# `ads`
[](https://github.com/birkenfeld/ads-rs)
[](https://crates.io/crates/ads)
[](https://docs.rs/ads)
This crate allows to connect to [Beckhoff](https://beckhoff.com) TwinCAT devices
and other servers speaking the ADS (Automation Device Specification) protocol.
## Installation
Use with Cargo as usual, no system dependencies are required.
```toml
[dependencies]
ads = "0.1"
```
### Rust version
Minimum supported Rust version is 1.48.0.
## Usage
A simple example:
```rust
fn main() -> ads::Result<()> {
// Open a connection to an ADS device identified by hostname/IP and port.
// For TwinCAT devices, a route must be set to allow the client to connect.
// The source AMS address is automatically generated from the local IP,
// but can be explicitly specified as the third argument.
let client = ads::Client::new(("plc", ads::PORT), ads::Timeouts::none(), None)?;
// Specify the target ADS device to talk to, by NetID and AMS port.
// Port 851 usually refers to the first PLC instance.
let device = client.device(ads::AmsAddr::new([5, 32, 116, 5, 1, 1].into(), 851));
// Ensure that the PLC instance is running.
assert!(device.get_state()?.0 == ads::AdsState::Run);
// Request a handle to a named symbol in the PLC instance.
let handle = Handle::new(device, "MY_SYMBOL")?;
// Read data in form of an u32 from the handle.
let mut data = [0; 4];
handle.read(&mut data)?;
println!("MY_SYMBOL value is {}", u32::from_le_bytes(data));
// Connection will be closed when the client is dropped.
Ok(())
}
```
## Features
All ADS requests are implemented.
Further features include support for receiving notifications from a channel,
file access via ADS, and communication via UDP to identify an ADS system and set
routes automatically.
## Examples
A utility called `adstool` is found under `examples/`, very similar to the one
provided by [the C++ library](https://github.com/Beckhoff/ADS).