How to use and/or create a Timer

PRESENTATION

Prerequisites

• Have done the tutorial Start to use Sim4Sys with a simple model (blackbox),
• Have a look at Countdown page.

Skills that you will acquire

In this tutorial, you will learn two ways to model a timer:

1. via the VB’s HMI Element “Countdown”
2. entirely inside Designer Papyrus

At the end, we want a common behavior:

• Start a timer for several seconds,
• Be able to pause & resume this timer and see its state modification,
• Be informed of the end of this timer,
• Stop this timer at any time and see its state modification.

Duration

1h30

USE COUNTDOWN HMI ELEMENT

In Designer Papyrus

Create a new model TimerModel, with a Project TimerProject and a service TimerSystem.

In the State Machine:

• rename "FirstState" as "Initialized" (this is the starting state, where the countdown can be set up),
• add the state "Countdown_VB" (a specific state that may transmit the behavior of the countdown to VB).

You will need four requested flows:

• requests_start_countdown(value: Integer),
• requests_stop_countdown(),
• requests_pause_countdown(),
• requests_resume_countdown().

And four flows To ENV:

• starts_countdown(value: Integer),
• stops_countdown(),
• pauses_countdown(),
• resumes_countdown().

And one flow From ENV:

• countdown_ended().

In Standard Use, create four UseCases and five UserStories:

• Start a countdown
  • User starts a countdown
  
  • End of countdown
  
• Stop a countdown
  • User stops a countdown
  
• Put countdown in pause
  • User puts a countdown in pause
  
• Resume a countdown
  • Users resumes a countdown
  

In VB

Drag & drop a Countdown, put “Visibility” to hidden.

Create mappings: Four model to simu mapping instances

• starts_countdown mapping
  • Check the triggered behaviours “Start the countdown” & select the variable “value” as “Remaining time”
  • Check “Visibility” and select visible
  
• stops_countdown mapping
  • Check the triggered behaviours “Stop the countdown”
  • Check “Style” and put “fill:red;”
  
• pauses_countdown mapping
  • Check the triggered behaviours “Pause the countdown”
  • Check “Style” and put “fill:grey;”
  
• resumes_countdown mapping
  • Check the triggered behaviours “Resume the countdown”
  • Check “Style” and put “fill:black;”
  

One simu to model mapping instances

• (Countdown ended) countdown_ended mapping
  • Select the Event “Countdown ended”
  

In the timeline, add five “Timeline Actions” as triggers, with four simu to model mapping instances:

• (On trigger) requests_start_countdown mapping
  • Set the “value” to 5 (seconds)
  
• (On trigger) requests_pause_countdown mapping
• (On trigger) requests_resume_countdown mapping
• (On trigger) requests_stop_countdown mapping

Run

CREATE YOUR OWN TIMER INSIDE A MODEL

In Designer Papyrus

Update the State Machine:

• add another State “Countdown_Model” (this state represents the logic and data model of the countdown),
• add two sub-states “Started” (the countdown is actively running) & “Paused”(the countdown is temporarily halted).

Add one flow From Engineer, to get Virtual Bench’s timestep:

• deltaT (value: Integer)

警告

The value getting from VB is in ms!

To convert this received value in seconds: add a Simulation Phase, a UseCase “Convert delta from ms to s” and a UserStory “Conversion” In the Sequence Diagram, add the Engineer Life Line, draw the Message “deltaT” from Engineer to TimerSystem (in State Initialized), then add an activity “convert()” an create a new Decimal variable named “deltaT_in_s”, copy/paste the followed code:

deltaT_in_s = deltaT_value/1000.0;

警告

Don’t forget the “.0” after “/1000”, overwise deltaT_in_s will be an Integer

You should have this Sequence Diagram at the end:

You will need four requested flows:

• requests_start_timer(value: Decimal)
• requests_stop_timer()
• requests_pause_timer()
• requests_resume_timer()

Four feedbacks:

• display_timer (value: Decimal)
• paused_timer()
• stopped_timer()

And one flow From ENV:

• clock()

In Standard Use, create four UseCases & six UserStories:

• Start a timer
  • User starts a timer
    • New Decimal variable named “timer”
    • Activity: register_timer_value()
      • Body: timer = requests_start_timer_value;
      
  • Decrementation of the timer
    • GC: timer > 0
    • Activity: decrease_timer()
      • Body: timer -= deltaT_in_s;
      
  • End of timer
    • GC: timer <= 0
    • Activity: reset_timer()
      • Body: timer = 0.0;
      
• Stop a timer
  • User stops a timer
    • Activity: reset_timer()
      • Body: timer = 0.0;
      
• Put timer in pause
  • User puts a timer in pause
  
• Resume a timer
  • Users resumes a timer
  

At the end, you should have this State Machine:

In VB

Drag & drop an Hour Display, put “Mode” to “Only seconds” & “Visibility” to hidden.

Create mappings: Three model to simu mapping instances

• display_timer mapping
  • Check “Seconds” (not “Second”) & select the variable “value”
  • Set “Color” to #000000
  • Check “Visibility” and select visible
  
• paused_timer mapping
  • Set “Color” to #949494
  
• stopped_timer mapping
  • Check “Seconds” (not “Second”) & set it to 0
  • Set “Color” to #ff0000
  

In the timeline, add 5 “Timeline Actions” as triggers, with 4 Simu to model mapping instances:

• (On trigger) requests_start_timer mapping
  • Set the “value” to 5 (seconds)
• (On trigger) requests_pause_timer mapping
• (On trigger) requests_resume_timer mapping
• (On trigger) requests_stop_timer mapping

You can finally run the simulation.