Simulator v1.12

 

Yes, it has been quite a while. Here is the new version v1.12 after some encouragement and bit of complaining from some users. The user list has now grown to around 38k users with possibly some dud emails amongst the gathering mob. Arduino and Raspberry Pi still remain the two dominant forces with Arduino covering simple but powerful embedded devices and RPi covering high end apps with displays. Have fun and may the covid bug not bite you.

Simulator for Arduino Version 1.12 is now released

Virtronics

 

Auto Update or upgrade using the button below. 

Some tech updates:

1.      Version 1.12 now opens GettingStarted.ino after install

2.     Arduino has released the Arduino Pro – with USB-C display

3.    Explore the Wifi/BLE ESP32 devkits (programmable using Arduino IDE)

4.    The Simulator for Arduino now supports Unions (99%)

5.     Mystery link

Simulator v1.10

The next version of the Simulator has just been released with a host of updates and fixes. QNO3LCYD is a code which can be used at checkout on the Selz button to give 40% off but only for the first 1000 users and only during January 2018.

Here is a list of the changes:

Version 1.08 Oct July 2017

- Allow up to 129 tabs now

- after reset, tabs and time to load now reported correctly

- allow for macro subsitution of object names - eg #define dbg Serial

- if an EEPROM object is found, there will be no error for <EEPROM.h> library not loaded

- add Timer1.read() function to read us from last interrupt

- fixup all .h and .c files loading including .html - now only .h,.hpp,.c,,cpp

The help file can be found here

The forum appears to be overrun by hackers from Ukraine and China but at least this means these guys are busy and hopefully less likely to cause any more world problems.

With this version, the 1.09 has been skipped simply for the same reason that Windows skipped Windows 9. What was that reason again. Oh yes, Windows 95 and Windows 98 were also called Windows 9.

Simulator Version 1.05

Version 1.05

And so another year starts, and this one should prove to be very eventful with ego-driven leaders champing at the bit to cause problems. Regardless, the Maker revolution continues to thrive and with more knowledge should come less problems. 

Here are the latest changes: http://virtronics.com.au/help/index.html?Whatsnew.html

Version 1.05 Jan 2017

   - improve blue s/r box - make green

   - fixup return bug

   - improve callstack

   - add TFT

   - add SerialPassThrough to test

   - add Wifi UDP

   - add TFT - check 6 sketches

   - Ethernet advanced Chat Server

   -  Add Adafruit playground - in progress

   - fixup some issues in typedef and struct

   - increase max loops to 300, args to 40

With Arduino, the two teams have now kissed and made up and the splintered software or 1.61.13 and 1.7.10 have now both been superseded by the new release on christmas eve of 1.8.0. Also, some boards have now returned from being retired such as the Leonardo USB board.

Happy New Year to one and all and may all your Arduino projects lead to your bank accounts (ie as deposits not withdrawals).

Version 1.04

In the latest version of the Simulator, there have been some more improvements which are listed below :


Version 1.04 - October 2016
    - Improve blue s/r box
    - add free version browser to timer
    - improve resizing so sketch window always there
    - bug fixes
    - improve class explorer
    - save Variables Dec/Bin/Hex on close
    - save Input/Output window settings
    - improve classes within classes xbee._response

Another update is that the forum has been restored here: forum.virtronics.com.au This was accidentally deleted but since the SQL database was still present it was restored and there is a 6 month gap with no posts.

Version 1.03

Here are the changes to the Simulator: Version 1.03 - June 2016 - fixup Windows 10 styles - add in 8 more styles Vapor,Radiant,Jet,Emerald, Diamond, CopperDark, Copper, Coral - fixup confusion between colon for labels and ?: - fixup variables font - save Edit font on Edit cloase and open - fixup conversion from float to int - print negative floats - add in Check for Updates - auto update silent check on startup - reset free timer The main change was to add the updater tool which required two expensive purchases from a third party contractor. Now the Simulator will use the updater tool to check a text file which has the latest version on the first line. If there is a new version, the Updater tool will prompt to download the updated file from the link on the second line. The third line usually has a few comments about the major changes. Other fixes are to add in a few more styles and fix the Windows 10 style. The Win10 style problem was related to an extra or missing space in the name Windows 10. A few issues were also found with the Edit Window not saving the font size correctly and the Variables area row height not getting set. Between version 1.02 and 1.03, there were 4 sub releases from 1.02A to 1.02D for various reasons, mainly for fixups for users. Lately, the Simulator has seen a dramatic slow down - not sure why since according to App Analytics, the Simulator is now more stable than ever, runs faster and has very few issues. There are the odd file could not be created issues and but these may be windows related. Also, the user feedback has dropped off - maybe users are becoming shyer or more used to working with software which is not 100%. We encourage all users to speak up and let us know of all problems and even better any enhancements.

