MDS2 (1996-1999)

Project Summary

Under contract to Chrysler Corporation: architected, designed, specified, developed and documented the Netscape plugin and supporting DLLs that perform real time multi-threaded data acquisition and GUI display of engine data for Chrysler's mission-critical MDS2 auto diagnostic system. Defined data requirements and designed the database tables relating to such display. Personally wrote 20,000 lines of MFC code. With a UnixWare server and NT clients, this intranet product is written in Java and MFC, uses Sybase System XI and runs under Netscape. Interfaced and coordinated with numerous task groups across the country in this 10-company, 100-person, $50 million project. MDS2 was deployed at 5000 Chrysler dealers worldwide.

Engine data was read by Chrysler’s proprietary Digital Readout Box (DRB) and transmitted to a networked PC via a National Instruments GPIB at the rate of 2000 measurements per second. The GPIB driver placed the data points into a queue. The Live Display component read the data from the queue and plotted it in real time, while also responding to user requests such as scrolling, scaling, zooming, and other options.

All data could be displayed in one of four possible widgets: Bar, Digital, Meter or Graph. There could be up to 250 widgets operating simultaneously; those beyond the first four could be scrolled into view.

Recordings could be triggered manually or in response to predetermined engine conditions. A trigger automatically captured the previous 45 seconds worth of data, which could then be played back as if live or paused and resumed.

Threading: There were 3 threads: data acquisition, data plot and UI.

TECHNOLOGIES

Hardware: Intel x86; National Instruments GPIB; Chrysler DRB

Platforms: Windows NT, 98, 95, Win32, UNIXWARE

Programming Languages: MFC, C++

Data Management: MS Access, Sybase System XI

Development Tools: Microsoft Visual Studio 4.2, Microsoft Visual C++, Windows SDK, DOS (Batch, Shell)

Source Control: Visual SourceSafe

Other Tools: MS Office, MS Project

MDS2 (1996-1999)

Project Summary

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