in order to successfully open MATLAB from ADvantageDE (when adding or editing a model). If this preference is set to a different value, MATLAB will not open in the model directory and the MATLAB environment will not be correctly configured for ADvantage. If it is necessary to have this preference set to a different value, then after MATLAB opens you must change directories to the model directory and manually run the startup.m script.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.1.0

ADvantage 8.4.1.0 is a full installation of the ADvantage framework software. To obtain 8.4.1.0, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password or to request the software on DVD.

To install ADvantage 8.4.1.0:

• Log on to your PC as Administrator
  


• From CD:
  
  1. Load the DVD into your CD/DVD drive.
  2. If the installer does not start automatically, browse to the CD and double-click autoplay.exe


• From FTP download:
  
  1. Double-click 8.4.1.0.exe, which is a self-extracting zip file. By default, it will extract to your %TEMP% directory, but you my specify another.
  2. Browse to %TEMP%/ADvantage 8.4.1.0 and double-click autoplay.exe

The installer detects the value of %ADI_HOME% (if it exists) and installs to that location. It automatically makes a backup copy of any adv084 folder that it finds; it does not overwrite any files in an existing 8.4.0.x installation.

Enter information in all dialog boxes as if you were installing 8.4.1.0 on a clean PC that has never had ADvantage Framework installed on it. In particular, install the RTS and/or rtX run-time software on all of your targets.

The PC installer will ftp a tar file and script to your target, but will not alter any existing files on your target. You must log on to each target in turn and run an installation script there. Always specify all of your target names in the dialog box presented by the PC installer.

Note:  If you wish to install on only one target to verify the installation, log on to that target and run the installation script. You can finish the installation on your remaining targets later.

The RTS run-time software changed in 8.4.1.0, to support a newer model CE-5500 (part number A200A0579) as a UIP under Timesys Linux. The rtX run-time software had two changes in 8.4.1.0: To fix a problem introduced in 8.4.0.9: The rtxserv did not run properly on QNX OS version 6.3. To increase the schedule table size from 8192 to 10200. It is mandatory to update the rtxserv binary with 8.4.1.0. The run-time software will error (with a message) if you do not update the target-side software.

Although 8.4.1.0 is chiefly a roll-up of all previous updates to ADvantage 8.4.0.0, the following changes are new to 8.4.1.0:

1. ADSIM Changes in 8.4.1.0


• Previously, an ADSIM model that used Interact Session Disabled did not have the correct step time when it was run without an ADvantageVI session.
  


2. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.1.0


• Previously, the calculated size of a buffer that connects model variables to logical device ports was too small, and could cause your model to crash.
  


• Dictionary generation for ADSIM programs has been changed to always set the autoinit flag to false, so that the ADSIM model code can perform the initialization.
  


3. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.1.0


• A new simulation dashboard has been added, to improve the visibility of status information.
  


• The vi.FileExecute Python function has been removed. The Python built-in function execfile() should be used instead.
  


• The Cancel button now works while Python scripts are running.
  


• Previously, ADvantageVI would crash when sorting the Data Logging list by clicking on the column header.
  


• ADEPT: The ability to rename a panel by double-clicking on its name has been removed.
  


• ADvantageVI would sometimes fail to connect to the host DAS server, causing the Data Streams View and ADEPT panels to fail to update, while SIMplotter successfully received data. A small delay was inserted to allow more time for the host DAS server to start.
  


4. Device Software Changes in 8.4.1.0


• Previously, on the rtX pow(x, y) failed (returned NAN) if x was negative and y was an integer.
  


• Previously, the rtxldv_aero1394_DB logical device would crash after 64 go/stop cycles.
  


• Previously, the rtX VMIC 5565 low-level driver did not close correctly, resulting in problems on a re-go.
  


• The rtxldv_bti429_blk logical device now checks for a valid label or channel Id before using the Id.
  


• Previously, using the rtx_pkt_sock logical device, two simulations could not run on the same Ethernet switch at the same time.
  


• Previously, using the rtxldv_dios_cssc logical device, if fewer than all of the channels were connected to model variables, the last channel connected was always forced to zero.
  


5. Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.1.0


• An example using grouped I/O from a Simulink block has been added. It can be found in %ADI_HOME%/examples/simulink/grouped_io.
  


• You can now append group names to the debug dictionary group list from your TLC code. See Simulink Models for more information.
  


• The Simulink Toolbox now automatically adds Data Store Memory block variables to the data dictionary as read-only signals.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.12

8.4.0.12.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.0.12.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.12, double click on 8.4.0.12.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.12 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.12 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.12 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.0.0	(release)
8.4.0.1	(update)
8.4.0.2	(update)
8.4.0.3	(update)
8.4.0.4	(update)
8.4.0.6	(update)
8.4.0.7	(update)
8.4.0.8	(update)
8.4.0.9	(update)
8.4.0.10	(update)
8.4.0.11	(update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.12. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.12.

1. ADept Changes in 8.4.0.12


• ADept now has a tabular method to assign variables to widgets.
  


2. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.0.12


• External dictionaries used in rtX simulations that are compiled with Interact Session Disabled are now loaded from dictionary files that are transferred by ADvantageVI when the project is loaded. This means that it is no longer necessary to recompile these simulations when a change is made to one of the dictionaries.
  
  Another aspect of the feature is that dictionaries in an rtX simulation compiled with Interact Session Disabled are now located in shared memory on the rtX and are accessible to all of the simulations running on that rtX. On the rtX that uses ADvantageVI, the dictionaries are loaded by ADvantageVI and are always in shared memory.
  
  If the rtX is used as a remote node in a distributed simulation, the shared external dictionaries must be included in all models that will access the dictionary data. Only the primary model in the rtX should set any of the source flags associated with the dictionary. This is because the source flags are used to control the transport of the dictionary between the nodes in the distributed simulation. Since the source flag can be set on only one model, it must be the model that controls the distributed logical device.
  


• Performance when collapsing a selected tree item has been improved.
  


• Python: A new function, de.GetTargetList, has been added. It returns a list of known targets.
  


• Python: Previously, if a Simulink assembly was added using a Python script and the path was specified as part of the assembly filename, the model could not be edited.
  


• Python: Two new constants, de.AssmAdept and de.AssmLabVIEW, have been added. They are for use with the de.AddAssembly and de.ReplaceAssembly functions.
  


• Python: The DeviceName argument to the de.GetPortList function is now optional.
  


3. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.12


• Previously, ADvantageVI could become unresponsive if both the Statistics and Device Browser views were open and running simultaneously.
  


• A new ADI run-time variable, ADI_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT, has been added. This variable is the number of seconds that an rtX model can exclusively use the CPU before a watchdog timeout suspends the model. If the value is set to zero, the timer is disabled.
  


• Previously, if an external device (such as IRIG-B) was used as the frame clock and the signal from that clock was list, the simulation would hang.
  


• Previously, if you created the maximum number of overrides and then deleted some or all, no more could be added until the next update setup or stop/go. This has been corrected.
  


• Previously, ADvantageVI was unable to create an expression waveform with large unsigned values in the expression.
  


• Previously, with multiple models on distributed nodes compiled with Interact Session Disabled, ADvantageVI would sometimes time out waiting for all nodes to complete. The speed of stopping the simulations on the various nodes has been improved.
  


• ADvantageVI now has an option on the Tools menus to open SasEventLog.


• Python: ADvantageVI now prevents multiple Python scripts from executing simultaneously.
  


• Python: The vi.Put command was improperly handing large (> 2147483647) unsigned long variables.
  


4. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.12


• Support for the Moxa 138U serial board has been added.
  


• The Ballard 429 devices (RTS/rtX/rtX-V) now support label freshness.
  


• Previously, in the rtxldv_CAN_DB logical device, the number of messages written to the device was wrong when hardware transmit scheduling was used.
  


• Previously, the low-level driver associated with the rtxldv_pkt_sock logical device failed on the 33rd go/stop sequence.
  


• The Highland Technology HTV220 logical device ports previously reported large positive values for small negative measurements.
  


• Previously, the IOP5500 failed to open on the 17th consecutive attempt.
  


• The following changes have been made to the rtxldv_CAN_DB logical device:
• The tx_enable port has been changed to tx_disable
• The baud rate may be specified in the CSV file generated by ADvantageDB.
• Data of type double is supported in the CAN message data.


• Previously, if ARINC-717 traffic from external equipment was active before starting the simulation, the ARINC-717 model data was not updated.
  


• Previously, the rtl_vme_read_16bits and adi_vme_read_16bits RTS functions did not work properly.
  


5. Documentation Changes in 8.4.0.12


• Information on organizing your project (especially distributed frameworks) for ease of portability (copying to another location) has been added.
  


• Additional information on using %ADI_CONFIG_PATH% and the directory c:/My_ADvantage_Projects/CustomConfigFiles to manage your custom configuration information has been added to Configuration Files.
  


6. Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.0.12


• The I/O block generation .m script adi_generate_ioblock.m now uses extrapolation beyond the end values of the lookup tables for scaled input devices.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.11

8.4.0.11.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.0.11.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.11, double click on 8.4.0.11.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.11 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.11 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.11 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

8.4.0.0	(release)
8.4.0.1	(update)
8.4.0.2	(update)
8.4.0.3	(update)
8.4.0.4	(update)
8.4.0.6	(update)
8.4.0.7	(update)
8.4.0.8	(update)
8.4.0.9	(update)
8.4.0.10	(update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.11. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.11.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.0.11


• Tabbed views are now available in ADvantageDE. See Zoom in a New Window, Tab, or List.
  


• Previously, ADvantageDE displayed spurious "No Network Connections" warnings during the build for non-primary models using external dictionaries that were used by the primary model across the network during distributed simulation.
  


• ADvantageDE now has an option to reset logical device application parameters to their default values.
  


• Previously, if a multi-project guild generated warning messages during the makefile generation process, the build might fail with errors for not being able to access files.
  


• Previously, some project files did not get paths adjusted when a framework was copied/moved to a new location and opened.
  


