PanelSoft

User Interfaces and Usability for Embedded Systems

Graphics for Embedded Systems

2 Day Course

This course covers the fundamentals of drawing shapes onto controllers typically found in an embedded system. It is based on the development of graphical user interfaces for a number of medical and para-medical devices and on the graphics library supplied with the book Front Panel.

It explores graphical objects in C and C++, device drivers, handling events and converting fonts and bitmaps from PC applications. If the list of topics below interests you then e-mail training@panelsoft.com for more details.Sample slides, with commentary are available for part of the font section of this course.

Related magazine articles, authored by the course presenter, can be found in the Graphics Programming Articles.

Audience

Programmers faced with the responsibility of writing graphics software in C or C++ for an embedded system.

Content

HARDWARE - Overview of a number of popular graphics controllers in the embedded market

STARTING TO DRAW

• The basic building blocks
• lines, boxes, circles
• bitmaps
• fonts

FEATURES TO ADD FLEXIBILITY

• Clipping
• masking
• movable origin
• colormaps
• antialiasing

INTRODUCTION TO THE SOFTWARE LEVELS

• Primitive-level
• Object-level
• Application-level

GRAPHICAL OBJECTS

• Model-View-Controller
• Refreshing the display
• LOCATING OBJECTS - Pointers or mice require some way of establishing which object on the screen was acted upon by the user.

HANDLING EVENTS

• Polling vs. interrupts
• Focus and callbacks
• Queuing events.

TASKING

• RTOS issues
• Concurrent access to graphics hardware

MULTIPLE DIALOGS

TOUCHSCREENS

• Layout to suit the user
• Interpreting the finger location

LINE GRAPHS AND OTHER MOVING OBJECTS.

THIRD PARTY GRAPHICAL TOOLKITS

• Choosing and using
• Overview of current products on the market