Warning

The program is still under development, it is not yet suitable for its task.

Modshell

Command-driven scriptable Modbus utility

Copyright (C) 2023-2024 Pozsár Zsolt pozsarzs@gmail.com

ModShell is a utility built around a command interpreter, which with the connected peripherals communicates via various ports using the Modbus protocol.

features
architecture	amd64, armhf, i386, x86_64
operation system	DOS, FreeBSD, Linux, Windows
version	v0.1
language	en, hu
licence	EUPL v1.2
user interface	CLI, TUI and GUI
running modes	command line, full-screen or interpreter
local Modbus registers	2x10000 boolean and 2x10000 word type
variables	max. 128 variables or constants (stored as string)
built-in commands	102 commands in 10 categories
load from file	registers, script, settings
save to file	command history, console traffic, registers, communication settings, user log with timestamp
auto save to file	general settings and console traffic
export to file	history (TXT), registers (CSV, INI, XML)
import to file	registers (INI, XML)
configurable devices	max. 8 settings, serial and ethernet port
configurable protocols	max. 8 settings, ASCII, RTU or TCP
configurable connections	max. 8 settings by combining the previous two
raw serial communication	read/write serial port and mini serial console with char/hex echo
Modbus communication	read and write remote device and copy between devices
	internal server for remote access to own registers
	gateway to access devices using other ports or protocols
script size	max. 1024 line
example scripts	7 scripts (shellscript and batch file versions)
script syntax plugins	for MCEdit, Micro and Nano

Releases

v0.1-alpha3:
The next release with the following changes:
New source code directory structure, bug fixes, 8 new commands in system category (total: 102), GUI (FreeBSD, Linux and Windows), script syntax highlighting file for MCEdit and Nano and windows size and position saving and restoring.

v0.1-alpha2:
The 2nd release with the following changes: Bug fixes, Modbus/ASCII and Modbus/RTU communication, handling of constants, three predefined constants and 28 new commands (total: 94) and script syntax highlighting file for Micro.

v0.1-alpha1:
This test release is not yet suitable for work, although it is functional, but it can only communicate via Modbus/ASCII. The purpose of this release is to test the program's construction, operation, packaging, and package installation in all supported environments. In addition, the documentation and other files are checked for possible typos and errors.

Planned features

...that either will or won't.

in v0.1-beta1:

• Modbus/TCP communication (Unix-like OS and Windows versions);
• chkdevlockfile/rmdevlockfile commands (only *nix versions);
• compressed HTML (CHM) help in addition to the existing online Wiki (only XModShell);
• device discovery script;
• syntax highlighting file for Vim/Neovim;
• syntax highlighting file for Scite.

in v0.1-beta2:

• Modbus/TCP communication on DOS (DOS version);
• support for multi-dimensional arrays;
• graphical monitoring the change of values over time (only XModShell).

in v0.1-beta3:

• implementation of additional Modbus functions.

1. Screenshots

ModShell

Normal command line

Fullscreen command line

Run example script on bash with ModShell interpreter

XModShell

Dump input registers

Mini serial console

Script editor

Variable monitor

2. Used external libraries

• Convert - Bin/Oct/Dec/Hex number converter
  Unit for Turbo Pascal v3.0
  Public Domain, Copyright (C) 1993 Tom Wellige
• Ararat Synapse Release 40 ¹
  TCP/IP and serial library for FreePascal
  Modified BSD style license, Copyright (C) 1999-2012 Lukas Gebauer
• ProtCOM v0.1 Protected mode serial port handler for DOS ²
  Unit for FreePascal
  Creative Common Zero Universal v1.0, Copyright (C) 2024 Pozsar Zsolt

3. About

This is a utility that can be used on several operating systems, which can communicate with connected equipment using Modbus/ASCII, Modbus/RTU and Modbus/TCP protocols ³. The program can - even automatically - read, write or copy data from one device to another (e.g. transferring settings). When copying, the source and destination register areas can be different.

The ModShell program has a traditional (CLI) or full-screen (TUI) command-line interface and is also suitable for running pre-created scripts independently (as a command interpreter). The program provides help on the commands that can be used, and offers possible values when the parameters are entered incorrectly. The issued commands are placed in history, which can be browsed with the up/down arrow keys.

The XModShell program has a graphical interface (GUI), which helps to perform several operations with dialog windows, but the original command line input remained available for them (e.g. file selection, settings, etc.) ⁴.