• Previously, ADvantageDE would erroneously flag logical devices as deprecated, and would sometimes suggest nonsensical alternatives.
  


• ADvantageDE now allows you to edit more than one Simulink or SystemBuild model at a time.
  




2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.11


• Previously, DAS configuration for ADept panel objects might fail for array variables.
  


• Previously, when breaking out a remote node with Interact Session disabled, ADvantageVI always offered to reset the target as it detected that the target had already initialized. Now, ADvantageDE generates a unique framework ID for each build. As part of its load, ADvantageVI FTPs this ID to the target. If, during the load, a standalone target has a different build ID from that on the PC host, you are prompted about forcing the reset of the target. If the standalone target has a matching build ID and ADvantageVI is loading it with its own session, the reset is now automatic.
  


• ADvantageVI now indicates which scripting language (Interact or Python) is in use.
  


• There is a new ADept panel widget for setting overrides. See Value Input Button.
  


• Previously, when setting an array variable to an out-of-range value in the Data Browser (for example, setting a char array to 256), a popup window appeared once for each element in the array. Now the message box that pops up has a Cancel button, which will eliminate the remaining popup windows.
  


• ADvantageVI now starts SIMplotterSAS with the ADvantageVI session's connect port.
  


3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.11


• Support for a PCIe IRIG-B board (ADI part numbers A200A0580 and A200A0581) has been added. Note:  This board must be used only with QNX S version 6.5.
  


• Previously, the pack and unpack algorithms in the rtxldv_adican_DB logical device sometimes resulted in incorrectly formatted messages or the incorrect unpacking of a message.
  


• Previously, the low-level CAN driver and firmware for the IOP-5500 on the rtX-V had bugs that could cause the transmit of messages to fail. Note that this fix involves a change to the software on the rtX itself; make sure to install the update tar file on the rtX (see above).
  


• Previously, the NI-6220 and NI-6224 board would fault after the 64th open call without a program reload.
  


• Support for the digital I/O channels of the NI-6224 has been added.
  


• A new application parameter (use_hw_tx_sched) in the rtxldv_CAN_DB logical device enables/disables on-board transmit scheduling for the following devices:
  
  • the TPMC-901 used with an MVME-5500 I/O processor in the rtX-V
  • the PCI-Engine board
  • the PCI-DPGA board
  This allows the CAN messages to be transmitted at intervals that are independent of the step time of the simulation model.




4. Documentation Changes in 8.4.0.11


• Information on setup of customized logical devices has been improved, and a link to that information has been added to Get Results with ADvantage Framework.
  


• The pinout for the PAS 9737 has been corrected.
  


5. Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.0.11


• Simulink R2014a is supported by ADvantage Framework. No changes to the Simulink Toolbox were required.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.10

8.4.0.10.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.0.10.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.10, double click on 8.4.0.10.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.10 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.10 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.10 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

• 8.4.0.0 (release)
• 8.4.0.1 (update)
• 8.4.0.2 (update)
• 8.4.0.3 (update)
• 8.4.0.4 (update)
• 8.4.0.6 (update)
• 8.4.0.7 (update)
• 8.4.0.8 (update)
• 8.4.0.9 (update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.10. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.10.

1. Critical Changes in 8.4.0.10


• You must rebuild your simulation in ADvantageDE before running it in ADvantageVI. The format of the "bookkeeping" information that ADvantageVI sends to the target has changed, and it needs to be regenerated afresh by ADvantageDE.
  


2. ADSIM Changes in 8.4.0.10


• adie_io_init has been moved before SYNC1 so that I/O devices can be called from Region sync1 and/or Region Initial.
  


3. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.0.10


• You can enable ADvantageDE to automatically assign dictionary variables to groups based on a common variable name prefix.
  


4. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.10


• In a distributed simulation, ADvantageVI now displays the status of remote nodes in the primary ADvantageVI session.
  


• ADvantageVI now saves the setup file save preferences to its initialization file.
  


• Previously, a rounding problem in calculating the rate of playback would sometimes cause ADvantageVI to disappear during the recording of a playback dialog.
  


• Altia designs can now update when a simulation is not running. This shows updated values between runs from put operations.
  


• Saving a setup now saves the visibility status of the Statistics View and the Device Browser View.
  


• Previously, communication between ADvantageVI and the rtX could fail if the host had multiple Ethernet interfaces. The rtX now unambiguously uses the Ethernet address passed to it during the attach.
  


• Previously, use of the BCD_16 type in a data dictionary could cause sporadic crashes, usually when stopping a distributed simulation.
  


5. Documentation Changes in 8.4.0.10


• Information on the limitations and use of hyperfast simulation has been corrected in %ADI_HOME%/help/advde_using/simulink_prep.htm and %ADI_HOME%/help/advde_using/multirate_models.htm.
  


6. Example Changes in 8.4.0.10


• The pre-built autogen example that aids in creating ADATT scripts or ADept panels must now be copied to c:/My_ADvantage_Projects in order to run properly.
  


7. Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.0.10


• Simulink R2013b is supported by ADvantage Framework. No changes to the Simulink Toolbox were required.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.9

8.4.0.9.exe is an InstallJammer package. To obtain 8.4.0.9.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.9, double click on 8.4.0.9.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.9 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.9 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.9 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

• 8.4.0.0 (release)
• 8.4.0.1 (update)
• 8.4.0.2 (update)
• 8.4.0.3 (update)
• 8.4.0.4 (update)
• 8.4.0.6 (update)
• 8.4.0.7 (update)
• 8.4.0.8 (update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.9. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.9.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.0.9


• A new Python function, GetProjectAttribute, has been added.
  


2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.9


• The override_replace functionality did not work on the RTS.
  


• Previously, GUI performance with highly populated ADept panels was sluggish and could miss user interactions. Performance has been improved.
  


• Previously, if an ADept panel is open with the second tab selected, another panel with a single tab was not properly redrawn.
  


3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.9


• Support for the Acromag 409 has been added.
  


• Support for the PCI version of the Acromag 482 has been added.
  


• Previously, the adildv_ether_sock and rtxldv_ether_sock logical devices did not allow the primary node and remote nodes to operate at different frame times. Now the remote node frame times can be a integer multiple of the primary node frame time.
  


• For the Highland Technology HTV220 and Highland Technology HTV470, VME access has been made more reliable.
  


4. Simulink Toolbox in 8.4.0.9


• In a single-rate hyperfast Simulink model, ADI_STEP_TIME is now forced to be the smallest integer multiple of the hyperfast frame time that is larger than 400 microseconds.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.8

8.4.0.8.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain 8.4.0.8.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.8, double click on 8.4.0.8.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.8 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.8 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.8 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

• 8.4.0.0 (release)
• 8.4.0.1 (update)
• 8.4.0.2 (update)
• 8.4.0.3 (update)
• 8.4.0.4 (update)
• 8.4.0.6 (update)
• 8.4.0.7 (update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.8. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.8.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.0.8


• Auto-Create Ports can now be "in-out" (in addition to "in" or "out").
  


• Previously, Auto-Create Ports lost their visibility during auto-connect.
  


2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.8


• When loading an ADept panel, the toolbar buttons were disabled even when in edit mode.
  


3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.8


• Support has been added for the Pickering 50-295 resistor ladder board (ADI part number A200A0583).
  


• The maximum number of bursts per channel has been increased from 4 to 64.
  


• The following bugs were fixed in the rtX 1394 driver for aerospace applications:
  
  • ADvantageDB emits the line FILE_VER,1.0 into the initialization CSV file. The logical device was looking for %FILE_VER,1. The logical device driver was changed to accept what DB emits.
  • For readability, DB indents the lines of the CSV file. The logical device did not parse the lines correctly if they had leading white space. The logical device line parsing function was changed to accept leading white space.
  • The low-level driver defaulted to 100 Mbit/second, it now defaults to 400 Mbit/second.


4. Documentation Changes in 8.4.0.8


• Documentation for rtxldv_aero1394_DB is now available.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.7

8.4.0.7.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain 8.4.0.7.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.7, double click on 8.4.0.7.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.7 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.7 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.7 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

• 8.4.0.0 (release)
• 8.4.0.1 (update)
• 8.4.0.2 (update)
• 8.4.0.3 (update)
• 8.4.0.4 (update)
• 8.4.0.6 (update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.7. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.7.

1. ADSIM Changes in 8.4.0.7


• The ADSIM compiler aborted with no error code due to insufficiently large error message buffers.
  


2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.7


• On the rtX, you may specify a run target that is different from the target for which a project was built, provided the targets are identically configured. (On the RTS, a similar effect may be achieved manually.) See Reassign a Project to Any Identical Target for more information.
  


3. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.7


• The selection of multiple variables and right-click to apply Display Format to those variables is available in the Data Browser, Data Streams, and Overrides views.
  


• Previously, ADvantageVI crashed when opening an array of strings in the Data Browser.
  


• Previously, the vi.Continue() Python function was incorrectly requiring the processor name argument.
  


4. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.7


• In the logical devices that use the rtxldv_bti429, rtxldv_bti429_blk, rtxldv_bti429_blk_pci, and rtxldv_bti429_persist drivers, if all preceding ports are not connected, the first Tx disable port was not correct.
  


• The rtxldv_tcpip_server logical device failed to recover from RTX_TCPIP_ST_ERROR (for example, when the TCP/IP client disconnects).
  


• The default baud rate for the rtxldv_siomsg_DB logical device has been changed from 460800 to 115200.
  



• ARINC 429 labels were not always received if a burst/block of labels was defined for the same bus/channel.
  


• UDPMsgManager.xlsm and UDPMsgManager.xla are now also in %ADI_HOME%/templates.
  


• In the rtxldv_pkt_sock logical device driver, the algorithm used to convert network_id and node_id into an IP address had a bug that caused the network_id to be sometimes disregarded.
  


• A new logical device, rtxldv_aero1394_DB, provides support for a simple AS5643 protocol on IEEE-1394. It is used in conjunction with ADvantageDB.
  


