LHFSD.exe
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LHFSD.EXE V3.00 DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS |
LHFSD.exe is developed in the last part, Software Design, of LHFSD. Naturally, LHFSD.exe it is not a fished software application: it is just a training exercise, therefore do not expect any fancy programming features. Please, do not forget that LHFSD.exe is exactly what you are going to design using the LHFSD book and the accompanying Source Code as example.
By downloading and installing the program on your PC machine you could test the compatibility with the Windows OS version you have. Please be aware that LHFSD.exe has no code to adjust the graphic controls for all screen resolutions--that is a task you will have to do it yourself.
The downloadable LHFSD.exe is only partially functional on your PC machine because it is designed to work with LHFSD-HCK. However, you could explore few functions according to the "try before you buy" principle. For example, the Internet Browser window should be perfectly functional; in addition, you can test if the program detects the COMx driver installed by your USB/RS232 cable adaptor--if you have one. The LHFSD.exe program is explained in details in LHFSD book, including the Setup Installation program. Therefore, you will learn to change/modify everything inside LHFSD.exe the way it pleases you most!
If your PC/Notebook/Tablet PC has only USB ports, you need to buy a USB/RS232 cable adaptor: its firmware driver will install a COMx port working over USB. All firmware and software programs presented in LHFSD book will work perfectly well, just as with a normal COMx port. Details are in the Requirements page.
DOWNLOAD AND INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
The LHFSD.exe program has been tested on Windows 95/98/2000P/ME/XP/Vista. Note that it is not easy to please all Windows versions; therefore, it may be you will get warnings during the installation that some files are newer or older. That is little important; just force the installation to complete. On the other hand, it is more than likely that you will get no warnings at all. Anyway, in order to install LHFSD.exe on your PC follow these steps:
STEP 1: Right click right here to Download LHFSD, then select "Save Target As ..." Change (or not) the default settings to the directory you want. The zip file is about 2.5 Mbytes, though it may take some time to download because our host server is fairly slow [about 40KB/sec]. Please wait patiently for the "Download Complete" message.
STEP 2: Unzip the folder to any directory you want on your PC.
STEP 3: Click on Setup.exe.
STEP 4: LHFSD.exe is added to the "Program Files" folder. Run the program. When asked to enter a Name and Password, ignore that; just click OK.
STEP 5: To uninstall LHFSD.exe work with "Add/Remove Software Programs" in your Control Panel. It is very easy to uninstall LHFSD.exe, and rest assured that no files will remain on your computer.
The current version of LHFSD.exe is V3.00 (derived from Source Code ED4RV1) specially compiled for Edition 4 of LHFSD.
ATTENTION
If you do not have the USB/RS232 cable adaptor attached physically to your PC, you will get an error message despite the fact you already have the USB/RS232 software driver installed.
Following are few screen fragments presenting the running LHFSD V3.00 on Windows Vista.
The first picture is the "Login" window. Please do not enter any data in the "User Name" and "Password" fields. The Login is presented only as a real-world implementation exercise. Details are in LHFSD book and in the accompanying Source Code files.
Next comes the "Splash" window presenting few general information data to the users. Just click on OK.
In this picture you can see COM4 port and 56K Baud rate selected. On your PC this may not work if you do not have a COMx port--you will get an error message.
You need to buy an USB/Serial cable adaptor: that will install a virtual COMx port on your PC, which will work exactly as a normal one.
You can select only 12 COM ports in LHFSD.exe. If by any chance you need a COM13 port, then you have to modify the Source Code--this is very easy.
In the screen fragment below you can see the array of Control Buttons--their functionality is explained in the LHFSD book. The "LOOPTX" button enables dynamic field data display. The rest of the buttons enable various, complex functions on LHFSD-HCK and in SDx--the VB applications.
Below are few field data labels updated dynamically in real time. This is fairly difficult to implement in firmware and software, because it works based on the multitasking clock in firmware, on the LHFSD-HCK. However, dynamic field data display is a very important application since it allows you to control/monitor hardware/firmware data in software, on your PC.
You are going to discover the simplest possible firmware and software programming modules in LHFSD book in order to achieve this dynamic field data display. Please note that you could easily write your field data to a file, as binary or ASCII, and then use it in other application on your PC, as is MatLab, for example.
In order to work with dynamic field data display you need the LHFSD-HCK V2.2.
The File Management controls tab allow us to save field data form LHFSD-HCK inside a file on PC in ASCII or binary format.
This is a very useful set of controls, and you could use it to access even a file you have downloaded from Internet (using the LHFSD.exe embedded Internet Browser).
As you can see, the range of our little LHFSD-HCK is, in fact, world wide!
FlexGrid is one of the most powerful graphic controls available in Visual Basic, and the LHFSD book explains how to use/embed it in technical applications. In the picture below you can see only 30 integer values, but you could easily add thousands of them,
Note that the values below are sent to firmware/hardware, they are received form firmware/hardware, and you can also save them in a file on PC. That is all you need to control software/firmware/hardware files in any technical application you will ever design. No "ADO object" was used to link/update the FlexGrid cells while data is moved dynamically to and from PC.
Below is the Graph Trace control: it represents the most advanced form of analog data display. This application is similar to the oscilloscope trace, and you could use it in many useful implementations--just think about it.
The last picture presented was drastically minimized in order to fit in this page. You can see the implementation of the custom Internet Browser, and the first page of Corollary Theorems site--that was sometime ago. In addition, the LHFSD.exe application has a Status Bar, where you could add a lot of nice, useful controls. Again, LHFSD.exe is built as a set of template-modules which you could improve as much as you like.
ATTENTION
For those who do not know this, an executable compiled with VB6 will work on Windows 98, 2000, ME, Server 2003, XP, and VISTA. Even more, executables build with older
compilers--say, since 1995--still work on all Windows versions today; they will always do. In contrast, a VB 2003 or 2007 compiler will build executables having drastically restricted Windows versions range.
Always use older compilers to build your executables in order to avoid any OS compatibility problems. Only the greenhorns work with "the latest software tools". Fact is, all "latest tools" are permanently built with less and less (developers') useful features available. Even more, this "trend" is getting worse with each passing day.
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Page last updated on: March 22, 2010
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