Resource Names

You typically name TestStand locks after the resources the locks protect, such as DMM1 or DC Power Supply. When the Resource Usage Profiler displays information about a resource, such as the name of the resource, the profiler is actually describing the lock that protects the resource.

If you create a lock or another type of synchronization object with an empty name, TestStand names the object for you, such as Unnamed Synchronization Object - <N>. TestStand also automatically selects a resource name in the following cases:

  • When you use the Use Lock to Allow Only One Thread at a Time to Execute the Step option on the Synchronization panel of the Properties tab of the Step Settings pane and not specifying an existing lock
  • When you use the Batch Synchronization option on the Synchronization panel of the Properties tab of the Step Settings pane
  • When you use a Wait step
  • When you use a Use Auto Scheduled Resource step

In these cases, TestStand creates a resource name by combining the unique ID of the step with the run-time ID of the file that contains the step. However, for readability, the profiler window shows the name of the step as the resource name. If the step name is not a unique resource name, the profiler appends the unique resource name that TestStand creates to the step name. For Use Auto Scheduled Resource steps that do not have unique names, the profiler first attempts to make the step name unique by appending a description of the locks the step acquires.