Software Designs Man-Machine Interfaces

A fundamentally object-oriented, full-featured human-machine interface software development package targets small- to medium-sized applications with a 500-I/O capacity. LookoutDirect is a 32-bit application based on National Instruments' Lookout automation software. The package doesn't sacrifice high-level features such as alarming, data logging, trending and recipes. It includes dozens of object classes, including switches, trends, timers, drivers, and more. Each object has its own data, functionality and display characteristics bundled with it. The object-oriented architecture translates into an intuitive interface development tool that requires no programming knowledge.The integrated development/runtime system enables users to perform application development on line while connected to the target control system. The ability to move instantaneously between the development and runtime modes eliminates several steps in the typical project development and installation cycle.