"StampDock" graphical/storage/GUI STAMP software for Windows/Mac/Linux
APSpijkerman
Posts: 32
"Stamp dock" Windows/Mac/Linux software.
http://apsdev.com/stampdock/
I have been working on (free) software that provides services to basic stamps
through the serial connection you use to program it.
Works on BASIC Stamps, Javelin Stamps and microcontrollers.
The main features are:
-Provides a big full color graphical display, which can be saved to disk as picture on command.
-Provides an editable GUI for "BASIC Stamps" with buttons, indicators, regulators, meters etc etc.
-Provides an ANSI (color) text window for debug text output.
-Can use the harddisk of a computer to store or load data.
-Provides a 64KB ramdisk.
-Has a system so a "BASIC Stamp" can detect if it is connected (docked) to a PC to store collected data.
-Can play MP3 and video files or streams in the window started from the "BASIC Stamp".
-Can generate synthesized voice sound and beep sounds.
-Can send text messages to a log file with time and date.
-Provides a Real time clock.
-Runs on MS Windows, Apple Macintosh (via USB) and Linux machines.
-Remembers the last used serial port and speed from a previous run.
It emulates a color graphics screen, so you dont need a graphical LCD connected
to the stamp to make graphs of measured values, it can even draw dots in
color so you can show all kinds of "scans".
You can even save the graphics screen to the harddisk of the PC as IFF file.
It is even possible for the software to report mouse clicks to the stamp, so you can create a GUI.
But what is even more practical is that you can edit the GUI resource file and make a GUI
for basic stamp with buttons, switches, RGB LEDs, potmeters, analogue meters etc etc.
The values of these GUI elements can be set by the basic stamp, but most can also be
set .. so there are all kinds of analogue indicators.
Also there are other services like storing data on the harddisk of the
PC (and even reading data from harddisk) . making sound (beeps) or
retreiving the time from the PC.
There is also a command to check if the stamp is connected (docked) to a
PC so the stamp knows it can save its collected data on the harddisk of
the PC.
It also has a "normal" debug text window, with an extra option that you
can use ANSI color, and it has a button in the GUI to reset the basic stamp
by setting the DTR line for a 1/50th of a second.
So using software like this you save I/O pins because you dont need pins
for a display, data storage or sound.
Also the GUI of the software is configurable, you can remove bits .. make
the graphics section bigger or even make it full screen.
The software is in an early stage but works, so i wonder if there
are some people willing to test it and provide feedback on the current
options available and what they are missing in functionality.
I've made a fully functional version which you can download from my website at:
http://apsdev.com/stampdock/
Greetings.
Arend-Paul Spijkerman , ap@apsdev.com , www.apsdev.com
http://apsdev.com/stampdock/
I have been working on (free) software that provides services to basic stamps
through the serial connection you use to program it.
Works on BASIC Stamps, Javelin Stamps and microcontrollers.
The main features are:
-Provides a big full color graphical display, which can be saved to disk as picture on command.
-Provides an editable GUI for "BASIC Stamps" with buttons, indicators, regulators, meters etc etc.
-Provides an ANSI (color) text window for debug text output.
-Can use the harddisk of a computer to store or load data.
-Provides a 64KB ramdisk.
-Has a system so a "BASIC Stamp" can detect if it is connected (docked) to a PC to store collected data.
-Can play MP3 and video files or streams in the window started from the "BASIC Stamp".
-Can generate synthesized voice sound and beep sounds.
-Can send text messages to a log file with time and date.
-Provides a Real time clock.
-Runs on MS Windows, Apple Macintosh (via USB) and Linux machines.
-Remembers the last used serial port and speed from a previous run.
It emulates a color graphics screen, so you dont need a graphical LCD connected
to the stamp to make graphs of measured values, it can even draw dots in
color so you can show all kinds of "scans".
You can even save the graphics screen to the harddisk of the PC as IFF file.
It is even possible for the software to report mouse clicks to the stamp, so you can create a GUI.
But what is even more practical is that you can edit the GUI resource file and make a GUI
for basic stamp with buttons, switches, RGB LEDs, potmeters, analogue meters etc etc.
The values of these GUI elements can be set by the basic stamp, but most can also be
set .. so there are all kinds of analogue indicators.
Also there are other services like storing data on the harddisk of the
PC (and even reading data from harddisk) . making sound (beeps) or
retreiving the time from the PC.
There is also a command to check if the stamp is connected (docked) to a
PC so the stamp knows it can save its collected data on the harddisk of
the PC.
It also has a "normal" debug text window, with an extra option that you
can use ANSI color, and it has a button in the GUI to reset the basic stamp
by setting the DTR line for a 1/50th of a second.
So using software like this you save I/O pins because you dont need pins
for a display, data storage or sound.
Also the GUI of the software is configurable, you can remove bits .. make
the graphics section bigger or even make it full screen.
The software is in an early stage but works, so i wonder if there
are some people willing to test it and provide feedback on the current
options available and what they are missing in functionality.
I've made a fully functional version which you can download from my website at:
http://apsdev.com/stampdock/
Greetings.
Arend-Paul Spijkerman , ap@apsdev.com , www.apsdev.com
Comments
Stamp sends the number "123" to the terminal, terminal recognizes it and, for example, launches Internet Explorer; or sends command "ALT+D" to windows, decreases system volume, or shuts off computer. Stuff like that. Thanks!
Digitized voice (set) !nText;
start mp3/video (set) !Vfile.mp3;
stop mp3/video (set) !V;
Do I need quick time? Some super-setup? I'm using Vista... The help file is pretty vague. Please, help!
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·"If you build it, they will come."
Are you the same person who send me Email ?
In that case i think the video problem was solved.
The problem was that "!Vfile.mpg;" plays a video file that is in the stampdock directory.
You can make a directory called "media" in the stampdock directory and then play the video with "!Vmedia\file.mpg;"
or probably even specify a complete path: "!Vc:\media\file.mpg;"
The (Set) in the document only means that the video command gives a command to the software and does not return data.
Making a video seems a good idea !
I did not think about that, i setup a table and a camera and
will make some "demo" projects.
In the mean time, i made a newer version.
There was a small bug in the previous StampDock version .. as time in mode 1 gave
the same result as time in mode 0.
It's fixed in the last version you can download at http://apsdev.com/stampdock/
Also it has some nice new features.
Like it now has serial receive and transmit indicators.
It has round knobs you can turn around in the GUI and use as input and output.
You can now have multiple graphics objects, and there are more commands to do
operations on a whole graphics object, like scroll in any direction, flip it around its
axis, invert it .. make it lighter or darker etc.
Also you can have multiple video objects, and they have more options.
Now you can also load pictures like JPG, PNG, GIF etc in the video object,
they will be scaled to the size of the video object and there are 8 different fade
methods so the previous picture will fade into the next.
You can now send data in binary mode to the stamp.
And if commands require large pieces of text, you can replace them by a number
and put the text in a "phrasebook" file on the host system.
So you can fit more code in the basic stamp memory.