CODEWITHSUNDEEP
user-interfaceusbmicrocontroller
user1516127
user1516127

Reputation:

Good GUI library for program that connects to a microcontroller?

I'm trying to find a good GUI library I could use to create a program on the computer that connects to a microcontroller by USB. I've never done any GUI work before but I have done a lot of webpage design/tools. We are going to program the microcontroller with C but I don't think the GUI will need to be C. It needs to work on Windows, so probably compile on Windows too. I've also never done any USB transmission but I'm hoping to take it one step at a time.

Right now I'm looking at using GTK but it needs a bunch of other things to download with it. I'm also going to look at QT and someone else suggested making a Windows Forms Application. There's a lot of options out there so I'm having trouble figuring it out.

As for my requirement, it just needs to be a very simple GUI that has a few control buttons, a display area (info from microcontroller), a notification area (basically error messages go here), and maybe a graph. I've included a prototype GUI help give you an idea of what I'm doing.

Edit: It needs to run and compile on Windows. We don't really have a budget for it, free open source is preferred. I don't need something elaborate and fancy, I just want to get it done as fast as possible.

We are using a TTL-232R cable, UART interface. I know nothing about USB transmission, school has crushed me.

GUI prototype

Upvotes: 1

Views: 2170

Answers (4)

Ed King
Ed King

Reputation: 1863

From what you've specified, I would set base-camp up at Java.

  • Java in Eclipse to write the code.
  • Java Swing libraries (helped by the WindowBuilder plugin for Eclipse) to "draw" the GUI. It is very easy to create "Windowsy" GUIs using these.
  • JFreeGraph libaries to allow you to create graphs very easily, again from within Eclipse.
  • RXTX library for "virtual COM port" serial communication within Java (it doesn't sound like you're using proper USB, but just RS232 with a USB adapter).

Your created GUI would run on any machine with Java installed, which is not a big ask for the end user. You can even create a Windows executable/installer from the resulting Java files if you wanted it to be a (apparently) native Windows application.

And - bonus - all the tools mentioned are free as a bird.

Upvotes: 1

kkrambo
kkrambo

Reputation: 7057

I would use Microsoft Visual Studio to develop the GUI. They offer a free version called Express. I would use the C# language but MSVS supports other languages as well so just choose whichever you're most comfortable with. The best thing about MSVS is that there are millions of developers out there, which means that you will be able to search for and find lots of examples for how to use an RS-232 COM port or USB interface. I'm guessing that you'll be able to find GUI objects for graphing and other objects as well. (The basic stuff like buttons and edit boxes is all built into MSVS.)

BTW, you need to sort out whether you're using an RS-232 COM port or a USB interface. They're both serial interfaces but they're not the same thing. Either could work.

Upvotes: 0

avra
avra

Reputation: 3730

Lazarus CodeTyphon has cross platform native compiler with GUI working on every supported platform. It supports 8 OS-CPU host layers (Win32, Win64, Linux32, Linux64, FreeBSD32, FreeBSD64, Solaris32 and Solaris64), and 25+ OS-CPU target layers. It also incorporates many graphical widgets and SCADA like behaviour with PascalSCADA and other components. There are wrappers for LibUSB.

Upvotes: 0

ryyker
ryyker

Reputation: 23218

It will kind of depend on what kind of compiler, IDE, etc you will settle on. If you are going to windows cold, and
money is an issue, then open source is always a good thing to look at. I have enjoyed using eclipse and Code::Blocks IDEs. For C/C++, I use minGW. In terms of GUI plug-ins, HERE are some conversation with GUI recommendations specifically for use with Code::Blocks.
If money is not an issue, I have use National Instruments LabWindows/CVI full dev kit forever. It is one of the easiest ANSI C compilers/IDE I have ever used. It is only ANSI C, but has extensions to make using instrumentation easy. I have written a little USB stuff (not much), sockets, instrumentation, and many GUI apps.

Please comment what tools you currently prefer, I may have other suggestions.

Upvotes: 0

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