Abstract: A software-based controller system implemented on a generic computer hardware platform for numerically controlling a machine tool. The software-based controller system includes a servo mechanism associated with the numerically controlled system, a real-time module for performing numeric control operations through the use of the servo mechanism, a p-code runtime engine receptive of interpreted program instructions for performing computational operations independent from the control of the servo mechanism, and a messager module communicating with the real-time module and the runtime engine to implement a pointer architecture that facilitates communication between the real-time module and the runtime engine. The messager module defines a common location in a shared memory that is accessible to the real-time module, runtime engine, and messager module.

Abstract: A software-based controller implemented on a generic computer hardware platform for dynamically allocating and controlling multiple job streams for anumerically controlling a machine tool. The software-based controller includes a first module for performing a set of first operations corresponding to a first job stream, a second module for performing a set of second operations corresponding to said first job stream, and a third module for performing a set of third operations corresponding to a second job stream. Each of the first, second and third modules are collectively defining a pointer architecture that includes a vertical data system to facilitate communication between operations in the same job stream and a horizontal data system to facilitate communication between operations in different job streams.