====== First steps with Etherlab ======

Note: further details still missing (work in progress)

===== Write Your First Own EtherCAT Master Application =====

  - Take an arbitrary Desktop PC
  - Install Linux on it (OpenSuse or Linux Mint are some good recommendations)
  - Install ''build-essentials'' and ''git''
  - get the sources from https://gitlab.com/etherlab.org/ethercat
  - compile and install the binaries and libraries
  - Take a Beckhoff EK1100 bus coupler with some I/O modules
  - run ''ethercat scan''
  - copy the source code from ''ethercat/example'' to your projectfolder ''myproject''
  - copy or include this code into your ''myproject.c''
  - generate the device mappings with ''ethercat cstruct > mappings.c''
  - compile and run ''./myproject''

Now you have your own EtherCAT Master running - probably doing nothing else than transferring useless data to and from your slaves. 

===== Implement some Logic =====
Now with the master running and working with your hardware, you probably want to implement some realtime logics. 

===== Build a simple HMI with Testmanager =====
You can integrate ''pdserv'' into your master application, which provides a non-realtime interface into the realtime process. On the other side you can use either ''pdcom'' or the graphical ''Testmanager''. 

===== Results =====
So far we have used
  * [[https://gitlab.com/etherlab.org/ethercat|IgH EtherCAT Master]] for realtime data exchange on the EtherCAT bus. 
  * [[https://gitlab.com/etherlab.org/pdcom| PdCom]] to provide a network interface for HMI
  * [[https://gitlab.com/etherlab.org/testmanager|Etherlab Testmanager]] to build your own simple HMI

~~DISCUSSION~~