open-source usb oscilloscope software
Nicolas BONNAND
Posts: 2
Dear Parallax support,
Do you contemplate making your usb oscilloscope software open -source ?
It would be a winner-winner strategy both for Parallax and users.
- The open source community would help you port your software on Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS, etc ...
- Your software would be enhanced with features you might have never dreamed of....
(plugins, perl scripts, etc ...)
Regards
Nicolas BONNAND
Do you contemplate making your usb oscilloscope software open -source ?
It would be a winner-winner strategy both for Parallax and users.
- The open source community would help you port your software on Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS, etc ...
- Your software would be enhanced with features you might have never dreamed of....
(plugins, perl scripts, etc ...)
Regards
Nicolas BONNAND
Comments
Documentation. It has no design documentation. 80 hours of work minimum. We will be asked many questions that are not easily answered without documentation.
Do you think the community would still be interested in it without documentation? If so, I think we can open-source it.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
1) Even without documentation, source code is still a great thing !
Note that strictly speaking, the only useful documentation needed would be:
How does the raw communication between Parallax oscilloscope and Parallax pc software works ?
Some hints ?
How to compile the source code ?
Could you provide makefiles and an INSTALL text file basically describing how to compile the whole thing ?
The documentation about the way the GUI is implemented is not necessary.
2) You would have to choose one of the popular open-source licence to make parallax code public
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_licence
3) You would have to choose a site to host the source code.
for example http://sourceforge.net/index.php
4) As far as questions are concerned, it's perfectly understandable that you don't want to expose your engineers to a huge volume of help calls.
You could post a warning text along with the source code clearly declaring source code is provided "as is" and will not be supported by Parallax, etc, etc ....
Regards
Nicolas
I think if you just documented the communication protocol that would be enough to let user create their own custom software.
If I remember right, it shows up as a COM port. So it shouldn't be too hard to code if you knew the protocol.
I for one would like to write a custom app or two for the o-scope.
Bean.
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www.iElectronicDesigns.com
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I'll tell you the straight-up facts about this software.
Before I give you the whole story, I'll tell you that an unverified document explaining the protocol is available. Just ask for it by e-mail to kgracey@parallax.com. Since the firmware has not changed I'm pretty certain this protocol is accurate.
The engineer who designed the software (Doug) no longer works for Parallax. In fact, the most recent software version he designed was done under contract with our company. He's a busy engineer, and it was really tough just to get the latest software released. In fact he and I were supposed to be flying R/C airplanes together today, but we were both so busy we had to cancel the appointment.
Therefore, I can provide the protocol as written, but you won't be able to expect more from us in this regard. I don't know if it is entirely accurate. However, there will be a new USB Oscilloscope Help File which we are producing internally. This is for users, not developers.
Pleased to help the best I can.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
I will not post the spec on that site, but am working on a document that is based on the information in the spec that I will post.
Cheers,
Wes
could you please post in sf the scripts you created so far?
thanks
--Wes