5. Documentation Changes in 8.4.0.7


• Documentation on the use of ADI_log_host with the Event Log utility has been added. Additionally, two new FAQs have been added to address questions arising from improper configuration of ADI_log_host:
  
  • Why did no messages appear in the Event Log utility?
  • Why did ADvantageVI take an excessive time to report "Initialization Complete" in the Event Log utility?


• A quick reference to the vi text editor has been provided.

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.6

8.4.0.6.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain 8.4.0.6.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.6, double click on 8.4.0.6.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.6 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.6 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.6 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

• 8.4.0.0 (release)
• 8.4.0.1 (update)
• 8.4.0.2 (update)
• 8.4.0.3 (update)
• 8.4.0.4 (update)
• 8.4.0.5 (update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.6. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.6.

1. ADvantage Framework Changes in 8.4.0.6


• The TCL/TK package within ADI's Python distribution has been made available in the %ADI_ROOT%/Python/Python-2.7.2/Lib folder.
  


• The adisetversion script now supports switching between ADvantage 8.0 and other ADvantage releases.
  


• Previously, the compconfig utility failed to un-comment the library for the TIP-606 device.
  


2. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.0.6


• Previously, ADSIM variables appearing in input and output statements were written to the data dictionary with only one direction, and were appearing in ADvantageDE with only one direction as a model port.
  


• Autogen now generates dictionary variables with their control field set to External, Schedulable, Tunable.
  


• Python functions for user interface customization have been added:
  
  • de.Create
  • de.Delete
  • de.DialogItemData
  • de.DialogShow
  • de.Enable
  • de.GetId
  • de.Rename


• Previously, any RTS logical device instrumented for the ADvantageVI device browser would cause the ADvantageDE build to fail.
  


3. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.6


• If an external model is not found, capture_add_ext_generic now displays an error message.
  


• Interact script performance has been improved for GP projects; it is now comparable to that of rtX projects.
  


• The Schedule wizard now fully scopes the independent variable ADI_ELAPSED_TIME.
  


• Previously, multiple LabVIEW assemblies on different DAS streams were not working properly (they were all assigned to the same DAS stream).
  


• Previously, the ADept panel CommandSwitch object with multi-line text did not save properly, causing the panel to appear without objects when it was reloaded.
  


• Previously, the FTP transfer of files to remote nodes in a distributed simulation would occasionally fail. The target CRC files are now written on the host and then transferred to the target, rather than being written directly on the target.
  


• Previously, some external dictionary variables were not updated in the Data Browser when their value changed.
  


4. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.6


• A new logical device (rtxldv_pkt_sock) provides simplified packet driver sockets for distributed simulation.
  
  Note:  To use this logical device, you must log on to your rtX as root and configure it:
  
  
  1. cd /etc/system/enum/devices
  2. rm net
  3. cp /home/adi/install_files/net.pkt_sock net
  4. reboot the rtX
  
  Note:  In update 8.4.0.6, only the QNXsdk 6.2 compiler is supported for use with this logical device. If you use the QNXsdk 6.4 or QNXsdk 6.5 compiler, you must continue to use the rtxldv_ether_sock logical device.
  
  Note:  This was corrected in update 8.4.1.7.


• A parameter was added to the configuration aggregate for the 4- and 8-channel Blastronix serial boards that allows the maximum baud rate jumper to be in any position. The low-level driver librtxblas8.a reads this configuration atom. (Previously, the driver was limited to 920k as the maximum baud rate.)
  


• Previously, the rtxldv_bti429_blk logical device did not correctly handle the repetition rate of a received burst.
  


• Previously, the TIP-606 would sometimes fail to read its inputs.
  


• A new ADvantageDB-compatible logical device for the rtX/rtX-V CAN devices has been added: rtxldv_CAN_DB.
  


• The ADvantageDB-compatible rtxldv_refmem_DB logical device is now supported for the Curtiss-Wright SCRAMNet board.
  


• Two new DIOS Current Source boards are supported: 8 channels, 0-60 mA, Coldfire (D205A0729) and 8 channels, 0-85 mA, Coldfire (D205A0733)
  


• Previously, the rtX would target fault under the following circumstances:
  
  • Two rtxldv_adidac32 logical devices are in a project
  • All channels on the first DAC are connected
  • Only the first four channels on the second DAC are connected
  • Enhanced is selected in the Device Browser while the simulation is running
  The logical device has been changed to prevent this.
  


• The latest CE-5500 boards (part number A200A0579) require new libraries on the host and two files on the RTS. Update 8.4.0.6 contains the hew host libraries, but not the RTS files. If you received the new CE-5500 as part of a complete RTS system, you already have the files on your RTS. If you received the new CE-5500 as an expansion or replacement and need the RTS files, contact support@adi.com.
  


5. Documentation Changes in 8.4.0.6


• Documentation on the SIMplotter Interact commands comment_count and comment_string has been added.
  


• Information on recovering an rtX that locks up on boot has been added.
  


• The instructions to use adisetversion to change the version of software running on the rtX have been corrected.
  


