Specifications

Curtis 1310 Manual, Rev. B
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1 6 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 8 D R A F T
5 — VCL
VEHICLE CONTROL LANGUAGE (VCL)
The Curtis 1310 Vehicle System Controller is similar to other programmable
logic controllers with application-specific functions generally found in the
vehicle control industry. Key to the flexibility and application of the 1310 is a
proprietary software language, VCL (Vehicle Control Language). VCL software
provides a fast and easy way to implement unique and complex vehicle control
functions.
The VCL programming language will feel very familiar to anyone who
has worked with BASIC, Pascal, or C. VCL code can be written using either a
code-writing program (such as Code Warrior or UltraEdit) or a non-formatting
text program (such as Windows Notepad).
VCL is compiled, managed, and downloaded into the 1310 using the
Curtis WinVCL PC program. The install process for WinVCL will also install
two manuals on your PC—the VCL Programmer’s Guide and the VCL Com
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mon Functions Manual. These manuals describe the common portions of the
VCL programming language, and include more detailed information about
VCL than is included here. They should be your starting point if you are not
yet familiar with WCL. A third manual, the WinVCL User’s Guide, should
also be reviewed prior to starting your VCL programming.
This section of the manual describes additional aspects and functions of
VCL that are unique to the 1310, and also provides a basic summary overview
of VCL.
Summary of VCL Basics
• VCL is not case-sensitive:
put_pwm(), Put_PWM(), and PUT_PWM() are identical.
• Spaces in variable and constant names are not allowed in VCL;
use underscores in place of spaces.
Example: SW_1 is the VCL name for switch input #1.
• Functions are followed by parentheses; for example:
GET_ADC() is a function
ADC7_Output is a variable.
• Logical statements must be inside parentheses; examples:
IF (setpoint >50)
ELSE IF ((setpoint <20) & (temperature >100)).
• Comments are preceded by semicolons; for example:
; This is a comment.
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