JSRS ( Java Slot Racing System )

The original SRS was written in Visual Basic 6.0 and was a 32bit application, it interfaced to the DS-200, DS-300 and parallel port.

The package couldn't be used on 64bit systems as VB6.0 isn't compatible with 64bit architectures.  JSRS will address all of the short falls in the first SRS with some new features.

Why Java ?

Java from Sun Microsystems is a multi-platform language that was designed to run on any hardware, unlike other programming languages such as 'C' it is truely multi-platform which means you can run the same program on different computer systems. This is achieved by the clever way in which a Java program executes. Conventional applications written in 'C' are compiled into machine code which is specific to the hardware they will run on. Java compiles to a P-code which is not native machine code but an optimised code. A Java Virtual Machine (JVM) must be available for the target system and this takes the P-code and finishes off the last bit of the compilation on-the-fly to native machine code. Java is very fast and very powerful.

How will JSRS talk to different hardware ?

There are two parts to JSRS, the main application which handles all the race management and configuration functions, this is also the user interface, the second component to JSRS is the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer).

The HAL deals with the different types of lap timing hardware available and the differenct interfaces and communications protocols.  It then provides the application with a common interface.  The application can make a standard request to the HAL for data.