PRIMA 2e User Manual

 
The most important part in the chip encoding setup is to test the communication with the encoding 
device and to test if the encoder can access, write to and read from the chip. Some encoders 
require even global settings like authentication keys or the transfer speed, which is common for 
COM ports. 
 
Each plugin can optionally provide a user interface for both, the global settings and the encoding 
test. If one of these or both are supported, the corresponding buttons "Settings..." and "Test..." will 
be enabled. 
 

 

 
If these options are provided by the plugin, clicking on either button will open a configuration or a 
test dialog and show the corresponding functions that are necessary to configure the encoder 
hardware and to test the encoding of the card. 
 
The extent of the user interface depends on each plugin, i.e. there are no generic options from the 
driver. 
 
A sophisticated plugin should provide an easy-to-use user interface for both options and a way to 
do encoding tests with real data in the test dialog, preferably with the same format templates that 
have been set-up for the real encoding, as it is mandatory for the production that the hardware is 
working correctly with the encoder software and the data is encoded properly on the chip. 
 
Since both options are optional, a minimalist plugin does not need to provide these functions. The 
absence of these options may also be desired by the security requirements of the application.