Visualization

Parallel processes are visualized within the Tool Flow panel The Tool Flow panel is part of the graphical user interface of the MERLIC Creator. It visualizes all tools of the current MERLIC Vision App. It can be used to arrange the tools and to check the current states of their connections..

The following example shows two tool flows A Tool Flow is a group of tools that are connected. The connection between the tools may consist of data connections, trigger connections, or a combination of both. It represents the steps of your MERLIC Vision App and visualizes the dependencies between tools. with parallelization. The tool flows are equivalent with regard to their execution order, although the tool T₂ is arranged in different rows. Since both tools T₁ and T₂ are connected to the acquisition tool A, they are parallel concerning their connections and thus start their execution at the same time.

The horizontal arrangement of tools has no influence on the execution order, since the connections determine the data flow. The direction of the data flow is represented by the arrow direction. The tools are executed from top to bottom as visualized by the tool flow. The data are always transferred top down because the results of a tool can only be connected to the tool parameters of subsequent tools. It is not possible to create a connection from a tool result to a parameter of a previous tool or to a tool in the same row in the Tool Flow panel. In the example above the tool T₃ receives its input data in both tool flows from the tool T₁.