K8055 tutorial?

Kits PC Related Projects
1

made a previous post

refined my original thoughts

has anyone ever made a tutorial on how to use the K8055 from basics up to more advanced thoughts???

ie writng basic programmes in dev C++ and then getting the programme to run and use the k8055

by the the looks of it velleman never has.

at the moment it all seems just a mish mash of ideas and thoughts with information that has no meaningful relevance or link. looking around the net this seems a common problem, you either know something or you know nothing.

2

Did you read the instructions for the dll that they linked to in the other post?

It shows you how yo import the dll in c++ and some examples on using the functions.

But what you are tasking here is that you would like them to teach you how to write programs?
I am not a super coder myself, but I only took about 2 evenings on Google to learn enough about C# to be able to make small programs. Then a few hours on top of that to learn how to import the dll, and then use it .

3

yes but it didn’t really explain anything

(the college course i took on something called electronic control c programming was good but eventhough we did programming the teachers didn’t have a clue about how that programming actually connected to the hardware, we did however have a method to use even though we didn’t know exactly how it worked.

for example i would write a programme as long as your arm and then go through a few steps including throwing a disc with the programme on it and some other process would take over and the programme would start controlling the arm.)

for the moment i’ll peservere with trying to understand what i need to know

yes i saw where the main programme started (as suggested in the other post) but that on its own as a commnet isn’t much help

i need do this, do that initially to help me on my way

something like

ok download dev c++ (i assume)
ok use this example of a c++ programme
copy this to the dev c++ programme
this programme does this,now this on its own is no good because of this ansd because of that, so you need to do this and do that to make the programme start communicating with the ioboard.

now, that you’ve done this and done that run the programme and you should see this and see that

at the moments i’m getting fragments of useful information that don’t really add up to much because i don’t know much (but am willing to take any advice) and by the looks of it nothing like this has ever been written.

if anyone can tell me what i need to do step by step i’d be happy!

from looking through the forums the step by step learning hasn’t been written up.

thanks

4

looks as if a tutorial was never made, velleman just assumed that there were enough people who already knew the subject .

you’d think from a business point of view that if you created a tutorial of how to use the thing that more and more people would buy it - it stands to reason that if you don’t show people how to use something they won’t buy it.

the local electronics shop down the road (australia wide) sells this thing but don’t understand anything about it which is a problem. i’ll fire them off an email and ask them if they know of any tutorials for this thing.

5

hmm, i still don’t see the problem… :neutral_face: for me this card is something where velleman provides some functioning hardware, and it is then up to the user to figure out how to program it.

A tutorial for what? For making a program in C++? what about C#? Or some of the other languages? I don’t think it would be possible to keep the price for the board this low, and at the same time provide multiple tutorials, so all programmers could see how to make the program in their programming language.

Not sure if the users buying this item are people who look for a ready-to-rock solution, I got it myself to learn a bit more about electronics and how to make programs using it.

Not many shops know everything about they are selling, many shops here got +100.000 items, and it would be an impossible task to know everything about anything. But google is your friend, there might not be something exactly what you look for, but after the searching I did, I found examples doing something with external files, and calling functions in them, shouldn’t it just be to change that to the files for the k8055?

Even found more stuff here google.com/codesearch?q=k805 … earch+Code

6

i’ve been having more thoughts on this subject

thoughts are going to sound scary and crazy

you provide the velleman kit with a disc that gives you all of the software to run it…

you have a software package that maybe someone else has created, this software package explains how the thing works andwhat you need to do to make the thing work.

you might have some tutorial demo programmes that get you off on the right foot, you run those programmes first after following some instructions.

you can then modify those programmes in a suggested way and then use the software package to do its stuff to help you on the way (i have been lookign at dlls and seen that some programmes have dll wizards for example)

yes i know it sounds crazy because i guess you know the subject already but consider this, if no instructions were given on anything nothing would work. where i live, street signage isn’t valued - after all if you live in the area why would you need street signage -you don’t need it, the problem of where things are only exists when you travel out of your area and then you’re stuck. you’ve got gps of course but this might help you if the gps doesn’t know a street because it was never told of it (and the street sign has been removed)

who knows? if the software to run the thing is provided to run the thing and show the user how they need to do to use it, they would be selling an avalanche of these things.

7

Thank you for the idea to make a tutorial.

The main problem is, as bld wrote, where to start the tutorial.
Should it be made for a person who has never programmed in any language?
It is quite a job to do such a tutorial…

Also the problem is what programming languages to include to the tutorial.
In the DLL document there are some code snippets for Delphi, Visual Basic and Borland C++ Builder.
There are a lot of different versions of the programming environments as Microsoft Visual Studio including Visual Basic, Visual C++ and Visual C#. There is also a huge difference between the Visual Basic 6 and the Visual Studio version of the Visual Basic. All should be included to the tutorial!