• Additional explanatory comments have been added to the following files:
  
  • advantage.template
  • compiler.template
  • das.template
  • root.template
  • sim.template

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.5

8.4.0.5.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain 8.4.0.5.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.5, double click on 8.4.0.5.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.5 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.5 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.5 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

• 8.4.0.0 (release)
• 8.4.0.1 (update)
• 8.4.0.2 (update)
• 8.4.0.3 (update)
• 8.4.0.4 (update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.5. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.5.

1. ADvantage Framework Changes in 8.4.0.5


• The new Auto-Create Ports feature allows you to control I/O directly from ADvantageVI without having to add model I/O variables to your model. The Auto-Create Ports feature enables ADvantageDE to generate a C source file that declares model I/O variables that connect to specified logical device ports.
  


• Previously, ADvantageVI would always FTP the rtX target configuration file in %ADI_HOME%/lib to the target at project load. ADvantageDE now keeps track of user configuration files, and generates a file called targetconfig.txt in the project folder. When ADvantageVI FTPs the target config file to the rtX, it uses the information in targetconfig.txt. If a user configuration file is present in %ADI_CONFIG_PATH%, it uses that file instead.
  


• A new utility, Interact2Python, helps you to translate your Interact command scripts to Python scripts for ADvantageVI and SIMplotter. Note:  It does not yet translate Interact scripts for use with SIMplotter SAS.


2. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.0.5


• When a specified ADept panel file does not exist, ADvantageDE now reports "Panel File Not Found" during external signal generation and does not add it to ADvantageVI's list of panels associated with the project.
  


• Device connections can now be made without regard to variable type.
  


3. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.5


• New Python commands have been added:
  vi.AdattAddItem
  vi.AdattGenerate
  vi.AdattInitialize
  vi.AdeptClose
  vi.AdeptLoad
  vi.RunAdatt
  vi.SetWindowPos
  


• The default report stylesheet for ADATT has been changed from tpReportMain.xsl to the new SasAdattReport.xsl.
  


• ADept panel tabs have been enhanced to have settable tab orientation and to have the active tab colored the same as the panel background color. Additionally, the toolbar display may be toggled off.
  


• The precision of the argument to vi.Put is now preserved.
  


4. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.5


• The PMC-SIO4 low-level device driver has been fixed to compensate for the manufacturer's deleted legacy mode transceiver control.
  


• Support for the TIP-606 has been added
  


• Support for the PCI-MDAC has been added
  
• Support for the Measurement Computing PDSIO16 isolated input and relay board has been added
  


• Support for the Pickering 50-110-121 relay board has been added
  


• The rtxldv_adidac16 and rtxldv_adidac32 logical devices have been enhanced to use a lookup table initialization file for scaling and/or calibration.
  


• Two new serial I/O power supply logical devices have been added: rtxldv_sio_2out_2in_power_supply">rtxldv_sio_2out_2in_power_supply and rtxldv_sio_4out_4in_power_supply">rtxldv_sio_4out_4in_power_supply.
  


• A new logical device for the PCI Ballard BTI 423, rtxldv_bti429_423_persist, maintains the hardware's state (rather than resetting it) at the end of a run.
  


• The maximum ARB sample frequency for the rtxldv_iparb has been increased from 4 MHz to 10 MHz.
  


• The rtxldv_adidac32 logical device now has an optional calibration file.


• The rtxldv_siomsg_DB logical device has been updated to use a newer ADvantageDB CSV file format, and to cope better with high data rates (for example, when looped back).


5. Documentation Changes in 8.4.0.5


• Additional information on using vimfe to diagnose problems when your CE cannot load its executive.
  


• The file format for connections exported to a CSV file is now correctly documented.
  


6. Example Changes in 8.4.0.5


• An example using C++ to interface with the ADvantageVI COM interface has been added.
  


• The LabVIEW COM interface example and blocks have been moved from %ADI_HOME%/src/LabVIEW to %ADI_HOME%/examples/com/LabVIEW.
  


7. SIMpanel Changes in 8.4.0.5


• The maximum number of capture variables in SIMpanel has been increased from 500 to 1000.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.4

8.4.0.4.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain 8.4.0.4.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.4, double click on 8.4.0.4.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.4 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.4 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.4 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

• 8.4.0.0 (release)
• 8.4.0.1 (update)
• 8.4.0.2 (update)
• 8.4.0.3 (update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.4. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.4.

• Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.4


• Starting with hardware revision 9 of the PMC-SIO4 board, the manufacturer removed legacy mode control for the transceivers.
  
  The low-level driver configured using prefix="adi_pmcsio4" in the target hardware configuration file has been corrected so that RS-422 mode works, and RS-485 mode works for PMC/PCI-SIO4BX boards older than revision 9.
  
  The low-level driver configured using prefix="adi_pmcsio4bx" in the target hardware configuration file will be corrected in a later update.
  


• Partial support has been added for the Applied Data Sciences PCIHSD2 device. Additional support for the device will be included in a later update.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.3

8.4.0.3.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain 8.4.0.3.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.3, double click on 8.4.0.3.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.3 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.3 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.3 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

• 8.4.0.0 (release)
• 8.4.0.1 (update)
• 8.4.0.2 (update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.3. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.3.

