August 23, 2012. In cooperation with selected partners of GOEPEL electronic's GATE alliance program, GOEPEL has developed an application programming interface (API) for the company’s SCANFLEX hardware platform.
The API provides third-parties direct access to, and control of, the entire SCANFLEX hardware, down to the bit level, from their respective software systems. Hence, users will be able to define synchronized interactions with other processes and modules as well as control non-JTAG protocols and hardware.
“The new control interface for our innovative hardware platform SCANFLEX is our reaction to numerous customer requirements and direct inquiries from tool vendors,” said Heiko Ehrenberg, technology officer for embedded system access with GOEPEL electronic. “Emphasis is put on the synergy of several complementary applications based on one consistent hardware setup. Users mainly benefit from universally usable system solutions, streamlining their processes and protecting investments, while third-party providers can take advantage of the SCANFLEX performance and cater to the existing installed base of SCANFLEX users.”
The new SCANFLEX API provides both access to serial Test Access Ports (TAPs) and to all I/O modules, which can be controlled in parallel and independent from the TAPs. Using standard programming languages such as C/C++, Pascal, or Visual C, customizable serial or parallel vectors to be processed by the SCANFLEX hardware can be generated (and responses can be analyzed) by third-party software. Applications range from controlling special boundary-scan components, emulation sequences, and exotic programming tasks, up to complex analysis functions for chip validation.
Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) operating systems are supported. The new SCANFLEX API is free.
The GATE (GOEPEL Associated Technical Experts) alliance program is an international network of companies and organizations, bringing together specific competences in the areas of validation, test, programming, emulation, and debugging based on embedded system access technologies. GATE is focused on the joint development of new products and on providing excellent support and service worldwide.