Drivers

A Device Class is a library file allowing you to include and use any device with SweepMe!. It basically is a small code snippet called main.py written in the programming language python 3.6 (https://www.python.org/). All Device Classes can be found in the folder DeviceClasses of the SweepMe! installation.

Download

Device manager

You can download Device Classes via the device-manager.exe which you can find in your SweepMe! installation. Please close SweepMe! beforehand. The device manager lists all online available Device Classes which have been uploaded to our server. Check all Device Classes you need and press "Install/Update" to download them to your local Device Class folder.

The device manager will automatically store your previous Device class version so that you can swap back if something does not work as expected after an update.

Direct download

Click the link "Supported Devices" on the left side of this page and you will come to a list of all available Device Classes. You can download the Device Class directly as a zip-folder and you only need to unzip the Device Class into your local "DeviceClasses" folder of your SweepMe! installation.

Structure

Each Device Class file can be found in a folder of the following folder name structure:

<Type of the Module>-<Name of the manufacturer>_<Name of the device model>

Examples:

• SMU-Keithley_2400
• LCRmeter-HP_4284A
• Logger-PC_Mouse

The <Type of the Module> must be related to the Modules provided by SweepMe! and every Module provides different functionality to control a certain type of equipment.

The Device Class itself is a file which always has the name "main.py" and which can load further python modules, [dll]s, or simply text files as needed to get your Device Class working.

The Device Class Structure provides various standard functions which can be used at certain points during the run of the measurement sequence.

Creating new Device Classes

You can implement Device Classes on your own into SweepMe!:

1.) Use the Device Class Assistant

2.) Copy another Device Class of your SweepMe! installation of the same type of Modules you are aiming for and modify it according to your needs

3.) Go to Device Class Programming and learn how it works.

Testing & Debugging

A new Device Class will be found by SweepMe! during the start. Add the Module to the Sequencer for which the Device Class is designed and the tab of the module will pop up where you will be able to chosse your Device Class from the list of devices. Whenever you run a measurement, the Device Class will be loaded again. Thus, you can change your Device Class in an editor and run a test meaurement to see whether it works. There is no need to restart SweepMe!.

To display and test certain variables, you can insert print() commands and the output will be displayed in the debug window which you can open via Window -> Debug or by pressing the key "F2".

Open/Modify

You can open any Device Class out of SweepMe! in an included notepad++ editor. Any change to the Device Class will automatically affect its operation after saving the file. If you like to try some modifications, we recommend to create a copy of the respective Device Class folder and rename it by keeping the same folder name structure as given above.

Upload your Device Class

To make SweepMe! a powerful tool, we are relying on you! Help us to build up a large library of Device Classes. Implement your own Device Classes for your equipment and upload your files to our webpage. Contact us and you get access to our developer zone (DevZone), where you can create a new Device Class available for everyone to download.