Euresys Coaxlink - GenApi Overview

Coaxlink Programmer's GuideGenApi
GenApi
GenApi addresses the problem of configuring cameras. The way this is achieved is generic, and applies to different
kinds of devices, including frame grabbers. In this chapter, everything we say about cameras also applies to frame
grabbers.
GenApi requires two things to work: a register description, and a GenApi implementation.
Register description
A register description is an XML file that can be thought of as a computer-readable datasheet of the camera. It defines
camera settings (such as PixelFormat and TriggerSource), and instructions on how to configure them (e.g., to
set ExposureMode to Timed, write value 0x12 to register 0xE0140). It can also contain camera documentation.
GenApi implementation
A GenApi implementation is a soware module that can read and interpret register description files.
The EMVA provides a reference implementation, but it is fairly difficult to use, and logging is very poor. Instead, we
recommend using the Euresys implementation bundled with the Coaxlink soware package. This implementation also
allows writing powerful configuration scripts.
Features
What the user gets from GenApi is a bunch of named features, organized in categories.
Set/get features
Set/get features are simple settings (called parameters in MultiCam), and can be of different types:
• integer (e.g., Width)
• float (e.g., AcquisitionFrameRate)
• enumeration (e.g., PixelFormat)
• boolean (e.g., LUTEnable)
• string (e.g., DeviceVendorName)
The value of features can be retrieved/modified using get/set functions. Some features are read-only and some are
write-only, but most allow read/write access.
Commands
There is also another kind of features: commands (e.g., AcquisitionStart). Commands are special: they don't
have any associated value; they have side effects. Command features are meant to be executed. When a command is
executed, some action happens in the camera (e.g., a soware trigger is generated). Obviously, get/set functions don't
make sense for commands and can't be used.
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