Real Time Data Monitor

Monitor was created as an in-house diagnostic tool to monitor and display the PICS real time data stream. As such, it is capable of displaying quite a bit of information that may have little or no meaning to the general PICS user. However, there are times when Monitor can perform handy functions, such as logging the values of a selected set of points to a disk file as they change. The file could then be post-processed for analysis of the procedure recorded. The difference between this and using an archive retrieval is minimal (except that the Monitor recording is ready and complete the instant the process is completed), in fact, most of the archive retrieval clients have an option to produce their output in the same format used by Monitor (to make post-processing tasks the same either way).

Because Monitor can place a significant load on a machine (because it subscribes to all real time data and does some internal statistic calculation of its own) it is not recommended to be run unless there is a definite need for it. It is recommended that Monitor NEVER be run on ACC (WAN) client computers because of the large volume of TCP data that will result.

Screen shots

Monitor's main window shows a [partial] translation of the real time data stream. The points being displayed may be filtered and some of the columns may be translated or raw and others may be included or omitted, depending on the various Monitor Settings in effect.

Monitor is capable of recording the information being displayed to a disk file for later analysis. To have Monitor record to disk, use the File|Open Log File menu item and provide a file name. When Monitor is actively writing a log, the program caption (title bar) will include the name of the open log file to remind you that recording is active. When a log is opened, Monitor checked your current filter to see if it includes the PICS Time point, if not, then the current PICS Time point is automatically inserted at the beginning of the log. This is done to ensure that a start time reference is available in the log file.

Monitor is also capable of saving and opening point filters for reuse. This feature is also accessed through the File menu.

To change the format or content of the information Monitor is displaying (and possibly logging to disk), use the Options menu (shown below). All of the Show/Hide options take effect immediately when selected, and thereafter will display a check mark if they are in effect. The Save Settings option allows you to save these settings as the default for the next time Monitor is started (if you forget to do this, Monitor will remind you when you choose File|Exit (but not if you use the system close)). The settings saved include the font, window size and position as well as your show/hide selections.

One of Monitor's most powerful features is its ability to select an arbitrary set of points to display (or to ignore). The Filter Options dialog allows you to specify the list of points and determine if the list is a set to be excluded from the log (anything else will be logged); included in the log (anything else will NOT be logged); or disabled (no filter). You may manually enter point ID numbers and/or point names in the New Point ID box. You may also enter comma separated lists and hyphen (dash) separated ranges. If that is too difficult, then you may also press the browse button and select a set of points using the standard point selection dialog. You may notice that the Filtered Point List contains raw numbers at times, this is normal for unassigned point IDs. Monitor allows you to specify unassigned IDs because it is a debugging/diagnostic tool and you might be watching for a program that is using an incorrect ID at times!

While it is running, Monitor gathers statistics about the real time data flow that it receives. Since Monitor always subscribes to all points in the database, this should be a fair measurement of the overall data flow in your system. Hopefully, the labels in the statistics dialog explain the values adequately.