Simulator for Arduino version 1.02

Here are the details of the changes to Simulator for Arduino Version 1.02 Mar 2016 1. Allow setup in file other than tab1 2. Allow loop in file other than tab1 3. allow for arduino format files in directory - open all files in directory 4. make App Analytics an option 5. fixup memory leaks 6. fixup variable insight 7. fixup spurious fn return values - clear on reset 8. Fixup analog write pins to align with analog read pins 9. fixup due analog pins 10. fixup barcode memory leak 11. Add recent 12. digitalRead now sets pin mode 13. Improve Class Explorer 14. Allow SD\CardInfo.ino to load with Uno with first 3 Options on 15. Show (ErrEn) in Status bar when Errors Enabled 16. Speed up Syntax Colouring change Sent to 21401 Simulator users With App Analytics, we noticed there were a higher amount of crashes than desired - around 250 from 5000 starts every 30 days. Looking under the hood release some very basic overflow errors, which have now been fixed. The pascal compiler has a overflow array check which was turned off. We are now turning this on for most of the time. With improvements, we have noticed the feedback from users has quietened down. While this could be attributed to the program running better with less issues, this is a concern since user input is what drives this program and less user input means less innovation. So keep the comments coming. We are always looking at ways to improve and are keen to have more people on the team. Email us if this sounds interesting - we can't promise to pay millions unless of course you help generate this sort of income.

Simulator for Arduino v1.01

Below is the info relating to the latest release of the Simulator. There were a few issues relating to a 3rd party component which caused some error messages to pop up. This is now fixed (a few hours after release), and if the buggy version was downloaded, please download the new version which is saved in the same place.

On item we noticed right away, is there are very few Unsubscribe messages now, many, many positive feedback messages,  and the number of subscription renewals has gone through the roof. The Free version was just released today, and this now has the App Analytics included (the 3rd party component) which will allow the coders to target the most used areas of the Simulator.

Have a great 2016, and don't forget to upgrade to the latest Pro version.

Webhelp http://virtronics.com.au/help/

Simulator for Arduino datasheet

What's new

Version 1.01 Dec 2015

   1. Fixup up if else issue

  2. Stop variables from flickering

  3. Add alignment to pin names

  4. Fixup the D13 light onthe Nano

  5. Update Nano to have pin name alignment

  6. Update Uno to have pin name alignment

  7. Improve the Insert Tab option

  8. Save file after insert tab

  9. Fixup the match bracket feature

  10. Update Sketch when changed externally

Sent to 20455 Simulator users

Simulator for Arduino v0.99G

The Simulator development is still going. Adding the Unit Testing feature over a year ago (found under Tools > Unit Testing) was the single best step for the Simulator. Previously manual testing would take a few hours and the chance of missing an error was high. Now the Unit Testing takes around 3 minutes typically and is easily done prior to a release. Even better is the latest feature which is that the testing runs up to 5 times faster if the main screen is hidden so the Sketch update and Variable update events do not need to fire. This means testing takes around 1 minute.

In other news, the push to make the Simulator cross platform has bogged down due to the complexity of the cross platform interface. Simple functions such as changing the font in Windows become almost impossible in a cross platform environment. Anyway, the team here will keep going and maybe one day a breakthrough will be made.

With the original Arduino team, the team of 5 has now split into a team of 4 and another team of 1. The team of 4 is still at arduino.cc and the other team is at arduino.org. At this stage, it appears the arduino.org is a business focussed on maximizing profit and damage to the original arduino team but it will be interesting watching this play out.

With the Arduino hardware, the Uno is still the preferred platform due to its simplicity and low cost. There are many new Arduino kits which could be added to the Simulator but at this stage, these will be done on request only.

Below is the text of an email sent out to all users, Pro, expired Pro users and free users. 

Webhelp http://virtronics.com.au/help/

Simulator for Arduino datasheet

What's new

Version 0.99G - June 2015

1. add more graphics to simulate UTFT

2. save file to right place

3. fixup sin((a)+b)*6

4. add toCharArray

5. fixup column sizing - default is now Col Sizing not Dock

6. add  minimize Column Widths to Variables right click

7. allow return with

8. allow tabs

9. breakpoints not cleared now on reset - only on load new file

10. colours improved

11. fixup Serial Monitor output - now echoes Serial.print with ASCIITable.ino

12. Serial.Available now correct and also \xab

13. Sleep mode added

14. the line while (expr) ; will now work

15. Improve Syntax colours

Roadmap for Simulator for Arduino

The other day, we received an email asking for a Roadmap. Well, there was a plan from the start and while the plan didn't quite .. well go to plan, the feedback has been encouraging.

Simulator for Arduino was originally started to fill a gap. Arduino is a great development platform and cuts the time to development down to ridiculous levels. As an example, we recently purchased a gyro from Pololu and expected it to take at least four hours to figure out. Well there were four wires to be connected using a breadboard and an example sketch to be downloaded. 30 minutes later or less, there was the Gyro spitting out values to the Serial monitor. And we also used it to break code protection an a code protected micro - that took a bit longer - around a day and a bit. But while using the Arduino kit, it seemed strange that there was no real Simulator or development tool. We can understand that building an Emulator is not trivial but a Simulator should be possible. Well, there were lots of Simulators out there but most were half day weekend projects and didn;t really work. Just download the zip file , compile and so on. The compile word really gets me - if someone writes a program just distribute the .exe file not the source code. No-one wants to compile a program - it should just run. I guess this is the ugly side of open source.

