Where is the sequence file change counter stored ?

[Zyl]

Hi all,

I am using SVN to control its sequence file versions.

All steps in the sequence files are steptypes. And they all are settable via edit steps.

One problem is that, when you set your step via edit steps, TS UI isn't refreshed so the programmer might think that the edit step failed programming the step.

See this NI TestStand Idea Exchange thread : http://forums.ni.com...p/idi-p/1753456 (please Kudo if you think the idea is great... ).

So NI advices to generate an IncChangeCount to force TS to refresh its interface. This method makes the sequence file to be seen as 'changed' (star next to its name in the TS tabs).

When launching an edit step, it loads the current programmed values of the step to display them on the edit step interface. If the user doesn't change them and the IncChangeCount is generated, then the file is seen modified ( ) and the 'Change counter' is incremented.

In these conditions, SVN doesn't detect any change to the file !!

This would mean that the 'change counter' is not stored in the file... Do you have any idea on where it could be stored ?

[asbo]

I think that the change counter is session-based; that is, every time you load the file, it starts at zero and spins up based on edits made by the user.

[Zyl]

Hi Asbo,

Indeed this is what I was thinking. According to this supposition, I really don't understand why the change count has to be modified to refresh the seq editor interface...

And yes, it goes back to zero when the file is unloaded/reloaded.

Thanks.

[asbo]

Since sequence files can end up being quite large - my largest neared 0.5MB in binary format with lots of steps with code modules and it made the Sequence Editor slowww - the counter is likely just a lightweight way for anything operating on the sequence file programmatically to hint that the file might need a re-save. The alternative would be trying to track all changes in memory, which evidently the TestStand engine's architecture does not lend itself to.