Newby allowed 1 dumb question-This is mine!

Hello Ross-Tech gurus. I'm truely honoured to be at the Holy shrine of the inventors of VCDS cables- really great product indeed!

I desperatley need your help. I'm trying to understand how your software works. I've read your manual and I think that I have now got my feeble brain around the arcane mysteries of "Long Coding" (the basics, at least). However, my problem is that I can't understand how the Adaptation function co-exists with Long Coding. With the aid of some knowledgable (and very kind) folk in a few Australia forums, I've learn't how to do VCDS tweaks and I've observed how the coding for the byte structure of the control modules changes (both in Hex value an its equivalent binary value) when the Long Coding helper is used. All logical and very good stuff! But, when I make changes to the channels in the module controllers using the Adaptation facility, the code string seems to remain unaltered. To quote a famous science teacher (down here in Australia) - Why is it so? If the answer to my question is - go and read the dummies guide to VCDS, please tell me where I find this tome.

Thankyou in advance

Much depends on the philosophy of whomever designed the control module. Bear in mind that the concepts of coding and adaptation go back 20+ years to when control modules had wimpy little 8-bit micro-controllers with only a few kilobytes of memory. Back then, coding started out as 7 bits and was expanded to 15, and adaptation consisted of theoretical maximum of 99 8-bit channels. So, now that we've got 32 or more bytes of coding and 255 16-bit adaptation channels, people writing the software for these modules have more flexibility. Should something configured by tweaking some bits in the coding, or is it configured by changing a value in an adaptation channel? And if the related options exist in both places, which should take precedence? Unfortunately, VW doesn't seem to have a clear policy with respect to these questions. We often wonder why they do stuff the way they do it ourselves.

-Uwe-

Uwe said:

Much depends on the philosophy of whomever designed the control module. Bear in mind that the concepts of coding and adaptation go back 20+ years to when control modules had wimpy little 8-bit micro-controllers with only a few kilobytes of memory. Back then, coding started out as 7 bits and was expanded to 15, and adaptation consisted of theoretical maximum of 99 8-bit channels. So, now that we've got 32 or more bytes of coding and 255 16-bit adaptation channels, people writing the software for these modules have more flexibility. Should something configured by tweaking some bits in the coding, or is it configured by changing a value in an adaptation channel? And if the related options exist in both places, which should take precedence? Unfortunately, VW doesn't seem to have a clear policy with respect to these questions. We often wonder why they do stuff the way they do it ourselves.


-Uwe-

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Wow, a reply from the "Benevolent Dictator" himself (interesting handle that you have chosen)! Thanks for responding so promptly. So, if I can paraphase, In essance, you are saying (I think) that channel changes via adaptation don't make changes to the coding that is shown on the VCDS screen that has the "Long Coding Helper" button. They are entirely separate bits-of-kit in the controller software (dependent on the design philosophy of the good Burghers in Germany). Hmm......... I might have to think more about what this means.

DV52 said:

Wow, a reply from the "Benevolent Dictator" himself (interesting handle that you have chosen)!

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Uwe chooses this handle because he lives by the principle. In essence he is saying he will consider input from others but in the end, it is his right to make the decisions and to choose the path we follow at Ross-Tech. Maybe that makes him a dictator. But maybe that also makes him the visionary?

His benevolence is not limited to his team, whom he treats with incredible generosity. No, he extends his benevolence to all, making a tool for VAG cars that is matched by few in performance but none in price. All users benefit from his benevolence!

No, I am not suck up! I respect the man with whom I have worked for 30 years give or take. His self imposed handle is a good description which we can all respect.

Glad to have you aboard DV52. Love the humor from down under!

Hey Bruce, aren't you supposed to be on vacation or something?

-Uwe-

Bruce said:

.

Glad to have you aboard DV52. Love the humor from down under!

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Bruce: Thanks for the welcome message. As for your comment about my perceived humour, my response is that any such perceptions pale into insignificance compared to the humour of the guys that work way up there at Ross-Tech. As evidence for my assertion I refer you to the Long Coding settings for Byte 10, Bit 0, of the passenger door controller for the mkVII Golf (if I had permission to post attachments, I would include a pic here) .

The Long Coding Helper for this memory loction says that my car has a "Seat Ejection System Installed" for the passenger side controller. What a "corker" suggestion (to use an Australian venacular)!

Now I'm pretty sure that my car doesn't have one of these. The reason that I say this is that I wasn't charged by my dealer a cost akin to the annual budget of a small African country for this option (which the normal charging practice for VW Australia). Of course I'm assuming that Uwe's negotiating skills aren't good enough to have pursued "Q-Branch" to leave Her Majesty's Service and come to work for Ross-Tech. But I could be wrong!