1. ADvantage Framework Changes in 8.4.0.3


• The adisetup script was not correctly setting the ADI_CONFIG_PATH environment variable when setting up for SIMsystem 7.2.
  


2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.3


• A new Python function, vi.TriggerList, returns a list of triggers. This list can be used by your Python script to, for example, dynamically add schedules without overriding existing triggers.
  
3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.3


• Support has been added for the Acromag 512 RS-485 device.
  


• The pow() function in the QNXsdk version 6.4 compiler is very slow. ADI has provided a new function that is much faster with the QNXsdk 6.4 compiler, and slightly faster with the QNXsdk 6.2 compiler.
  


4. Documentation Changes in 8.4.0.3


• The documentation for the vi.Create Python function has been improved. Additionally, more hypertext links to that page have been created, to improve access to information on creating dialogs, menus, and toolbars using Python scripting.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.2

8.4.0.2.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain 8.4.0.2.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.2, double click on 8.4.0.2.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.2 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.2 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.2 is compatible with these ADvantage versions:

• 8.4.0.0 (release)
• 8.4.0.1 (update)

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.2. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.2.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.0.2


• ADept panels now have a tabbed hierarchy capability. See ADept Panel User Guide for more information.
  


• Previously, opening the assembly tree in ADvantageDE would occasionally result in a spurious failure to obtain an IpProtect license.
  


2. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.2


• Support for the Goebel ARINC 664 board has been added.
  


• Support for the Goebel P2P board has been added.
  


• Support for the North Atlantic 76CS1 device has been added.
  


• New logical devices, compatible with ADvantageDB, have been added:
  
  • rtxldv_adiudp_DB
  • rtxldv_refmem_DB
  • rtxldv_refmem_DB
  ADvantageDB is part of the ADvantage Simulation Application Suite (SAS) Contact support@adi.com for additional information.
  


• Two new logical devices for the Ballard ARINC series have been added:
  rtxldv_bti429_blk_pci_421
  rtxldv_bti429_blk_pci_425
  


• A new logical device for the HTV220 (rtxldv_htv220_loop_12out) supports the board's "loop control" mode.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.1

8.4.0.1.exe is an InstallShield package. To obtain 8.4.0.1.exe, go to http://www.adi.com/products/software-releases/#ADV-Framework. Contact support@adi.com for the ftp site password.

To install update 8.4.0.1, double click on 8.4.0.1.exe. It detects the value of %ADI_HOME% and installs to that location. It offers to make a backup copy of your existing %ADI_HOME% directory before overwriting any files in it.

ADvantage update 8.4.0.1 overwrites a subset of files in %ADI_ROOT%. In particular, ADvantage 8.4.0.1 overwrites %ADI_HOME%/lib/advantage.config. If you have made any customizations to these files, make sure you have a backup so that you can incorporate your changes into the new configuration files.

Update 8.4.0.1 is compatible only with ADvantage 8.4.0.0.

ADvantage 8.4.0.0 is the minimum compatible version over which you can install update 8.4.0.1. If you are at a version earlier than 8.4.0.0, first obtain ADvantage 8.4.0.0 and install it, then install update 8.4.0.1.

1. ADvantageDE Changes in 8.4.0.1


• A new Python function, de.Alert, displays user-specified text in a message box.
  


• A new Python function, de.AddMessage, displays user-specified text in the ADvantageDE output window.
  




2. ADvantageVI Changes in 8.4.0.1


• Previously, a multithreaded rtX project with more three or more rates would have incorrect values reported in the third (or greater) subsystem for ADI_SUBSYS_AVG_TIME, ADI_SUBSYS_CUR_TIME, and ADI_SUBSYS_MAX_TIME.
  


• Distributed communication among multi-rate targets is now deterministic. Previously, in a distributed simulation if a primary target ran N times faster than a remote target, the frame in which the primary read the network IPC (including network dictionary exchange) depended on how quickly the remote target had written the network IPC (and dictionaries).
  


• The DAS dynamic paste option is now always disabled if the DAS stream is inactive.
  


• Previously a get of an int8 variable in a Python script did not show anything when the value was 0.
  


• Previously, specification of certain min and max time values when adding a playback schedule item caused ADvantageVI to disappear.
  


3. Device Software Changes in 8.4.0.1


• The rtxldv_dios_hpcs port values are now numerically closer to the input current.
  




4. Simulink Toolbox Changes in 8.4.0.1


• The ADI Simulink blocks have been improved to not cause Simulink Coder (RTW) errors when a non-ADI system target (STF) file is used.
  

ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.0

Critical changes and enhancements from version 8.3 to version 8.4.0.0 are listed below. See the release notes for ADvantage 8.3 for a complete list of changes since 8.3.2, which is when release notes were last distributed to all maintenance customers.

In ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.0, these version identifiers are shown in Help > About in the respective GUIs:

Critical Changes in ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.0

Note:  The changes described in this section affect very basic aspects of your ADvantage simulation. Failure to note the changes described here may result in an inability to compile or run your simulation.

