Hi there On 12/07/2021 15:40, Markos wrote: <Cut>
OK. Now I understand a little bit more the situation. You are referring to this pattern: https://www.astm.org/Standards/E1381.htm I didn't know this standard.What I have seen in my experience with laboratory automation with some instruments/equipment is that each manufacturer has its own ASCII communication protocol.Therefore, it is more viable to use some standard to specify a communication interface but without specifying the specific protocol of each equipment/instrument.The only ASTM standard for laboratory automation with this approach (define interface) was the LECIS standard, which is now discontinued:https://www.astm.org/DATABASE.CART/WITHDRAWN/E1989.htmI discovered, a few days ago, the SiLA project to standardize automation in the laboratory:https://sila-standard.com/ But I still don't know the details.I have already had to implement programs for serial communication with instruments and equipment in the laboratory.But I don't remember seeing any Debian packages related to this ASTM standard.
The thing to do is probably to use github search and then download, install and test each relevant program. I found two which are programmed in C, so I can modify them myself if need be.
The vet however is perfectly happy with using the native skyla protocol, so I used this instead. They are already using my software and perfectly happy with it. The software simply dumps the data in a text file which they then can access. Nothing fancy here. There is an other blood analyses machine heading this way, with yet an other protocol for which I will also write software.
In the long run ASTM is probably the way to go. With lots of googling you can actually find bits and pieces of the standard without having to pay for it.
I've found some programs for acquisition and graphic display of data received through the serial port.But as they didn't have all the resources I decided to develop my own programs using the Tcl/Tk language, always using Debian.I tried to document some of these projects on my website, which might be useful.The material is in Portuguese but it is possible to translate it with the help of Google Translator: https://tinyurl.com/46vnrp68Email-me if you have any question.
Regards, Rob