he 
6.2 Proaram Interpreter 
The program interpreter is the central control unit of the 
system. It reads program statements, checks for correct 
syntax and executes them. It synchronizes different tasks 
and is responsible for a consistent internal system status. 
The program statements can either be entered via GUI, 
from existing source files with measuring programs or 
directly via keyboard input. 
The interpreter operates with a special programming 
language which has programming constructs such as 
variables, conditional defines, definition of procedures 
and loops. When executing a command, the interpreter 
interfaces with the database, calls sensor and image 
processing functions, executes calculation programs and 
handles error situations. 
Using the GUI it is not necessary to know individual 
programming statements because all required 
commands are generated by the system. Advanced 
programmers can operate the system by direct input of 
program statements in command mode. 
The integrated program generator is able to create 
optimized measurement programs for single points, 
elements or complete workpieces. Stored program files 
can be edited in the bulit-in Motif editor. These files can 
be executed in automatic mode whereby the operator 
can stop and continue an automatic process at any time. 
Fig. 5 shows an example of a measuring program for a 
circle element measurement. 
6.3 Database 
All system data such as measurement and calculation 
results or sensor parameters are stored and managed by 
a network database (db_Vista). It is based on a data 
structure that stores a measured element with a unique 
and reproducable relation to all relevant sensor data and 
observations. This method is useful to generate a 
measuring sequence out of the database information at 
any time. 
Two types of elements are managed: a) regular 
geometric elements as they are computed by the contour 
algorithm; b) elements which are formed by a number of 
discrete 3D points (min. 1) belonging to the same object 
part (e.g. points on a plane or profile). 
Repeated measurements for series inspections are 
stored under the reference element generated in teach- 
in. While the reference element has a special indicator 
(0) the following measurments of this element are stored 
with a higher index. So it is possible to make a statistical 
analysis of elements. 
During measurement, all relevant information is directly 
stored in the database (on harddisk) in order to maximize 
data security at risk from unforseen interruptions. 
A large variety of database interactions can be 
performed using SQL (Standard Query Language). As an 
example, almost any kind of ASCII output format (e.g. 
CAD interfaces or protocol files) can be generated using 
SQL programming. The user can write his own SQL 
programs in order to perform data operations for his 
specific application. 
  
  
1, type = circle); 
db put. elem (name = "holel", index 
- 1); 
db set elem (name "holel", index 
sen_stat_write (4, status = on); 
sen_stat_write (10, status = on); 
sen par write (4, led = 99); 
sen par write (10, led - 99); 
sen pos abs (60, hor - 0.00000); 
im cont init (name - "bohrung", index - 1, type - circle); 
db put observ (1); 
db set observ (1); 
sen pos abs (40, hor=-7.00000, ver=2.00000, disz610.00000); 
im set live (40); 
im winpar write (40,x_pos=204,y_pos=171,x_size=176,y_size=256) ; 
im cont, process (40, REF ELEM); 
sen do measure (60); 
sen pos. abs (60, hor = 0.017453); 
db put observ (2); 
db set observ (2); 
sen pos abs (41, hor=5.00000, ver=12.00000, disz665.00000); 
im set live (41); 
im winpar write (41,x_pos=200,y_pos=150,x_size=164,y_size=256) ; 
im_cont_process (41, REF_ELEM) ; 
sen_do_measure (60); 
im cont, calc (ALL, REF ELEM); 
  
Fig. 5. Example of measuring program for a circle element measurement