Steps for migrating your project from earlier versions of ADvantage to 8.4 are described in the migration guide. These steps must be undertaken for successful build/run of your simulation with ADvantage 8.4.0.0.

1. You will need an updated license to use ADvantage 8.4.0.0. Contact support@adi.com to have your updated license sent to you.
   


2. As always with a new full release, the 8.4 rtsserv and rtxserv binaries are incompatible with ADvantage 8.3.
   
   RTS:  The 8.4 installation script installs the new rtsserv binary in the adi account's $HOME/adv084/bin directory. The rtsserv binary is started when ADvantageVI attaches to the RTS. See Configuration Files for details on how the specific rtsserv binary is chosen.
   
   rtX:  The 8.4 installation script installs the new rtxserv binary the adi account's $HOME/adv084/bin directory, and makes that binary the one that starts when the rtX is booted. To switch among different versions on the rtX, use the adisetversion script.
   


3. The installation script now installs in (and sets ADI environment variables to) an ADvantage folder under the ADI folder. Thus, in previous releases the files could be found in (by default)
   

   c:/Program Files (x86)/ADI/adv083

   Now they can be found in
   

   c:/Program Files (x86)/ADI/ADvantage/adv084

   In addition, the installation script moves any previous releases to the ADvantage folder.
   


4. The installation script no longer installs a demo license. Contact support@adi.com for a license.
   


5. The QNXsdk version 6.4 compiler is now available. The default version remains at 6.2.
   
   

   If your rtX is running QNX OS 6.4 or greater	You can use either the default QNXsdk 6.2, or optionally change to QNXsdk 6.4
   If your rtX is running QNX OS 6.3 or less	You cannot use the QNXsdk 6.4 compiler; you must use the default QNXsdk 6.2

   
   If your rtX was shipped after May 2010, it is running QNX OS 6.4 or greater.
   
   To determine what OS your rtX is running, log on your your rtX and issue this command:
   

   uname -r

   To use the QNXsdk version 6.4 compiler, manually change all of these environment variables:
   

   QNX_HOST
   QNX_TARGET
   QNXSDK_VER

   In each variable, change 62 to 64.
   
   See the Troubleshooting Guide to diagnose a mismatch among these three environment variables.
   
   See ADvantage 8.4.0.1 for information on the update to the gdb debugger on the rtX that is required for use with QNXsdk 6.4.
   


6. Because ADvantage supports both QNXsdk 6.2 and QNXsdk 6.4, the rtX libraries that ADvantageDE links into your simulation have been moved from %ADI_HOME%/lib to %ADI_HOME%/lib/qnx62libs and %ADI_HOME%/lib/qnx64libs, respectively.
   


7. ANSI-compliant headers and libraries are now provided with the GNU PowerPC cross-compiler for the RTS. This enables improved use of C++.

Enhancements in ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.0

1. Installation Script Enhancements in ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.0
   


• If the installation script finds any existing adv084 installation directory, it renames it before overwriting the files therein.
  


• The installation script now offers the option to install only the license manager daemons. It is no longer necessary to perform a full ADvantage Framework installation on a dedicated license server.
  


• The installation script has been simplified; it offers "Complete", "License Manager", and "Standalone SIMplotter" installation types. The "Complete" installation type is good for any one or combination of GP, RTS, and rtX targets.
  


2. ADvantage Framework Enhancements in ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.0
   


• A pre-configured directory:
  

  c:/My_ADvantage_Projects/CustomConfigFiles

  is created on the host PC and added to ADI_CONFIG_PATH. Any custom configuration files that you wish to use for every project and every user on a given PC can be placed in this directory.
  


• A pre-configured file:
  

  /etc/rc.d/rc.local.user

  is created on the rtX. This file is suitable for user customization; subsequent updates will not alter this file (rc.local and rc.local.adi may be changed by ADI).
  


3. ARCal Enhancements in ADvantage Framework 8.4.0.0
   


• The ARCal "get" commands now take a an optional "number of samples" argument and return the average of those samples.

Product Obsolescence Notice

Simulink versions R13 and R2006a are no longer supported.

Operating System Requirements

These are the operating system requirements for ADvantage Framework 8.4:

• Microsoft Windows XP, 32- or 64-bit
• Microsoft Windows Vista, 32- or 64-bit
• Microsoft Windows 7, 32- or 64-bit
• Microsoft Windows 8, 32- or 64-bit
• Microsoft Windows 10, 32- or 64-bit
• All patches and services packs should be installed
• Microsoft .NET Framework is required

See the Troubleshooting Guide for additional information on the need for the Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Redistributable package.

Compilers

These compilers are bundled with the ADvantage Framework:

• GNU 3.4.5 native C compiler for the GP localhost target
• GNAT 3.4.5 native Ada compiler for the GP localhost target
• GNU 4.1.1 PowerPC cross-compiler for the RTS target
• QNX 6.2.1 cross-compiler for the rtX target (the 6.4.0 compiler is provided as an option)

See Supported C Compilers for information on using Microsoft Visual Studio if you wish to use that for the GP localhost target.