EASY5 Engineering Analysis Software

1
Take Advantage of EASY5 Version 6.0
Peter KamberEASY5 Product SupportMay 16, 2000

2
EASY5 6.0
Primary Motivations

• What we heard from our users
• Give us the ability to make our schematics look
  more like WE want them to
• Allow us to write our user-code blocks in C
• Make it easier for us to put EASY5 schematics and
  results in documents
• Make it easier to print under Windows
• Give us some plotter improvements (3D, multiple
  y-axes, data-tagging)
• Allow us to annotate plots and schematics
• Allow us to better manage, document, and
  configure our models
• Give us longer names for EASY5 variables! No
  more I/O limits either.
• Give us integer/boolean data types for use in our
  user-code blocks
• Give us access to online help and documentation
• Give us the ability to display data on our
  schematics

3
EASY5 6.0
Overview

• Timeline
• started development April 1999
• in release now (April/May 2000)
• 14 major enhancements
• updated GUI
• new model generator
• updated plotter
• new and updated editors
• Other improvements
• updated look
• over 400 bug-fixes
• over 50 minor enhancements
• License management changes
• new encryption keys
• vendor daemon - easy5lmd
• allows you to run both old and new versions
  simultaneously
• new license files required

4
EASY5 6.0
Major Enhancements

• Manual-Override of Connection Line Routing
• C Code Component
• On-Line Documentation
• PDF/HTML-Based Info Pages
• Exportable Graphics
• Plotter Improvements
• Shortcut Menus
• Find Component - Find Input/Output Name
• Alternate/Multiple Icons
• HTML-Based Model and Library Documentation
• Interactive Simulation Watch List
• Simulation Monitor
• Windows Improvements
• Miscellaneous

5
EASY5 6.0
Manual Override of Connection Line Routing

• Prior versions used a best-fit automatic
  routing scheme
• EASY5 6.0 adds capability to manually override
  any connection line routing
• move endpoints
• move line segments
• move submodel connection nodes
• New approach combines best of both methods -
  auto and manual routing

6
EASY5 6.0
C Code Component

• Similar to Fortran code component - enter C
  code into component
• C code converted to a function, as source code
  file named ltmodelgt_c.c
• EASY5 takes care of all interface coding
• C source file accessed separately from Build
  menu
• C source code automatically compiled, and linked
  with EASY5 model code
• States, tables can be added to C code as done
  with Fortran component

7
EASY5 6.0
Managing External Fortran or C Code

• User-Defined External Fortran or C Code
• want to connect it to your EASY5 model
• typically will need access to source code (to
  allow compilation)
• object code must be compatible with EASY5 and
  system libraries
• store multiple object files in COFF libraries or
  archives for simplicity
• Compiling
• from any EASY5 Command Shell
• easy5x -fc filespec Fortran
• easy5x -cc filespec C
• Debug mode
• set environment variable ezdebugtrue prior
• Library Creation
• from any EASY5 Command Shell
• LIB /outxx.lib filespec Windows (MSF, DVF,
  DVF6)
• ar xx.a filespec Unix or Win32/GNU

8
EASY5 6.0
On-Line Documentation

• New EASY5 Guide
• Opened from EASY5 via new Help Menu
• Uses Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0
• freeware provided by Adobe Systems
• PDF-based document provides access to all EASY5
  documents
• Release and Install Notes
• All application library documentation
• Standard set of EASY5 documentation
• Technical Notes, etc.
• The EASY5 Guide includes several navigation aids
• search tools
• navigation buttons
• hyper-text links

9
EASY5 6.0
PDF/HTML-Based Info Pages

• Info Page
• Online documentation for each library component
• Pre-EASY5 6.0
• Short one-page description of component
• Built using EASY5s icon editor
• EASY5 6.0
• Additionally allows either PDF or HTML formats
• Up-to-date and complete documentation
• Acrobat Reader or Web Browser automatically
  launched
• Constructed using modern documentation
  applications (Word, Framemaker, etc)
• Macro library developers
• makes it much easier to document each component
• provide others the necessary data to help them
  use your library
• display multiple pages, provide more information
  (e.g. theory, examples)
• maintain a single source for all documentation
• HTML info pages can be automatically generated

10
EASY5 6.0
Exportable Graphics

• Pre-EASY5 6.0
• graphics output PostScript or HPGL
• difficult to import into most office
  applications
• EASY5 6.0
• graphics output WMF, (PS, HPGL)
  Unix
• export schematic diagrams or plots via Export
• WMF graphics file
• enhanced Windows metafile format
• standard graphics format used by Microsoft
  Windows
• same format used for all Windows hard-copy
  output
• Import EASY5 graphics files into most office
  applications for documentation
• annotate EASY5 graphics
• text flows around graphics

11
EASY5 6.0
Plotter Improvements

• Multi Y-axis plots
• over-plot up to 6 variables with 6 separate
  y-axes
• Data tagging
• allows you to "tag" one or more data points with
  an arrow or circle and display the data values.
• Text annotation
• add text anywhere to your plots, and edit the
  color/font/size.
• Edit attributes
• select a graphics element and edit the
  attributes, such as line color and type, axis
  scale, title, etc.

