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- Time Crafter Shareware
- Copyright (c) 1994 Aurora Systems Research
- All rights Reserved
-
- OVERVIEW
-
- Time Crafter is a Shareware product and is available to you
- free of charge for a period of 30 days. If you find this
- product useful PLEASE register it. This entitles you to a free
- copy of the latest version of Time Crafter without the
- annoying about box, notification of updates, and encourages
- the author to continue producing new windows engineering
- shareware.
-
- Time Crafter is a timing diagram documentation tool. A
- timing diagram is used by engineers and technicians to
- document the way a circuit or system operates or should
- operate. This type of documentation is crucial to good design
- and debugging but up to now one could only use paper and
- pencil (with a good eraser) or an expensive CAD package
- costing $1000 or more to produce these diagrams on a PC.
-
- It was our idea to produce an inexpensive ($15 bucks is a
- movie and popcorn for two) program to do timing diagrams
- so that every one who needs it can have a copy on their PC.
- Try it out for 30 days we think you will find it useful.
- ASR is planning to release two more versions of this program
- adding features until Time Crafter is full featured CAD tool.
-
- Time Crafter Shareware consists of four files:
-
- TIMEINST.DOC Installation and User's Guide (This File)
- TIMEORDR.DOC Registration Order Form
- TIMECRFT.EXE Time Crafter Program
- TIMECRFT.TC Sample Timing Diagram
-
- Time Crafter is easy to install. Just copy the Time Crafter
- files into thier own subdirectory (i. e. C:\TIME). Then install
- Time Crafter into a group menu of the Program Manger. Just choose
- 'New' of the 'File' menu in Program Manager and enter the program
- path and name under the 'Command line' entry.
-
- To register just send $15 to :
- Aurora Systems Research
- PO BOX 593
- Long Beach Ms 39560
-
- For a full users manual with tutorial plus the lastest version
- of Time Crafter send in $30 (See the file TIMEORDR.DOC for more
- details).
-
- Print the form in the TIMEORDR.DOC either from notepad
- or DOS and send it in. Be sure to include your name and
- return address if you want to receive the diskette with Time
- Crafter Professional.
-
-
- USING TIME CRAFTER
- There are basically three types of objects that the user can
- create.
-
- 1. Clock - This is a periodic signal such as the clock that
- runs the computer you are now looking at. It has a name,
- a basic frequency of oscillation and a period.
-
- The period of a clock is = 1/clock frequency and updates
- when you change either the period or frequency field.
-
- The offset is the time to the first clock rising edge from
- zero.
-
- The rising and falling jitter describes areas where it is not
- known if the clocks edge has risen or fallen.
-
- Duty Cycle describes what percentage of the time the
- signal is high.
-
- You can select either KHz, MHz, or GHz for the
- frequency field which also selects either microseconds
- (us), nanoseconds (ns) or picoseconds (ps) as the units
- for the other fields.
-
- 2. Signal - This is user defined signal. When you first place
- a signal you are prompted for the initial value for the
- signal. It can be one of the following.
-
- High - Signal is at a logical high state usually +5V.
-
- Low - Signal is at a logical low state usually 0V.
-
- Tri-State - Signal is floating and is in a high impedance
- state.
-
- Valid - There is valid data on a bus or group of lines.
-
- Invalid - Invalid data exists on a bus or group of lines.
-
- The user can then add edges to the signal (100 edges max)
- by clicking the left mouse button at the time he want's the
- edge to occur at the same horizontal position. (Just move
- horizontally left from the last edge and hold the left mouse
- button down to move the edge. Release the left button to
- place the edge).
-
- The user can move a placed edge by clicking and holding
- the left button near the edge he want's to move and moving
- the mouse left or right.
-
- The user can change the value of an edge by single
- clicking the right button on an edge. Subsequent right
- clicks will toggle through the five types of edges/signals.
-
- 3. Text - When text is selected a text dialog box will appear
- prompting the user for the text to be displayed. If no text
- is entered or the delete button is pressed the item will be
- deleted. To Move text just click and hold the left mouse
- button on the text. If you now move the mouse the text
- moves with you. You can move text to any position using
- this technique. Double clicking on the text allows you to
- edit or delete it.
-
- To Create one of these items you can either click on it's menu
- bar button, or select insert from the signal menu. The signal
- menu can also be used to delete, move or edit existing
- signals. Just select the signal by clicking on the left mouse
- button over the signal's name and chose the corresponding
- command from the signal menu. Double clicking the left
- button on a signal's name allows you to edit a signal.
-
- To see more or less signal you can zoom in or zoom out using
- the menu bar buttons or the zoom in or out command of the
- view menu. Zooming in or out changes the amount of
- information displayed on the screen and amount displayed
- when printing.
-
- The user can use the File menu to save or load timing
- diagrams. Load the sample timing diagram TIME.TC to get an
- idea of the Time Crafter's capabilites. The user can also
- print using the File menu. Note that the printout only spans
- one page and uses the current zoom scale factor and start time
- when printing. If you want to print a certain time range be
- sure to set you starting time (use the horizontal scroll bar on
- the bottom of the window) and the zoom factor before printing.
-
- There are some limitations to version 1.0. Most applications
- probably will not be affected by these. Some limitations will be
- corrected/updated in version 2.0.
-
- Time Crafter 1.0 Limitations
-
- 1. You can only have 10 clocks.
- 2. You can only have 10 Signals.
- 3. You can only have 100 edges in a signal.
- 4. You can only have 20 Text Strings
- 5. You can't scroll signals on and off the screen vertically.
- 6. You can't copy to the clipboard (unless you use the print
- screen function)
-
- The next version of time crafter will have the following:
-
- Version 2.0 (~second quarter 94)
- 1. More clocks, signals and text.
- 2. Vertical scroll for signals.
- 3. User selectable fonts for text.
- 4. Formatted Clipboard save.
- 5. Slanted rise and fall line option.
-
- Version 3.0(~first quarter 95)
- 1. Constraints
- 2. Help Index
-
- SHAREWARE INFO
- Time Crafter Shareware is copyrighted and released as SHAREWARE.
- Operators of bullentin boards are encouraged to post Time Crafter
- Shareware for downloading by their users. It's also Ok to share
- a copy of Time Crafter Shareware with a friend down the hall. ASR
- only asks that those copying the program not delete, modify, or
- separate the program file, documentation files or copyright notice.
- These files are listed at the beginning of this document. No other
- person or business (other than Aurora Systems Research) may accept
- payment or royalties on the program. Distributors of user-supported
- shareware libraries or public domain programs must obtain written
- permission to distribute copies of Time Crafter.
-
- LIMITED WARRANTY
-
- THIS PROGRAM AND THE ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS"
- WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
- INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
- MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT
- TO DEFECTS IN THE PROGRAM OR DOCUMENTATION. AURORA SYSTEMS RESEARCH
- ASSUMES NO RISK AS TO QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM. SHOULD
- THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ANY LOSS OF
- PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE
- EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY
- TO YOU. THIS STATEMENT SHALL BE CONSTRUED, INTERPRETED, AND GOVERNED
- BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
-