Development of Measurement and Control Software using Visual ...

Development of Measurement and Control Software using Visual Basic Express A three-day, hands-on, short course on how to develop professional-looking PC-based applications using Visual Basic Express (VBE). This course is suitable for individuals who would like to learn how to develop Windows-based programs for monitoring, measurement and control applications for use in research and development. Topics covered in the course include: the basics of the programming language; the development environment; tools for parallel, A/D, D/A, serial, and Internet interfacing; timing; and control software structures for measurement and control applications.

Detailed Course Outline: Day 1 of 3 Introduction

Objective: Identify where the use of Visual Basic Express is appropriate and introduce the course     

Programming Language -Basic

Objective: Describe the basic features of the programming language     

Project Development

Basic controls Variable types Operators Conditional and looping statements Functions and subs

Objective: Explain the process of development and deploying of projects. Illustrate additional controls    

Programming Language - Advanced

Microsoft development tools Introduction to VBE The .Net framework Application examples Course outcomes

Directory structure Debugging Project deployment Additional controls

Objective: Describe advanced features of the programming language    

Menus Error handling Function overloading File Input/Output

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Day 2 of 3 Classes and Objects

Objective: Explain the concepts of classes and objects and demonstrate the use of the Graphics class  Objects and classes  Derived classes  The Graphics class

Timing

Objective: Explain the concept of timing and how it is incorporated into code  Time and timers  Timing in VBE  Performance timer

Control Software Structures

Objective: Describe a control software structure for measurement and control applications  Task/state software structure  Task scanning  Applications

Day 3 of 3 A/D, D/A, Parallel, and Serial Interfacing

Objective: Explain and demonstrates different methods to interface a PC to devices and other PCs  A/D and D/A interfacing  Parallel port interfacing  Serial interfacing

Internet Interfacing

Objective: Explain and demonstrates Internet Interfacing  Internet Interfacing  Protocols  VBE Support

Multitasking

Objective: Describe multitasking code structure for efficient code execution  Threads and processes  Background worker  Resource sharing issues

Applications

Objective: Describe programs that integrate the topics covered in the course  Measurement and control system  Paper Dispensing system  Automated laser cutting system 2

Conclusion

Objective: Summarize the main topics covered, find resources for further training, and evaluate the course  Summary  Resources  Evaluations

Prerequisites: Interest in programming and prior experience with any programming language is helpful. Note: Participants need to provide their own laptop for this course. Instructor: The course will be taught by Professor Musa Jouaneh from the University of Rhode Island (URI), USA who has been teaching courses in the mechatronics area for more than 20 years, and is the director of the Mechatronics Lab at URI. Dr. Jouaneh received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1984 from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and his Master and Doctorate degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986 and 1989 respectively. His research interests include mechatronics and robotics with particular interest in motion control systems. He has served as a consultant to many companies in the Northeast and has received two College of Engineering Faculty Excellence Awards and the URI Foundation Teaching Excellence Award. He is the author or co-author of over 60 publications including two US patents. He is also the author of two recently published textbooks on Mechatronics. Dr. Jouaneh is a Fellow member of ASME, a senior member of IEEE, and a member of ASEE.

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