Driver Substitution is among the new features to have been added to software-based system control platform Stardraw Control 2010.
Project Templates are a selection of pre-configured, pre-programmed projects that are bundled with the Stardraw Control 2010 authoring tool. Each template represents a typical system type (eg. boardroom, classroom, automated home etc) and contains the devices, their functions and a sophisticated User Interface that is completely pre-programmed and fully-functional. At the same time, each Project Template is fully customisable, meaning that a system integrator can produce a complete control system front- (and back-) end, specific to a particular project, in minutes.
Integral to this is the addition of the next new feature, Driver Substitution, which enables users to drag a new driver from Stardraw Control’s product list and drop it onto an existing one. This substitutes one product in an already-programmed system for another, and Stardraw Control intelligently re-assigns events and actions so that no re-programming is required. Where there may be some ambiguity, Stardraw Control displays a neat substitution grid that allows the old action to be assigned to a new command.
Driver Substitution is not limited to use in pre-configured Project Templates; it can be employed in any Stardraw Control project, regardless of how it was created.
Stardraw.com has also announced an extension of support for WebServices, which comprise a set of technologies that allow direct machine-to-machine communications across networks (including the internet, but also LANs and WANs). The recent extension to WebService support directly exposes the functions and properties of the devices in the user’s system so that the UI, or any other process, can communicate with them directly and intelligently.
Commenting on these enhancements, Stardraw.com CEO David Snipp commented: “The extension to WebService support is hugely important for two main reasons. Firstly, it means that the developer can choose whether to have an abstracted system with centralised intelligence (which can be a very efficient way of deploying large and complex projects), or one with distributed intelligence, or even a combination of the two – each of these techniques has its own place and advantages. Secondly, it massively reduces the effort involved in deploying non-Windows UIs using iPads, iPhones, Android devices and the like because no intermediate logic is required. Combined with Project Templates and Driver Substitution these enhancements mean that Stardraw Control systems can be rolled out even more quickly and profitably.”