12
EASY5 6.0
Shortcut Menus

• What are shortcut menus?
• Provide a quick way to access commonly used
  commands via popup menus
• Context sensitive shortcut menus contain only
  commands that apply to the item selected with the
  right mouse
• Shortcut menus available for
• components
• connection lines
• schematic diagram
• submodels
• submodel connections
• connecting components

13
EASY5 6.0
Find Component/Name

• Find Component Window
• Select components from alphabetical list
• EASY5 finds and highlights the component,
  opening/closing submodels as needed.
• Either open the data table (Examine), or
  continue to find other components.

• Find I/O Name Window
• Select variable name from alphabetical list
• Finds and highlights the component that contains
  the variable
• Either open the data table, or continue to find
  other names

14
EASY5 6.0
Multiple/Alternate Icons

• Useful for alternate representations
• Feed-back/forward gain blocks
• EASY5 vs. ISO (HC Library)
• Custom icons
• Better match your EASY5 model to your
  application-specific schematic
• New icons can be easily added to augment
  existing sets
• Icon Search Directories
• ./xx/icons
• USERLIB/xx/icons
• EZHOME/easy5x/dict/xx/icons
• Icon Files
• yy.icon_name.icon
• xx library tag yy component name icon_name
  icon name

Example of an ISO Hydraulic Schematic Per
Alternate HC Library Icons
15
EASY5 6.0
HTML-Based Model Library Documentation

• HTML Hyper-Text Markup Language
• standard format for all web browsers
• Document your model as an HTML-formatted file
• component description
• data tables input parameters, output states and
  variables
• code for user-code components
• contains hyperlinks to make it easy to find
  components, submodels
• HTML-formatted documentation of Macro Libraries
• automated documentation
• use command easy5x -dp xx -html
• users can then access info pages for all library
  components
• Web browser is automatically started to displays
  HTML document
• Unix default netscape (set EASY5_BROWSER to
  override)

16
EASY5 6.0
Example of Model HTML Documentation
17
EASY5 6.0
Interactive Simulation Watch List

• Watch List Component (IS Library)
• Configured completely at run-time
• once added, no need to rebuild model executable
• add/delete quantities during the simulation
• Used to display any model parameter, output
  state or output variable during a simulation
• Can change any parameter value (marked blue)
  during a simulation
• via Set button
• Special variables TIME, CPUSEC (marked green)
• Useful for gaining insight to your model by
  allowing you to step through a simulation
• Sample rate as specified by TAU (multiple of
  TINC)

18
EASY5 6.0
Windows Improvements

• Embedded GNU Compiler Suite for Windows
• free compiler, library manager, and linker
• can be installed by EASY5 Setup program
• New EASY5 Text Editor
• used to view/edit most EASY5 text files (e.g.
  listings, log files)
• uses an enhanced Windows text editor
• control over fonts and size
• search/replace tool
• Go To Line Number capability, status bar
• personalized settings
• Access to Windows Print Manager
• print to any Windows printer
• control over printer, printer options, paper
  size, etc.
• personal printer settings are saved

19
EASY5 6.0
Simulation Monitor

• Replacement for Interactive Simulation feature
• Can be used at any time during a simulation to
  check on progress
• Based on EASY5 Plotter
• full feature plotter
• comparison plots
• binary plot file (fast)
• print intermediate results
• Data updates
• automatic
• manual

20
EASY5 6.0
Miscellaneous Enhancements

• Read/Write Excel CSV data files
• CSV - common format for ASCII data files
  (comma-, tab-delimited data)
• Matrix Algebra Tool (MAT) scripts
• load_delim - load a CSV file
• save_delim - create a CSV file
• GP/WR component - saves output in CSV format, if
  specified
• Data input improvements
• Click to focus is now default (used to be
  Pointer focus)
• pre-warping" the cursor of single input fields
  when possible
• Maximum Name Length Increased to 28 Characters
• improved mnemonic naming
• previously 12 characters
• includes Fortran and C code input/output names
• Accommodating Ever Larger Models and Extensions
• Number of User-Code and Extension
  Inputs/Outputs unlimited
• Sort block limits increased to 3000
• Number of components per model increased to 1500

21
EASY5 6.0
How did we do?

• Give us the ability to make our schematics look
  more like WE want them to
• Manual override of connection line routine
• Alternate/Multiple icons
• Allow us to write our user-code blocks in C
• C-Code Component
• Make it easier for us to put EASY5 schematics and
  results in documents
• Exportable Graphics
• Give us access to online help and documentation
• The EASY5 Guide
• HTML/PDF-based Info Pages
• Make it easier to print under Windows
• Give us longer names for EASY5 variables! No
  more I/O limits for Extensions.
• 28-character names
• Allow us to annotate plots and schematics
• Plot annotation
• Allow us to better manage, document and configure
  our models
• HTML-based docmod
• Give us integer/boolean I/O data types for use in
  our user-code blocks
• Give us some plotter improvements (3D, multiple
  y-axes, data-tagging)