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| C# is a modern, object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft. | | <metadesc>Communicate over USB with sensors, controllers and relays with Phidgets! Our C# library supports Windows/MacOS/Linux using Visual Studio or Mono.</metadesc> |
| | [[Category:Language]] |
| | __NOTOC__ |
| | We provide support for the C# language in all major operating systems. We also provide instructions on how to get your project started in a number of common development environments. Select your operating system and preferred development environment below, and follow the instructions to get your project running with Phidgets. |
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| ==Support==
| | If you do not know which development environment you want to use, or your development environment of choice is not listed, we recommend starting with Mono as the simplest path to getting your code running. Visual Studio is the most popular way to build C# projects, but it also has a steep learning curve. |
| C# has a complete API and sample code for all Phidgets devices. | |
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| For a complete list of our supported languages and their support status, [[Levels of Support|click here]].
| | Once you have set up your development environment to run with Phidgets, we recommend you follow our guide on [[Phidget Programming Basics]]. The guide will showcase the fundamentals of programming with Phidgets, with examples in C#. |
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| Since C# supports event-driven programming and is object-oriented, it is capable of using all of the functionality Phidgets has to offer.
| | == Setup Guide == |
| | <div class="phd-deck-sequence"> |
| | {{PT3_CSHARP_CHOOSE}}{{PT3_CSHARP_WIN_VS}}{{PT3_CSHARP_WIN_VS_1}}{{PT3_CSHARP_WIN_VS_2}} |
| | {{PT3_CSHARP_WIN_MONO}}{{PT3_CSHARP_MAC_MONO}}{{PT3_CSHARP_LNX_MONO}}{{PT3_CSHARP_LNX_DOTNET}}{{PT3_CSHARP_MAC_DOTNET}}{{PT3_CSHARP_WIN_MONODEV}} |
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| Due to the popularity of C#, you can also find plenty of other programmers on the C# section of [http://www.phidgets.com/phorum/viewforum.php?f=22 our forums].
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| ==Development Environments and Compilers==
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| ===Mono===
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| Mono is a free, open-source C# compiler. If you want to program with Phidgets using C# on Linux, Mono is your best option.
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| You can visit Mono's website [http://www.mono-project.com/Main_Page here].
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| ===Visual Studio 2003===
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| Visual Studio 2003 requires our .NET 1.1 libraries. Make sure you download the latest version of our [http://www.phidgets.com/drivers.php drivers] and add a reference in your project to Phidget21.NET version 1.1.
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| Our code samples were designed for use with Visual Studio 2005 or 2008. You can try to build a new project in Visual Studio 2003 using the source code we provide, but we cannot guarantee that it will work.
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| ===Visual Studio 2005===
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| Visual Studio 2005 requires our .NET 2.0 libraries. Make sure you download the latest version of our [http://www.phidgets.com/drivers.php drivers] and add a reference in your project to Phidget21.NET version 2.0.
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| When running our sample code, if you're using Visual Studio 2005, open the project file that does '''not''' have "2008" after the project name.
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| ===Visual Studio 2008 and 2010===
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| Visual Studio 2008 and 2010 require our .NET 2.0 libraries. Make sure you download the latest version of our [http://www.phidgets.com/drivers.php drivers] and add a reference in your project to Phidget21.NET version 2.0. We do not currently provide support for new features in newer versions of the .NET framework.
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| When running our sample code, if you're using Visual Studio 2008 or 2010, open the project file that has "2008" after the project name.
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| ===Visual Studio Express Editions===
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| Visual Studio Express is the free version of Visual Studio.
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| As long as you use the correct version of the .NET framework as mentioned above, Visual Studio Express should work just fine.
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| ==Quick Downloads==
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| Before you can run your program, you need to set up the proper environment and get the necessary files off the Phidgets website.
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| Visit the drivers section at www.phidgets.com and get the latest:
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| * [http://www.phidgets.com/drivers.php Phidget Framework]
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| You will need the Phidget Framework to use and to program with Phidgets. We also recommend that you download the following reference materials:
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| * [http://www.phidgets.com/documentation/Phidget21.NET.zip .NET API Manual]
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| * [http://www.phidgets.com/documentation/web/NETDoc/Index.html .NET API Reference].
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| The .NET API manual lists calls and events for every type of Phidget and can be used as a reference.
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| * Example Programs written in C# [[http://www.phidgets.com/downloads/examples/CSharp_2.1.8.20110615.zip Windows]] [[http://www.phidgets.com/downloads/examples/CE_2.1.8.20110615.zip .NET Compact Framework]]
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| * You can find a high level discussion about programming with Phidgets in general on the [[General API]] page.
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| * The [[Device Functionality]] page explains the general operational information for your device.
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| You may want to have these pages open while working through these instructions.
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| ==Getting Started==
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| ===Setting up a Phidgets Project===
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| The Phidget examples were written using Visual C# 2005 and this tutorial assumes its use. Newer
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| versions of Visual Studio Express are freely available for download from Microsoft. Older versions of
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| Visual Studio work as well and would be set up in a similar manner (Note: you would have to recreate
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| the user interface in the examples for Visual Studio versions earlier than 2005). In Visual Studio:
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| * Generate a new C# Windows Application with a descriptive name such as PhidgetTest.
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| * Launch the Add Reference window (Project | Add Reference).
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| * Under the .NET tab, select the most recent Phidget21.NET library. If it does not appear in this list, then you can Browse to the Phidget Framework installation directory and add the Phidget21.NET. dll. For earlier versions of Visual Studio, you will want to use the Phidget21.NET1.1.dll instead.