And there are also a lot of other compilers available. One of such is the Dev C++ you selected.

Here some examples:
Eclipse C/C++ eclipse.org/cdt/
Code::Blocks C++ codeblocks.org/
Bloodshed Dev-C++ bloodshed.net/devcpp.html
Digital Mars C/C++ digitalmars.com/
PowerBASIC powerbasic.com/

There is no support for these compilers at the moment (and maybe in the future too).
The only support is the simple example program I wrote for the Bloodshed Dev-C++ and put to this forum.

8

Not a lot of companies supply examples is multiple programming languages, I think there are already more then plenty examples as is, plus a whole community that already used the board to do a variety of things. That said, I wouldn’t recommend C++ if you don’t have any programming experience, maybe you should consider Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Express. Things will go a lot easier :wink:

9

[quote=“VEL255”]Thank you for the idea to make a tutorial.

The main problem is, as bld wrote, where to start the tutorial.
Should it be made for a person who has never programmed in any language?
It is quite a job to do such a tutorial…

Also the problem is what programming languages to include to the tutorial.
In the DLL document there are some code snippets for Delphi, Visual Basic and Borland C++ Builder.
There are a lot of different versions of the programming environments as Microsoft Visual Studio including Visual Basic, Visual C++ and Visual C#. There is also a huge difference between the Visual Basic 6 and the Visual Studio version of the Visual Basic. All should be included to the tutorial!

And there are also a lot of other compilers available. One of such is the Dev C++ you selected.

Here some examples:
Eclipse C/C++ eclipse.org/cdt/
Code::Blocks C++ codeblocks.org/
Bloodshed Dev-C++ bloodshed.net/devcpp.html
Digital Mars C/C++ digitalmars.com/
PowerBASIC powerbasic.com/

There is no support for these compilers at the moment (and maybe in the future too).
The only support is the simple example program I wrote for the Bloodshed Dev-C++ and put to this forum.[/quote]

i would say this

you start with the hows and whys of the boards what it can do , no computing yet

you then introduce the idea of a langauge to get the thing going, as said before you’ve got different types of c++, ideally whatever type selected should have some decent tutorials. the person goes through some exercises.

ideally the tutorial goes through dedicated exercises such as using dlls or at least using the dll wizard programmes that i’ve seen whilst looking through the net. the idea is that you get the person used to using and understanding software relevant to the board.

the next part of the tutorial then covers plugging in the board and writing a programme that it can use.

maybe lighting the leds (flashing every few second for example)

after that other ideas such as adding variable resistors as inputs could be explored or using analogue outputs or digital outputs.

further ideas that could then expored. only after grasping the principles of the board could morre complicated projects be built.

i’m sure that if velleman did this many people would get into the k8055. why? simply because if people understand a product they’ll buy it and tell other people.

no doubt in the future the inputs and outputs could be used to transfer data such as letters and numbers (assuming they can’t already).

certainly colleges would be interested in whole packages - i’d say the students would buy them too. the stuff we were using was antiquated.

its food for thought…

in the meantime i’ll follow the links suggested and try and get my head around dlls etc , theres a very good chance someone somewhere has had to start from scratch like me (well i know something about c++ but not too much)

10

the idea is that velleman just decides what c++ to use, maybe visual basic and c++ of some variant. eitherway it would be better than nothing.

11

There are some interesting thoughts in this thread and I can see some possible potential for programmers to work with Velleman on developing a tutorial and maybe a series of software packages to kick start people in the programming of the K8055 etc. What with the cost of electricity set to increase dramatically I am seeing more people look towards solar panels and extra low voltage (ELV) devices and this trend will only increase i would think.

The computer interface opens the door for people to develop control of ELV devices who might be reluctant to spend big dollars on a system they can’t modify without forking out a heap more dollars later on.

If there was a program and tutorial that allowed the novice to build up their programming skills by creating mini experiments with the kit as previously mentioned then I would of bought it as I am sure others would.
What program do you use for the tutorial, I don’t suppose the novice would care as long as they could now control external devices from a computer.

I was tempted to buy a mini Programmable Logic Controller because the software allows the user to develop a program like an electrical schematic but the they ae too expensive for what i need in the home. I estimate that 3 of the K8055 boards would easily control everything in the house so it is definitely a better and flexible option.
A low cost computer interface which is easy to program could become an electricians best friend soon.