The Citect DOS version.
Martin Roberts largely wrote Citect for DOS. Martin was a gifted programmer, with vision and an incredible "CanDo" attitude. Citect for DOS consisted of a configuration database (in dBase format), a bitmap (256 colour raw format) and an animation file. The user would draw a representation of a facility using the readily available Dr Halo graphical package and placing "Animation Points" in the desired location. "Tags" were assigned in the configuration databases, equating to addresses within the programmable controlers Citect was communicating with. By referencing these tags at animation points using other configuration databases, the user could show the status of equipment in real-time. To run, the project had to be compiled. Depending on the size of the project, the compilation could take from a half an hour up to several hours. It was not unusual to start a compilation for a large project, go home and check it in the morning.
Citect for DOS could communicate with various programmable controllers via serial links offered by the device; some through direct PC serial port connections, others through 3rd party PC based cards designed to communicate with the target device. Software drivers were written for many protocols; its ability to communicate with a variety of devices - and to have new drivers written when required - became a primary selling point for Citect.
The runtime software ran on a Definicon DSI card; a 32 bit co-processor that was inserted into an available ISA slot in the PC. This was due to insufficient processing power available in the 286 and 386 PCs available at the time. These cards were purchased with various quantities of memory, depending on the size of the project. The compiled project was downloaded to the DSI card then run when required.
The basic architecture of the system has remained. The system added networking and another PC as a communications server. This box was called the "Scanner" and the I/O servers communicated with it. The current I/O Server configuration is stored in "scanner.dbf". The networking and scanner development were largely funded by Minenco for the Channar project at Paraburdoo. The original design has allowed the system to expand almost infinetly without any underlying changes. A 100 point DOS Citect could be continuously upgraded to the very latest version and expand to 100,000 tags with multiple servers, without rebuild. Martin's foresight allowed this to happen.
This is a work in progress and will be expanded, time permitting.
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