Anyhow, enough of such frivolity. Time for me to go and try to figure out the Adaptation versus Coding conundrum!

PS: Whose palms do I need to cross with silver (and how much silver is required) to get attachment posting permission?

I see no reason to allow attachments in this forum. What is it you would like to use them for?

-Uwe-

Uwe said:

I see no reason to allow attachments in this forum. What is it you would like to use them for?

-Uwe-

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So we can add txt file attachments so only registered users can download useful software, this has been talked about before.

DV52 said:

(if I had permission to post attachments, I would include a pic here) .

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Have a look at How to post pictures

Keithuk said:

So we can add txt file attachments

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Attachments on forums only serve to:
- increase server storage requirements
- increase network bandwidth versus re-direction
- the propagation of viruses
- generate potential legal issues surrounding copyright, re-distribution, etc

As a moderator of several forums and admin of one, I thoroughly despise the idea of attachments.
As someone who regularly reads and assists with Autoscan diagnosis, those that show up as attachments instead of inline on other forums go to the bottom of my list.

Everyone is free to start and run their own forums to their choosing.

Uwe said:

I see no reason to allow attachments in this forum. What is it you would like to use them for?

-Uwe-

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Uwe: Hmmm..... I'm not off to a good start on this forum!!

Please be assured that my innocent (and I guess, 2nd dumb) request was not intended to question the established practices of this forum. When I first tried to enter this forum I got the following messages at the bottom of the screen:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

I then did stuff (registered) and the messages changed to (my bolding):
You may post new threads
You may post replies
You may not post attachments
You may edit your posts

Because the "attachment prohibition" was simply part of the same list, I read the only remaining restriction as an option that needed further permission (from an administrator, I had assumed). Again, because of the placement of the attachment prohibition in the same list as the other options that could be changed by the moderator, I had not understood that this restriction is in fact a fundamental policy matter. I'ts not clear to me why it has been assumed (uncharitably, I think) that a newby would question the policy protocals of this forum in his fledgling posts on the new user thread. I can assure the august members of this forum that my ego is not so large that I would ever consider doing battle with the "Benevolent Dictator" of the Ross-Tech site).

jakematic said:

Have a look at How to post pictures

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Jakematic: Thanks for your sage suggestion. This is exactly what I needed to know. I'll try to rise up from the bottom of your list albeit it might take some time!

DV52 -- not a problem. Sometimes people mis-read each other in places like this.

Since attachments are technically possible, there are indeed users here can post attachments. Without going digging through the user classes that we set up, my guess is that RT Employees (and higher) can, and anyone with lesser access than that cannot. That doesn't mean it's a good idea, or that anyone is likely do so. Anyway, I suppose we could dig into the forum software and make the "You may not post attachments" status line go away entirely, but honestly this is not going to get much priority.

Personally, I see no good reason to host files within a forum. Host 'em somewhere else and post a link. I do see plenty of reasons why I'd rather not have users storing data here.

As for Keith's request that to post a file that only registered users can download, there may be a valid case for that, but I'd have to root around in the user classes first to make sure that works as intended. People do not have to be registered VCDS users to be registered users on this forum. Anyone can register for the forum. We do manual moderation but approve everyone who's not an obvious spam-bot; the question then is not whether they are a registered user on the forum, but whether they are a "New User" or a "Verified VCDS User" or (in very rare cases) something else (like Pirate, VCDS Distributor, etc, etc.).

-Uwe-

Uwe said:

DV52 -- not a problem. Sometimes people mis-read each other in places like this.

-Uwe-

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Uwe- OK, thanks for the clarification. But you will understand that I might need a little time to heal before I participate in any kind of hagiography in describing the "Benevolent Dictator" (only kidding)!

LOL! I don't know what caused Bruce to engage in that to begin with; he's on vacation this week, maybe he'd been drinking or something?

-Uwe-

Uwe said:

LOL! I don't know what caused Bruce to engage in that to begin with; he's on vacation this week, maybe he'd been drinking or something?

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Drinking? Moi? I was not at a Polish wedding! That was last May.

Actually, I wrote what I believe and I wrote it before I left town! (before all the frivolity started)

Hi Bruce,

I hope you are doing well....

About the Polish wedding..... that was more than a year ago... and it was really nice to be there... ;-)

Steve

stevecrk said:

Hi Bruce,

I hope you are doing well....

About the Polish wedding..... that was more than a year ago... and it was really nice to be there... ;-)

Steve

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Hi Steve,

I am doing well. And you and Dara? All well in Budapest?

Yes, we did have great trip together. Seems married life keeps my little brother from talking with me these days.... that and the baby! It is a busy time for Adam. We'll get caught up in Frankfurt in September. Not long now!