Q&A Forum
I will come out with some plugin tutorials. But you will need to do some general C# tutorials first, there is no way around that! C# programming is fun and not that hard for simple stuff.
Easiest way to get started would be work with windows forms project so then there is nice easy GUI form to work with and will compile and run with in the debugger in visual studio.
Then once you have it how you want copy and paste the code and GUI into a plug-in template. I'm happy to help any one that wants to learn.
Hi bmgjet & Jostein , Would be great to have a step by step detailed working example for us newbies to C# coding to have a go at learning the process of coding.
Exact links from where to download the software that you guys are using as there to many other versions of softwares out there which makes it even more confusing.
Jostein, I know its very early in Norway now and approximately 1 57 am Tuesday, 22 January 2019 and you're probably fast asleep , can you generate a invoice in my trolley icon ( Checkout ) for the shipping costs so I can just pay via credit card as I don't have PayPal account. Payment will be made via credit card. Thank you.
Another thing , is it possible to do private PM(s) to the admin ? doesn't seem to be that feature on this forum? or any other member on the forum tp private PM them?
thanks
https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/
Visual Studio 2017 Community edition is what im using which is free.
Be easiest starting a project with Windows Forms App.
Then you will have a window like in my attached screen shot.
Down the left hand side of the window you have all your controls (Things like buttons, Picture Boxes, Lables, Textbox and so on)
You select one of them and draw it on the GUI (Genueral user interface), Which is what that empty window is in the middle.
Start by drawing a button on there.
It should auto name its self like "Button1"
Then select the button you just placed and it has its setting down the right hand side. So you can change its name and behavour.
Then to edit the code of the button you double click on it.
It would will auto generate a new function for that button with no code in it.
So it will look like this.
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
You place your code betwen the { and } brackets.
A simple bit of code to test would be a messagebox. (popup)
to code a messagebox it would then look like
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
MessageBox.Show("Your message goes in this bit");
}
Then click the start button which is about top middle of the screen. And it will compile your code into a .exe file and run it. When you click that button it will popup a message box with your message.
Pat yourself on the back since your now a coder.
@Jostein
Here is that source to the obd2 simulator and a couple of other compiled ones that I found useful for testing.
Wouldnt let me send it to you over email or facebook since both complained about containing exe files in the zip.
Ok, I have downloaded Visual and started to play... this is not as writing a letter to Santa 🙂
Tonight I will read a little more how to not mess more up
A bit of patience and youll get there.
Coding is basically just 90% of the time calling the right command (which is easy now days since you can just google and find some one thats already typed out the whole lot for you to just copy and paste. When I started you had to look it up in the manual) and 10% of the time making sure it follows the logic of that language.
Once you know 1 language you can use almost all of them since they follow the same sort of logic, its just the commands and format of those commands that changes.
I started off with BASIC 20 years ago.
Then went to Visural Basic 3/5/6.0/.net (very very simular to C#) (Its just BASIC with a GUI to draw your controls on which is why its called Visural)
Then to Assembly which is completely different to everything else and I absolutely love it since fire up anything in a debugger and its in assembly so you can modify other peoples programs (Thats how hacks and cracks are made for software)
Went and did my degree which I selected C++ as my coding major and HTML as my minor.
From that Iv used all the popular lunages and its quite funny how much of the stuff crosses over.
Picked up PHP,Java,ASP,LUA,Perl,Python and ruby just playing around with stuff.
Got pushed out of computers 10 years ago since no one was willing to pay even minimum wage when they could pay a few cents for a Indian devoloper.
So took up automotive and starting doing tuning (reverse engineering stock ECU) that no one else could do.
-----
Anyway back to my scantool plugin.
Will hopefully have a update out in few days which adds printing reports and guages. Just very short on time these last few nights.
Very very nice, experience is all in this life.
You are a expert on a very interesting field, I envy you.
Thats the problem and please don't take offence when i say this!......... computer geeks and electronic engineers are sometimes hard to find with a common interest like in the automotive field ( ie engine testing and performance enhancements and any for of motorsports racing).
Back in 1983 i was at University doing Bachelor of Applied Sciences and Mathematics did only two years and i quit. In computer sceince we were doing Basic, fortran and cobalt programming amongst a few others which i can't even remember. Do i regret not finishing the full four (4) years . MAYBE!.... but then i become a grease monkey.
All these languages you mention BMGJet i have heard of but all looks like one big mess oops LOL.
I'm keen to try and make a few add_on plugins but more suited to a engine dyno application . I see in this forum nearly 95% of the dyno conversions are chassis/hub dynamometer application. But some of the plugins will cross over to either application.
I know you guy's are busy with other commitments thats why i think if the work can be done by other interested like minded people it may happen quicker.
I'm heading of fishing at 4am this morning just caught a whole bunch of worms weather be very hot the bait isn't as nice as it could of been.
This picture looks disgusting so if you have a weak stomach I have pre warned you don't open it?
Bit of a update, Hit a wall tonight since couldnt bring bluebox home with me which is needed for the guages to update. But it should work hopefully.
Need to write a double buffering function for the listbox so it doesnt start to flicker with a fast refresh rate.
https://youtu.be/gDCOaTg_KFs
Cheated a bit on the report function since instead of directly printing iv decided for it to make a tempory HTML page instead.
Then you can use your browser to print instead or send the page as a email ect.
Have attached what a report would look like.
If any ones got any ideas on improvements Im all ears since design is my weak point.
Very nice! Will be super when we can select PIDs to live view into gauges and graphs, looking forward!! I will add functionality to use plugin data for engine RPM for use with gear ratio calculation.
Your extra bluebox is being picked up tomorrow by FedEx.
bmgjet, I would be interested to see how you identify the genuine OBD2 adapters. I bought 3 different adapters when I made the support for OBD2 RPM, but one of them I just could not get to work (version 2.1, which I read is crap). It does work with another scan tool I have though, so somehow I just did not get it right yet. BTW, I will send you a box for free, just need the shipping cost covered, let's talk off line.
Hi Jostein , Postage has been paid check your paypal account, sorry for the delay.
24 Jan 2019 12:30:38 AEDT , Receipt No: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-9674
Weather: [ Melbourne, Australia ]@ 12-52pm - Current Temp: 35.4 C ( 95.7 F ) - Feels Like: 37 C ( 99 F) - Humidity: 37% - Weather: Clear - Wind: Calm
Just ignore this post. Im just testing what the forum supports for embeding images.
HTML test
<a href="https://ibb.co/yFtK749"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/yFtK749/scantool.jpg" alt="scantool" border="0"></a>
BBCode test
[url= https://i.ibb.co/yFtK749/scantool.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/yFtK749/scantool.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Raw Link
Update #A2:
Lots more bug fixes and error catches.
Code for guages added (not yet confirmed working in real usage)
Reports function,
Added tooltips to buttons,
Added reset values button "R" to live data tab.
Base code for flashing OBD2A and OBD2B Honda ecus added (not yet confirmed working in real usage)
Code clean up and compression on lookup table (Still 502kb plugin but down from 890kb.)
GUI layout improvements (* Only been viewed on my 4K and 1440P screens so far so may look trash on low res screen still)
Any for any one intrested, Im up to 4835 lines of code so far lol.
Hi BMGJet, what about the Australian & New Zealand FORD ( falcons BA,BF & FG's) OBD2 connections will it work ?