Language - C Windows GCC

C Development Environments
Windows
macOS
Linux
Phidget SBC Linux

Language - C Windows with GCC Welcome to using Phidgets with C! By using C, you will have access to the complete Phidget22 API, including events. GCC is a compiler system for originally written for GNU, and is the standard compiler on unix-like operating systems. It is available on Windows by using tools like MinGW or Cygwin to allow compilation of C programs from the command line.

Install Phidget Drivers for Windows

Before getting started with the guides below, ensure you have the following components installed on your machine:

1. You will need the Phidgets Windows Drivers

Use Our Examples

One of the best ways to start programming with Phidgets is to use our example code as a guide. In order to run the examples, you will need to download and install either MinGW or Cygwin.

Now that you have either MinGW or Cygwin installed, select an example that will work with your Phidget:

• C Examples

Cygwin

If you are using Cygwin, navigate to the folder where the example is and open the command prompt. Enter the following command to compile the example:

Cygwin x86

gcc example.c ../Common/PhidgetHelperFunctions.c -o example -I"/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22" -I"../Common" -L"/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22/x86" -lphidget22

Cygwin x64

gcc example.c ../Common/PhidgetHelperFunctions.c -o example -I"/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22" -I"../Common" -L"/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22" -lphidget22

MinGW

If you are using MinGW, navigate to the folder where the example is and open the command prompt. Enter the following command to compile the example:

gcc example.c ../Common/PhidgetHelperFunctions.c -o example -I"C:/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22" -I"../Common" -L"C:/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22/x86" -lphidget22

After running the commands above for either Cygwin or MinGW, an executable file called example.exe will be created. Enter the following command to run the example:

example.exe

You should now have the example up and running for your device. Your next step is to look at the Editing the Examples section below for information about the example and important concepts for programming Phidgets. This would be a good time to play around with the device and experiment with some of its functionality.

Editing the Examples

To get our example code to run in a custom application, simply remove the calls to AskForDeviceParameters and PrintEventDescriptions, and hard-code the addressing parameters for your application.

If you are unsure what values to use for the addressing parameters, check the Finding The Addressing Information page.

For instance:

AskForDeviceParameters(&channelInfo, (PhidgetHandle)ch);

prc = Phidget_setDeviceSerialNumber((PhidgetHandle)ch, channelInfo.deviceSerialNumber);
CheckError(prc, "Setting DeviceSerialNumber", &(PhidgetHandle)ch);

prc = Phidget_setHubPort((PhidgetHandle)ch, channelInfo.hubPort);
CheckError(prc, "Setting HubPort", &(PhidgetHandle)ch);

prc = Phidget_setIsHubPortDevice((PhidgetHandle)ch, channelInfo.isHubPortDevice);
CheckError(prc, "Setting IsHubPortDevice", &(PhidgetHandle)ch);
    
Phidget_setChannel((PhidgetHandle)ch, channelInfo.channel);
CheckError(prc, "Setting Channel", &(PhidgetHandle)ch);

if (channelInfo.netInfo.isRemote) {
    prc = Phidget_setIsRemote((PhidgetHandle)ch, channelInfo.netInfo.isRemote);
    CheckError(prc, "Setting IsRemote", &(PhidgetHandle)ch);
        
    if (channelInfo.netInfo.serverDiscovery) {
        prc = PhidgetNet_enableServerDiscovery(PHIDGETSERVER_DEVICEREMOTE);
        CheckEnableServerDiscoveryError(prc, &(PhidgetHandle)ch);
    } else {
        prc = PhidgetNet_addServer("Server", channelInfo.netInfo.hostname,
                    channelInfo.netInfo.port, channelInfo.netInfo.password, 0);
        CheckError(prc, "Adding Server", &(PhidgetHandle)ch);
    }
}

Might become:

prc = Phidget_setDeviceSerialNumber((PhidgetHandle)ch, 370114);
CheckError(prc, "Setting DeviceSerialNumber", &(PhidgetHandle)ch);

prc = Phidget_setHubPort((PhidgetHandle)ch, 2);
CheckError(prc, "Setting HubPort", &(PhidgetHandle)ch);

prc = Phidget_setIsHubPortDevice((PhidgetHandle)ch, 1);
CheckError(prc, "Setting IsHubPortDevice", &(PhidgetHandle)ch);

Notice that you can leave out any parameter not relevant to your application for simplicity.

You can then manipulate the rest of the code as your application requires. A more in-depth description of programming with Phidgets can be found in our guide on Phidget Programming Basics.

Setting up a New Project

In order compile C programs from the command prompt, you will need to download and install either MinGW or Cygwin.

When you are building a project from scratch, or adding Phidget functionality to an existing project, you'll need to configure your development environment to properly link the Phidget C library.

To include the Phidget C library, add the following line to your code:

#include <phidget22.h>

Cygwin

If you are using Cygwin, navigate to the folder where the example is and open the command prompt. Enter the following command to compile your program, substituting "example" for the name of your C file:

Cygwin x86

gcc example.c -o example -I"/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22"-L"/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22/x86" -lphidget22

Cygwin x64

gcc example.c -o example -I"/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22" -L"/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22" -lphidget22

MinGW

If you are using MinGW, navigate to the folder where the example is and open the command prompt. Enter the following command to compile the example:

gcc example.c -o example -I"C:/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22" -L"C:/Program Files/Phidgets/Phidget22/x86" -lphidget22

After running the commands above for either Cygwin or MinGW, an executable file called example.exe will be created. Enter the following command to run the example:

example.exe

Success! The project now has access to Phidgets.

What's Next?

Now that you have set up Phidgets to work with your programming environment, we recommend you read our guide on Phidget Programming Basics to learn the fundamentals of programming with Phidgets.