Purpose
The purpose of the puts command is to output values from an MCP controller to an external device or the the built-in terminal window. It can be used for communication with external hardware or for debugging an MCL script under development.
Format
The format of this puts command is as follow:
puts stream,[{modifier}Data0,…,{modifier}DataN]
The call to puts, as well as the stream and data arguments are all required, however the modifiers are optional. The stream parameter sets what port on the MCP the data is sent over. The modifiers are used to alter data values so that they display or are interpreted properly when sent to the output device. Below are two tables listing the stream and modifier options.
Stream Parameter
| Stream Value | Description |
| 0 | USB Virtual Communications Port |
| 1 | CAN (CANOpen or raw CAN) |
| 2 | TTL UART |
| 3 | RS232 UART |
Output Modifier Parameter
| Modifier Value | Description |
| DEC | Decimal |
| SDEC | Signed Decimal |
| HEX | Hexadecimal |
| IHEX | Indicated ($) Hexadecimal |
| REP | Repeat character n times |
| REAL | Floating point number with decimal point |
| STR | Write specified number of characters(can be used to copy arrays) |
Examples
temp var word
temp = 1234
temp = 1234
puts 0,[temp] ;sends the value 1234
temp var word
temp = 1234
temp = 1234
puts 0,[DEC temp] ;print the string “1234”
temp var word
temp = 0x12ab
temp = 0x12ab
puts 0,[HEX temp] ;prints the string “0x12ab”
temp var float
temp = 3.142
temp = 3.142
puts 0,[REAL temp] ; prints the string “3.142”