Program Description

Docklight is a testing, analysis and simulation tool for serial communication protocols (RS232, RS485/422 and others). It allows you to monitor the communication between two serial devices or to test the serial communication of a single device. Docklight is easy to use and runs on almost any standard PC using Windows Vista/XP/2000/NT 4/98 operating system. Key functions include: * Simulating serial protocols - Docklight can send out user-defined sequences according to the protocol used and it can react to incoming sequences. This makes it possible to simulate the behavior of a serial communication device, which is particularly useful for generating test conditions that are hard to reproduce with the original device (e.g. problem conditions). * Logging RS232 data - All serial communication data can be logged using two different file formats: use plain text format for fast logging and storing huge amounts of data. Or create a HTML file with styled text that lets you easily distinguish between incoming and outgoing data or additional information. * Detecting specific data sequences - In many test cases you will need to check for a specific sequence within the RS232 data that indicates a problem condition. Docklight manages a list of such data sequences for you and is able to perform user-defined actions after detecting a sequence, e.g. taking a snapshot of all communication data before and after the error message was received. * Responding to incoming data - Docklight lets you specify user-defined answers to the different communication sequences received. This allows you to build a basic simulator for your serial device within a few minutes. It can also help you to trace a certain error by sending out a diagnostics command after receiving the error message. * Docklight has been successfully tested with many popular USB-to-RS232 converters, virtual null modem software, and many other Embedded Development tools that appear as a virtual COM port.