What’s better than writing a good bit of software? Not having to.
A colleague of mine recently brought to my attention a plug-in application he discovered that formats, constructs and processes IP data packets for transmission and reception in DIFI format. Created by Geon Technologies, a developer of signal processing and software-defined radios based in Columbia, and available from Xilinx, an AMD company, it is intended to help developers sidestep the challenge of writing their own DIFI libraries.
Geon created the app while working on a system that required using VITA 49.2 as its data and control backbone. According to CTO Max Robert, “We discovered that it’s possible to have two vendors’ products both comply with VITA 49.2 but not be able to talk with each other. So, we built an in-house code generator to produce VHDL code, used by FPGA devices for low-power high-speed processing.”
That lack of interoperability is exactly what led to the formation of the DIFI Consortium and a “standard standard.”
I haven’t had a chance to evaluate or use the app myself, so neither the DIFI Consortium nor I can give a recommendation (lawyers take note, please). However, I wanted to share this news because I think it’s an extremely strong indicator of how digital IF and the DIFI standard are being accepted and maturing in the market. To already see supporting tools become available for a standard as new as DIFI is an extremely promising sign.
Read more from DIFI Consortium.
