ADTF3 Guides - Getting Started

Getting Started

This guide covers your very first steps within ADTF. After reading it you will:

know where the delivered tools are located
know the different type of meta files used within an ADTF System
know how to launch a simple ADTF Session
have a basic understanding what ADTF can do for you

If not already done, this might be the last chance to get an ADTF License to completely follow this and all upcoming guides. So please have a look at here in this case !

Where do I find the main toolset that make up ADTF?

Have a look inside the bin folder of your ADTF directory and you will find the executables listed in the overview.

If you need debug support, step down one directory and start the program from the debug folder.

We only deliver two debug applications for your needs:

ADTF Launcher - if you want to launch your ADTF Session using debug adtfplugins, e.g. to analyze your own implementation or reporting crashes to support

ADTF Plugin Description Generator - to create the meta information for your debug binaries

What is ADTF (in a few words)?

ADTF is an application development framework and toolset written in the C++ language. It is designed to process and record data from different kind of data sources you find in modern cars (bus interfaces, camera, lidar, radar, ...), fuse them with a referenced timestamp, transform, combine or manipulate this data and supply it to any kind of data sink. It allows you to include new devices with little coding effort while making use of a rich set of default ADTF Components like video or image display, recoder and player.

What are the building blocks of ADTF?

ADTF System

An ADTF System encapsulates all things necessary to get an ADTF Session up and running on different environments.

ADTF Plugins (.adtfplugin)
ADTF System Services (.adtfplugin)
Platform specific dependencies (shared objects or dynamic libraries used by .adtfplugin)
Environment variables

All of this is saved within a ADTF System File which can be recognized by the file ending .adtfsystem.

ADTF Streaming Graph

Please note that as of ADTF 3.8.0 and later, we are no longer advocating the use of Streaming Graphs but encourage you to use a ADTF Filter Graph instead. They allow for greater flexibility and reusability and can now provide all the required functionality (Streaming Services, etc.). Using a Streaming Graph is still possible (especially to load older ADTF Sessions) but not recommended for newer setups. For your convenience, all Views about Streaming Graph are hidden per default but you can enable them permanently within the settings options. Please note that if you are loading Sessions using Streaming Graphs, the views will be shown automatically.

The ADTF Streaming Graph defines the ADTF System's communication interface to

other ADTF instances
non ADTF Applications
devices like cameras, CAN devices, ethernet devices,...
recording and playback of ADTF DAT Files

The definition is made within a ADTF Graph File (.adtfgraph) and can contain one or more ADTF Streaming Graphs.

ADTF Filter Graph

The ADTF Filter Graph defines how data and trigger flow through an ADTF Graph based system where you can

manipulate data
transforming data
calculate data
displaying data

Since ADTF 3.8.0 it is also possible to use Streaming Services within the Filter Graph. This means you can access communication interfaces like

other ADTF instances
non ADTF Applications
devices like cameras, CAN devices, ethernet devices,...
recording and playback of ADTF DAT Files

within your Filter Graph.

We still advice to separate your ADTF Graphs info different parts (e.g. data receiver/transmitter, playback, data processing, visualization, etc) but design as included Subgraphs in ADTF Filter Graph instead of using Streaming and ADTF Filter Graph. Please have a look at our examples sessions ($(ADTF_DIR)/src/examples/projects/) for more inspiration.

The definition is made within a ADTF Graph File (.adtfgraph) and can contain one or more ADTF Filter Graphs.

ADTF Session

The ADTF Session is the file you need in order to launch an ADTF Launcher. Therefore the ADTF Session selects:

the ADTF System to use (what to load)
the active ADTF Streaming Graph
the active ADTF Filter Graph (what to do)

The definition is made within a ADTF Session File (.adtfsession).

ADTF Project

The ADTF Project contains all kind of files described previously to run an ADTF Launcher. An ADTF Project may contain multiple ADTF Filter Graphs ,ADTF Sessions, ADTF Systems but at least one:

ADTF System File (.adtfsystem)
ADTF Graph File (.adtfgraph)
ADTF Session File (.adtfsession)

in order to an ADTF Launcher.

The definition is made within a ADTF Project File (.adtfproject).

How can I launch it?

Let's launch an ADTF Session:

Open a console and go into the bin directory of ADTF and start the ADTF Configuration Editor by typing: adtf_configuration_editor.exe or open the executable using your favorite explorer.
Next open the example project by pressing ctrl + O, Open Project button in Home view or using the menu bar (File - Open project...)
Enter the path to the project file ./src/examples/projects/adtf_example_project/adtf_example_project.adtfproject and press open
Right click on Demo Playback Session in Sessions view and choose Launch with ADTF Control. Alternate you can just select the ADTF Session by double clicking it and using the menu bar (Launch - with ADTF Control) or pressing F6

The Sessions View of the ADTF Configuration Editor

Now you are in the Interactice Mode of ADTF Control, the ADTF Session is already launched and in the first runlevel (RL_System). Type rl running or rl 5 into the console for changig to runlevel to RL_Running

What do I see?

The ADTF Runtime / ADTF System is now in the state RL_Running. The loaded ADTF Session replays a previously recorded data stream. The ADTF XSystem, a mashup and handler of different widgets, displays various data contained in the stream and logging. Furthermore a player control enables the user to start, stop or seek the stream.

The XSystem is a modular view, maybe it won't appear exactly as you can see in the following picture. This means some widgets are maybe missing or the layout is different. Feel free to move widgets by holding their title bars to drag an drop it to different spaces, tab it to other widgets or whatever you like.

If some widgets are not visible, the widget visibility might be disabled. In this case, please use the main menu and choose the View tab, where you can show or hide specific views as well as all at once.

Note: a second possibility for missing widgets could be that the runlevel, in which the ADTF Service is defined, has not been reached already. Due to the fact that we have increased to RL_Running (the highest possible runlevel) in the previous section and no error has been occured, all Services and Filters must be available. But for other upcoming setups you might be involved and widgets or functionality is missing, please always check the current runlevel. For your convenience we provide a Runlevel tab where you can check and adapt the active Runlevel. For headless ADTF Sessions we recommend using ADTF Control with command rl to check the current Runlevel and de/increase it by extend the rl command by the required runlevel argument (number or name). You can also use the auto-completion inside the Interactice Mode of ADTF Control, see its linked guide for further information or help.

Finally you should see something like this:

Where to go next?

Have a look at the Best Practice Tooling to create a feeling which tools fulfills your request.