Anyway, the plan from the start was to get 10k purchased licences in the first year and while that didn't quite happen, we did manage almost 15% of that so not a complete fail. One of the problems is the current high level of pessimism and the unwillingness to spend money. Well, there may be a lot of horror stories in the news but in perspective, things really have never been better overall. Companies which are willing to spend like Apple have really done extremely well, and anyone willing to take a chance stands to make it big. Anyway, currently we have 2257 paid Professional licences and when we reach 2500, we will bump the price up to $15.

And for the future. Well, we plan to do one release every two months for the rest of the the year, and then maybe one every three months next year. With the Simulator, there are so many features and options to add, it is just a matter of time and priority. Anyway, here is the priority list:

• Keep getting the bugs out and do a release every two months
• Get to 2500 Pro Licences and do a new YouTube video
• get the Cross Platform program working - this means a major rewrite of top-level code
• Add in scale and rotate for the Arduino board picture
• Add in a RAM memory map pointers
• Add in automatic error testing - probably try unit testing
• Improve help
• Really get the classes and custom libraries working
• Try to setup an automatic error log using Indy?
• Get more outside professional help
• Get an iPhone app going - not sure about the level of difficulty here but x-platform compiler support iPhone/Android
• Improve the Logic Analyser
• Improve the Serial Logger to have multiple traces
• Retire when all the bugs are squashed.

With all this, there is a dependency that no-one writes a super A-grade professional Simulator for Arduino. At this stage, we are competing with Virtual Bread Board which sells for much more and Visual Micro which we haven't had a look at. Codeblocks for Arduino seems to work well but only has a very limited Serial monitor output so it not really a contender. The iPhone and iPad apps are all laughable - we tried adding a line int i =10; and the iPad app crashed. The iPhone app is just a training video and you can't do much with it. Anyway, while we get good feedback we will keep going forward. We do have the odd annoyed user so we do our best to help and we ask for positive criticism - if you don't like something, tell us what, why and how you would fix it. Our mantra at the moment is constant improvement and we are very careful to try not to break any code when doing changes. Hopefully, everyone has forgotten the recent howlers like the break instruction not working. Happy simulating.

Website Move arduino => virtronics

Some may have noticed the note on the arduino.com.au website that the content is moving to virtronics.com.au. Well, there is a reason why this is happening and it is all good. At the last meeting, we decided that Shields for Arduino was not a great choice of name and we needed one that represented what we do without being too specific. Virtronics was the winner and this name is derived from Ohm's law of V=IR with the tronics short for Electronics. The whole website is being moved across with a deadline of 31 March.

The Simulator is going very well, and while we do have the odd issue with unlock codes, this usually turns out to be an over-zealous anti-virus program. The Simulator seems to be mostly bug-free at present with only a very few error reports unlike last month where the break command was accidentally broken and kept giving error reports.

There are many areas where the Simulator could be improved and we will keep chipping away. Enums, typedefs and classes all need attention. Also, we are thinking about moving to a new compiler which could mean a major rewrite - time is very short so this option has been put off for a while. If we do, this will be Simulator 2 and it will then be available for MAC OS, iOS and Android (but not Linux). It really is strange that there is no-one else doing a good Arduino Simulator - Searduino had some press recently but couldn't any programs to run. The iPhone Simulators are a bad joke especially the customised iPad one which could not even run int i=10;

Lastly, just a quick shout out to Adrian who has been a great help on the forum and a source of some great ideas. Still many more ideas to run through in the next few weeks. The previous blog Arduino Shields will be shown below for a while but will not be updated from now on.

Startup

Virtronics is a new startup setup to take over from Shields for Arduino. Some may have noticed that Shields for Arduino is using the www.arduino.com.au website and this may be confusing for some between the real arduino website which is www.arduino.cc.

Anyway back to Virtronics. This is an abbreviation of  V=IR + electronics with V=IR being one of the main formulas behind the design of most electronic circuits, and is called Ohm's law. Virtronics is a small business not quite setup which consists of three people and maybe more later on. We plan to merge all the activities of  Shields for Arduino into Virtronics and then remove the Arduino word from all titles and email addresses.

The plan for the business is to find and explore opportunities involving electronic design and to become the best inside each opportunity. The four main areas at present are the Simulator for Arduino and Shields, redesign medical gas panels, ECG simulators/test equipment and a cheap portable CO2 analyser for veterinary use. The plan was to do all these in 2012 but in reality these won't happen until 2013 now. At Virtronics, we currently have an average of 20 years experience per person so we bring a very high level of expertise to any project.