Operating principle

It must be defined the I/O devices, then the protocols and the connections. There can be eight of each. The data traffic takes place between the preset connections. In all cases, the data is sent to or read from the internal buffer. The size of the buffer is suitable for storing 2*9999 logical and word values of the same size. One hundred and twenty-eight variables or constant can be created in the program, to which we can assign a value of any type (eg.: string, boolean or integer register value, real number, etc.) Variables can be used to perform logical and arithmetical operations, and can be used to pass values to commands.

Projects

In the program, you can create projects for easier management of settings and data. The name of the current project is shown in the prompt. The project directory will be created in the program directory on DOS, and in the ModShell directory in the user's home directory on all other systems. If only filename is specified during file operations (without path), this directory will be the source/destination directory.

File operations

The command line history can be exported to a text file and provides it with the appropriate 'shebang' for the installation method and operating system. You can easily create a script from this raw file.

Device, protocol and connection settings can be saved and loaded in their own format. During saving, three typed files are created, with the following extensions: DDT, PDT, CDT.

All register values can be saved and loaded in their own format. During saving, two typed files are created, with the following extensions: BDT, IDT.

One or more same type registers can be exported to file. During saving, one text file is created, with CSV, INI or XML extension. The program can only import from INI and XML format files.

We can also create time-stamped log entries with the program and or script.

On exit, the command line history, echo mode and colors are preserved.

The program also has basic file and directory management commands.

Script operations

The script on the disc can be loaded into the already running program and started manually.

The loaded script can be edited with a line editor, saved to disk or deleted from the buffer. The graphical version has a simple editor window with syntax highlighting instead of the line editor.

Variables and constants defined before running the script will be deleted. It is also possible to observe the values of up to four variables during runtime and to keep the final values​of constants and variables created during runtime.

Serial connection

The program also provides the possibility to send and receive raw data via a serial port, and also includes a very simple serial console. The display of sent and received data can be turned off or raw text and hexadecimal viewing can be selected.

Already implemented commands:

command	category	hotkey	description
add	arithmetic		addition
avg	arithmetic		average calculation
conv	arithmetic	ALT-C	convert numbers between BIN, DEC, HEX and OCT format
cos	arithmetic		cosine function
cotan	arithmetic		cotangent function
dec	arithmetic		decrement integer
div	arithmetic		division
exp	arithmetic		natural exponential
idiv	arithmetic		integer division
imod	arithmetic		modulus division
inc	arithmetic		increment integer
inrange	arithmetic		check the value is in the range
ln	arithmetic		natural logarithm
mul	arithmetic		multiplication
mulinv	arithmetic		multiplicative inverse
odd	arithmetic		odd or event
pow	arithmetic		exponentiation
pow2	arithmetic		exponentiation of two
prop	arithmetic		propotional value calculation (with zero and span)
rnd	arithmetic		create random integer
round	arithmetic		round real number
sin	arithmetic		sine function
sqr	arithmetic		square
sqrt	arithmetic		square root
sub	arithmetic		substraction
tan	arithmetic		tangent function
copyreg	communication		copy one or more remote registers between two connections
mbgw	communication		start internal Modbus gateway
mbsrv	communication		start internal Modbus slave/server
readreg	communication	ALT-R	read one or more remote registers
sercons	communication	F7	serial console
serread	communication		read a string from serial device
serwrite	communication		write a string from serial device
writereg	communication	ALT-W	write data to one or more remote registers
get	configuration	ALT-G	get device, protocol, connection, project name and connection timeout
reset	configuration	ALT-T	reset device, protocol or connection or reset project name
set	configuration	ALT-S	set device, protocol, connection, project name and connection timeout
applog	file		append a record to log file (LOG)
exphis	file		export command line history to file (TXT)
expreg	file	ALT-E	export one or more registers to file (CSV, INI, XML)
impreg	file	ALT-I	import one or more registers from file (INI, XML)
loadcfg	file	F3	load settings of device, protocol and connection (?DT)
loadreg	file	F5	load all buffer registers from typed file (?DT)
savecfg	file	F2	save settings of device, protocol and connection (?DT)
savereg	file	F4	save all registers to typed file (?DT)
ascii	general		show ASCII table
beep	general		make a beep with internal speaker
cls	general	F8	clear screen
color	general		set colors
const	general		show all constant with theirs value or define a new one
cron	general		loaded script scheduled execution
date	general		show system date and time
echo	general	F9	enable/hexadecimal/disable local echo for serial connections
exit	general	F10	exit
goto	general		jump to specified label
for	general		loop iteration
help	general	F1	show description or usage of the commands
if	general		selection statement
label	general		define label (for goto command)
pause	general		waits for a keystroke or specified time
print	general	ALT-P	print message, value of the variable and register
var	general		show all variable with theirs value or define a new one
varmon	general	ALT-M	monitoring the value of variables
ver	general		show version and build information of this program
and	logic		AND logical operations
bit	logic		value of the specified bit
not	logic		NOT logical operations
or	logic		OR logical operations
roll	logic		roll bit of integer to left
rolr	logic		roll bit of integer to right
shl	logic		bit shift to left
shr	logic		bit shift to right
xor	logic		XOR logical operations
dump	register	F6	dump all registers in binary/hexadecimal format to a table
let	register	ALT-L	set value of a variable or register
edit	script		edit loaded script with line editor
erasescr	script		erase script from buffer
list	script	F11	list loaded script
loadscr	script		load ModShell scriptfile from disc
run	script	F12	run loaded script
savescr	script		save loaded script to disc
chr	string		convert byte to char
concat	string		concatenate strings
length	string		length of string
lowcase	string		conversion to lowercase
mkcrc	string		make CRC value
mklrc	string		make LRC value
ord	string		convert char to byte
strdel	string		delete specified element(s) of the string
strfind	string		find specified element in the string
strins	string		insert element into string
stritem	string		specified element of the string
strrepl	string		replace element in the string
upcase	string		conversion to uppercase
cd	system		change actual directory
copy	system		copy file
dir	system		list directory content
del	system		remove file
md	system		make directory
ren	system		rename file
rd	system		remove directory
type	system		type file

