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26SI Series Alternator – Custom Web Page

Overview

PCL, Extensible Markup Language (XML), Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL), and Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) files all reside on the PL1000E web server. These files work together to provide a customized view of data gathered by the PL1000E. Illustration 1 displays the relationship between the file types.

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The PCL file contains configurations that translate parameters in a web-based solution. The XML custom page file consists of a select group of parameters to monitor and view together gathered from the larger list in the PCL file. The XML, XSL, and CSS files are read by the browser to provide the user with the view of their data.

Understanding the XSL File

The XSL file is a stylesheet for the XML file. The .XSL file calls the CSS file to use for the web page, places elements on the page, and associates error strings with certain values gathered from the ECM.

The style sheet must be indicated in the XML file. The style sheet controls the format of the data as it will be displayed on the page. The programmer associates an XML file with a specific XSL file in the .xsl?> tag with the filename for the XSL file.

Note: Refer to Illustration 2. The preceeding paragraph is referring to line 2, “href= ParameterGroup.xls?>”, that is, the style sheet file name.

The XSL file does NOT provide formatting such as italics, bold, or other visual formatting. The XSL file calls out a CSS file to provide that formatting for the XML page.

The .XSL file contains a series of If-Then type statements written in XSL language. Each of theseIf-Then statements associates a given value returned from an ECM with an error string. The .XSL file also contains code that configures the structure and formatting for numbers and text.

Creating Custom XML Pages

Custom Pages allow user-selected parameters to be monitored through a web browser. A Custom Page is configured using an XML file that is published to the PL1000E Web Server.

To create a custom page:

  1. Copy the “CSPL1000E_Custom_Page.xml” template. The template is located on the CD that was included with the ECM to a PC with a text editor.

    Throughout this section of the document, there are references to a Parameter Translation Editor (PTE) .

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  1. Modify the information contained in the appropriate XML tags to include the data to monitor.

    Only the parameters defined in a web translation object in the PCL file are available for display on the Custom Pages.

    Table 1 contains a detailed description of the XML tags that are shown in Illustration 2 and that are used in the web page. Each XML tag described in Table 1 is the source of a different part of the web page. Refer to Illustration 3. The call outs in Illustration 3 show each area of the web page that is rendered from each XML.

    Table 1
    Number     Tag Name     Description    
    1     <Title>     Contains the “Custom Page” title (see Illustration 3). Unique titles for custom pages allow better organization when analyzing larger or more complex systems.    
    2     <Item>     Each parameter is represented by an item element containing the attributes of that parameter.    
    3     <UID>     A unique identifier for a parameter used in a web server translation. The UID contained in the XML file will be converted to the decimal equivalent value of the UID included in the PTE file as a hexadecimal value. Refer to Converting a Hexadecimal Number to a Decimal Number for more information on converting the hexadecimal number to a decimal value.    
    4     <ECMUID>     The same unique number that is assigned for the ECM ID in the Parameter Translation Editor for the PCL file. Refer to Modify the properties for the New CDL ECM object in the Manual Parameter Configuration List Creation section to identify the ECM ID.    
    5     ECM Description     Contains a label created by the user to describe the ECM from which the parameter was obtained. This description is free form text and can be customized to clearly describe the ECM from which data is being collected. It may be helpful to identify this ECM with the same description as was used in the PCL file creation, but it is not necessary. These two descriptions may be different.    
    6     UID Description     Contains a label chosen by the user to describe the parameter that is to be monitored. This description is free form text and can be customized to clearly describe the parameter being displayed. It may be helpful to identify this Parameter with the same description as viewed in the PCL file creation, but it is not necessary.    
    7     Value     The value of the parameter being monitored. The OSEFUNC tag is formatted as: “/ssi/getparm/X,Y” where “X” is the “ECM ID”, and “Y” is the “UID”. Refer to the description for item 4 for more information on the “ECM ID”    
    8     Decimals     The number of decimal places to apply to the value of the parameter to be monitored.    
    9     Unit     The units of measure used for the parameter to be monitored.    
    10     Type     Always set to Zero.    

  1. Save the file in a text-only format with the filename CS<name>.xml where <name> is the name of the file.

    Note: The filename must always begin with “CS”. For example, a correctly formatted filename could be “CSPL1000ECustomPage.xml”.

  1. Publish the custom page XML file to the PL1000E web server in the /status/user/ folder using FTP. See System Operation, RENR8091, “LAN Network Ethernet Connection”.

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  1. Verify file exists on the server and is correct by browsing to the page using any standard web browser.

    Note: If the page does not appear to reflect the changes, force the browser to execute a refresh. If the page still does not appear to reflect the changes, then close the browser and start the browser again.

Viewing Custom XML Pages Using a Browser

A list of Custom Pages on a PL1000E server will appear under the Custom Pages tab on the navigation menu for the specific server.

Perform the following in order to view the list of Custom Pages:

  1. Click the Custom Pages tab on the navigation menu.
  1. Click the link in the navigation menu or the link on the Custom Pages web page to view the desired Custom Page.

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  1. The web browser displays the Custom Page as shown in Illustration 6. Each of the parameters used in the XML file will be listed with the appropriate characteristics.

    Note: If parameters used in the XML file do not appear on the page, make sure that the parameters were added to the web translation object in the PTE when the PCL file associated with the page was created.