Remote control of computer hardware interfaces

Many computer hardware interfaces are being developed for embedded systems to communicate with computers or other embedded systems. Computer hardware interfaces are often integrated in systems such as automation, control, data acquisition, and in-circuit debugging. Computer hardware interfaces often possess properties such as stringent data bit-timing, strict latency, limited number of predefined data exchanges, and extremely short message lengths. Software applications for such computer hardware interfaces often involve high frequency user interactions, dynamic display updates, and rapid hardware interface handshaking.; Computer hardware interfaces provide remote control capabilities via data/network communications. It is often desirable to remotely control computer hardware interfaces. Remote control demand may arise during the application design phase or a long time after a system has been developed. Stringent data bit-timing and strict latency are hard to satisfy across networks. A limited number of predefined data exchanges and short message lengths result in highly repetitive algorithms across the network in many cases. Remote applications with rapid hardware interface handshaking are impacted more significantly by communication latency than by bandwidth. There is no open standard for modeling computer hardware interfaces in a remote control environment. Key challenges in achieving effective remote control of computer hardware interfaces include object-oriented computer hardware interface modeling to encapsulate hardware interface properties and reducing network communications handshaking.; In this dissertation, a hierarchical hardware interface object model for computer hardware interfaces in the object-oriented domain is developed. The hardware interface object model encapsulates all network-unachievable properties of computer hardware interfaces such as bit-timing, latency, and predefined data exchanges in a hierarchical order to enable timing-free software design. A dynamic script generating/executing mechanism is developed to reduce network communications handshaking. A software architecture suitable for computer hardware interface remote control environments is developed by capitalizing upon the hierarchical hardware interface object model and the dynamic script generating/executing mechanism. Design guidelines for implementing the hierarchical hardware interface object and the software architecture are provided.; The methodology developed in this dissertation facilitates effective remote control of computer hardware interfaces in an object-oriented domain. This methodology also promotes software flexibility, reusability, and maintainability.