FlowDesigner

> I downloaded and installed FlowDesigner 0.8.0.  The examples I tried =20
> worked fine.  Are there plans to provide an interface to shared =20
> libraries?  I'm not too familiar with terminology yet but I guess =20
> this would require a special "network" to be created.  Has this =20
> already been done or can I do it myself?

Hi,

Can you define what you mean by provide an interface to shared
libraries"? You mean allowing to use calls from other libraries in
FlowDesigner? If that's the case, it can be done by writing new nodes
(blocks) that call that library.

	Jean-Marc

--=20
Jean-Marc Valin
http://www.xiph.org/~jm/
LABORIUS
Universit=E9 de Sherbrooke, Qu=E9bec, Canada

On 04/07/04 15:23:38, Jean-Marc Valin wrote:
> Can you define what you mean by provide an interface to shared
> libraries"? You mean allowing to use calls from other libraries in
> FlowDesigner? If that's the case, it can be done by writing new
> nodes (blocks) that call that library.

The only thing I can compare it to is what I've used in LabVIEW, the  
'Call Library Function Node'.  It allows you to call functions from  
an external shared library directly.  VEE has something similar but I  
forget how it's laid out.

For example, in LabVIEW I can make a call to the function  
comedi_data_write from the libcomedi.so shared library.  The 'Call  
Library Function Node' provides an interface for me to do this.  I  
provide a library path, function name, parameter name, data type,  
return type.

Here's a link on the NI site that can do a way better job of  
explaining it.  It also shows what in the interface looks like:
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/conceptd.nsf/webmain/ 
B26A875ACA51C567862567CA0055FF24?opendocument

Hi Kevin,

Sorry for the delay, I hadn't forgotten you... I think it would be nice
to have comedi integrated in FlowDesigner (we might eventually have a
use for that in robotics too). I'm not completely sure what would be the
best way to do it though. So far, what we've done with external
libraries was to create new (C++) nodes that would call the library
functions. I might also be possible to provide a "wrapper node" that
could be used for any library/entry point, but I'm not completely sure
how to do it. The trick will be to find how to pass the arguments...

I'll be quite busy for the months to come, so I won't have much time for
new features in FlowDesigner. However, if you or someone else wishes to
spend some time coding on that, I can at least provide a bit of support
and answer questions.

	Jean-Marc

Le mer 07/04/2004 =E0 15:48, Kevin Valentine a =E9crit :
> On 04/07/04 15:23:38, Jean-Marc Valin wrote:
> > Can you define what you mean by provide an interface to shared
> > libraries"? You mean allowing to use calls from other libraries in
> > FlowDesigner? If that's the case, it can be done by writing new
> > nodes (blocks) that call that library.
>=20
> The only thing I can compare it to is what I've used in LabVIEW, the =20
> 'Call Library Function Node'.  It allows you to call functions from =20
> an external shared library directly.  VEE has something similar but I =20
> forget how it's laid out.
>=20
> For example, in LabVIEW I can make a call to the function =20
> comedi_data_write from the libcomedi.so shared library.  The 'Call =20
> Library Function Node' provides an interface for me to do this.  I =20
> provide a library path, function name, parameter name, data type, =20
> return type.
>=20
> Here's a link on the NI site that can do a way better job of =20
> explaining it.  It also shows what in the interface looks like:
> http://zone.ni.com/devzone/conceptd.nsf/webmain/
> B26A875ACA51C567862567CA0055FF24?opendocument
--=20
Jean-Marc Valin
http://www.xiph.org/~jm/
LABORIUS
Universit=E9 de Sherbrooke, Qu=E9bec, Canada