Understanding PCAN-Basic

PCAN-Basic

PCAN-Basic Documentation
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Understanding PCAN-Basic

PCAN-Basic is the new version of the PCAN-Light API. It consists of a collection of Windows Device Drivers which allow the real-time connection of Windows applications to all CAN busses physically connected to a PC. 

 

Main differences between PCAN-Light and PCAN-Basic
  • Information about the receive time of a CAN message.
  • Easy switching between different PCAN-Channels (PCAN-PC hardware).
  • The possibility to control some parameters in the hardware, eg. "Listen-Only" mode, automatic reset of the CAN controller on bus-off, etc.
  • The use of event notifications, for faster processing of incomming CAN messages.
  • An improved system for debugging's operations.
  • The use of only one Dynamic Link Library (PCAN-Basic.DLL) for all supported hardware.
  • The possibility to connect more than 2 channels per PCAN-Device. The following list shows the PCAN-Channels that can be connected per PCAN-Device:
 
PCAN-ISA 
PCAN-Dongle 
PCAN-PCI 
PCAN-USB 
PCAN-PC-Card 
PCAN-LAN 
Number of Channels 
16 
16 
16 

 

Using the PCAN-Basic

The PCAN-basic offers the possibility to use several PCAN-Channels within the same application in an easy way. The communication process is divided in 3 phases: initialization, interaction and finalization of a PCAN-Channel. 

Initialization: In order to do CAN communication using a channel, it is necessary to first initialize it. This is done making a call to the function CAN_Initialize (class-method: Initialize), or CAN_InitializeFD (class-method: InitializeFD) in case FD communication is desired. 

Interaction: After a successful initialization, a channel is ready to communicate with the connected CAN bus. Further configuration is not needed. The functions CAN_Read and CAN_Write (class-methods: Read and Write) can be then used to read and write CAN messages. If the channel being used is FD capable and it was initialized using CAN_InitializedFD, then the functions to use are CAN_ReadFD and CAN_WriteFD (class-methods: ReadFD and WriteFD). If desired, extra configuration can be made to improve a communication session, like changing the message filter to target specific messages. 

Finalization: When the communication is finished, the function CAN_Uninitialize (class-method: Uninitialize) should be called in order to release the PCAN-Channel and the resources allocated for it. In this way the channel is marked as "Free" and can be used from other applications. 

 

Hardware and Drivers

Overview of the current PCAN hardware and device drivers:

Hardware 
Plug-and-Play Hardware 
Driver 
PCAN-Dongle 
No 
Pcan_dng.sys 
PCAN-ISA 
No 
Pcan_isa.sys 
PCAN-PC/104 
No 
Pcan_isa.sys 
PCAN-PCI 
Yes 
Pcan_pci.sys 
PCAN-PCI Express 
Yes 
Pcan_pci.sys 
PCAN-cPCI 
Yes 
Pcan_pci.sys 
PCAN-miniPCI 
Yes 
Pcan_pci.sys 
PCAN-PC/104-Plus 
Yes 
Pcan_pci.sys 
PCAN-USB 
Yes 
Pcan_usb.sys 
PCAN-USB FD 
Yes 
Pcan_usb.sys 
PCAN-USB Pro 
Yes 
Pcan_usb.sys 
PCAN-USB Pro FD 
Yes 
Pcan_usb.sys 
PCAN-PC Card 
Yes 
Pcan_pcc.sys 
PCAN-Ethernet Gateway DR 
Yes 
Pcan_lan.sys 
PCAN-Wireless Gateway DR 
Yes 
Pcan_lan.sys 
PCAN-Wireless Gateway 
Yes 
Pcan_lan.sys 
PCAN-Wireless Automotive Gateway 
Yes 
Pcan_lan.sys 
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