(Commands with function keys (F?) are executed immediately, modifier keys (ALT-?) only make typing easier.)

Predefined constants

name	value
$?	exit value of the commands
$B1	1200 (baud)
$B2	2400 (baud)
$B4	4800 (baud)
$B9	9600 (baud)
$B19	19200 (baud)
$B38	38400 (baud)
$B57	57600 (baud)
$B115	115200 (baud
$EULER	value of e (2.7182818284590452354)
$HOME	user's home directory
$PI	value of Pi (3.1415926535897932385)
$PRJDIR	directory of the actual project
$PRJNAME	name of the actual project

Documentation and Help

Modshell and XModShell has a minimal built-in help which you can access by typing help. Additionally, you can view the manual page from *nix shell (man modshell) or modshell.txt on other systems.

In the graphical version, the Online Wiki can be opened directly from the 'Help' menu.

Contributing

If you find any bugs, please report them! I am also happy to accept pull requests from anyone. You can use the GitHub issue tracker to report bugs, ask questions, or suggest new features.

Links

• Homepage
• GitHub repository
• Project webpage on Github
• Online manual on Github

Precompiled binaries and installer packages for several OS and architecture

Tip

The download is done via HTTP. Some browsers are not happy with this and may block it.

name	version	OS	arch.	type	note
source package	latest			zip	from Github
source package	v0.1-alpha2			tar.gz
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	DOS	i386	exe	SFX
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	DOS	i386	zip
binary package with source code	v0.1-alpha2	FreeDOS	i386	zip
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	Linux	i386	bin	SFX
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	Linux	amd64	bin	SFX
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	Linux	armhf	bin	SFX
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	Linux	i386	zip
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	Linux	amd64	zip
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	Linux	armhf	zip
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	Debian GNU/Linux	i386	deb
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	Debian GNU/Linux	amd64	deb
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	Raspberry Pi OS	armhf	deb
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	OpenSuSE	i386	rpm
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	OpenSuSE	amd64	rpm
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	Slackware	i386	txz
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	Slackware	amd64	txz
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	FreeBSD	i386	bin	SFX
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	FreeBSD	amd64	bin	SFX
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	FreeBSD	i386	zip
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	FreeBSD	amd64	zip
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	FreeBSD	i386	pkg
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	FreeBSD	amd64	pkg
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	Windows	i386	zip
binary package	v0.1-alpha2	Windows	x86_64	zip
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	Windows	i386	exe
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	Windows	x86_64	exe
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	Windows	i386	msi
installer package	v0.1-alpha2	Windows	x86_64	msi

Footnotes

1. Synapse Github repository ↩

2. ProtCOM Github repository ↩

3. Modbus ↩

4. Wiki - Differents between CUI and GUI version ↩