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| * Place a TextBox on your main form for the purpose of capturing output.
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| * Hook the form's Load and FormClosing events. Phidget initialization and shutdown will take place
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| there.
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| The project now has access to Phidgets and we are ready to begin coding.
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|
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| ===Coding For Your Phidget===
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| Before you can use the Phidget, you must include a reference in the code to the libraries. Launch the
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| code editor for your form and add this to your using statements:Getting_Started_CSharp created: 11/10/10 Page 2
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| using Phidgets;
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| using Phidgets.Events;
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| Afterwards, a Phidget object will need to be declared and then initialized. For example, we can
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| declare a PhidgetInterfaceKit inside our form with:
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| <div style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-color: #1c9edb; border-width:1px; border-style: dashed;">
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| <font size="3">
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| <source lang=CSharp>
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|
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| namespace PhidgetTest
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| {
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| public partial class Form1 : Form
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| {
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| //The Phidget object declaration
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| private InterfaceKit ifKit;
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| public Form1()
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| {
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| InitializeComponent();
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| }
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| //... Form1_Load and Form1_OnClosing here
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| }
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| }
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| </source>
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| </font>
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| </div>
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| The object name for any type of Phidget is listed in the API manual. Every type of Phidget also
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| inherits functionality from the Phidget base class.
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|
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| ===Connecting to the Phidget===
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| Next, the program needs to try and connect to the Phidget through a call to open(). Open will tell the
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| program to continuously try to connect to a Phidget, based on the parameters given, even trying to
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| reconnect if it gets disconnected. This means that simply calling open does not guarantee you can
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| use the Phidget immediately. We can handle this by using event driven programming and tracking
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| the AttachEvents and DetachEvents, or by calling waitForAttachment. WaitForAttachment will block
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| indefinitely until a connection is made to the Phidget, or an optional timeout is exceeded.
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| <div style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-color: #1c9edb; border-width:1px; border-style: dashed;">
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| <font size="3">
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| <source lang=CSharp>
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|
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| private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
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| {
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| ifKit = new InterfaceKit();
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| ifKit.open();
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| ifKit.waitForAttachment(3000);
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| }
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| </source>
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| </font>
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| </div>
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| The different types of open can be used with parameters to try and get the first device it can find,
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| open based on its serial number, or even open across the network. The API manual lists all of the
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| available modes that open provides. One important thing to remember is that when working with
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| Phidgets, a local connection will reserve the device until closed. This prevents any other instances
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| from retrieving data from the Phidget, including other programs. The one connection per device limit
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| does not apply when exclusively using the Phidget Webservice.
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|
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| ===Event Driven Programming===
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| We recommend the use of event driven programming when working with Phidgets. In C# we can
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| hook an event handler at loading with the following code:
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| <div style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-color: #1c9edb; border-width:1px; border-style: dashed;">
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| <font size="3">
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| <source lang=CSharp>
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| ifKit.SensorChange += new SensorChangeEventHandler(ifKit_SensorChange);
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|
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| </source>
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| </font>
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| </div> | | </div> |
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| The ifKit_SensorChange method is defined as follows:
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| <div style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-color: #1c9edb; border-width:1px; border-style: dashed;">
| | == Quick Downloads == |
| <font size="3">
| | If you already know what you're doing and just need the files, you can find them all below. |
| <source lang=CSharp>
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| void ifKit_SensorChange(object sender, SensorChangeEventArgs e)
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| {
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| textBox1.Text = "Index " + e.Index + " Value: " + e.Value;
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| }
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| </source>
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| </font>
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| </div>
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| With this function, the code inside ifKit_SensorChange will get executed every time the
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| PhidgetInterfaceKit reports a change on one of its analog inputs. Some events such as Attach and
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| Detach belong to the base Phidget object and thus are common to all types of Phidgets. Please refer
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| to the API manual for a full list of events and their usage.
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| At the end of your program, unhook any events and call Application.DoEvents(). This will make sure
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| there are no outstanding events being processed before calling close.
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| <div style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-color: #1c9edb; border-width:1px; border-style: dashed;">
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| <font size="3">
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| <source lang=CSharp>
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| private void Form1_FormClosing(object sender, FormClosingEventArgs e)
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| {
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| ifKit.SensorChange -= new SensorChangeEventHandler(ifKit_SensorChange);
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| //run any events in the message queue
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| Application.DoEvents();
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| ifKit.close();
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| }
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| </source>
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| </font>
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| </div>
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| Working directly with the Phidget
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| Some values can be read and sent directly to the Phidget, simply use the instance members and
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| properties. This is also how you would set properties on the Phidget such as the output state or
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| sensor sensitivity. These functions can be used inside a polling loop as an alternative to event driven
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| programming.
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| int val = ifKit.sensors[0].Value;
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| ===Working with multiple Phidgets=== | | === Documentation === |
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| Multiple Phidgets of the same type can easily be run inside the same program. In our case, it
| | *{{Phidget22API}} (Select C# from drop-down menu) |
| requires another PhidgetInterfaceKit instance to be defined and initialized. The new instance can then
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| be set up, opened and used in the same process as the previous one.
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| If the application needs to distinguish between the devices, open can be called with the serial
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| number of a specific Phidget.
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| ===Other Phidgets=== | | === Example Code === |
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| The design given in this document can also be followed for almost all Phidgets. For example, if
| | *{{SampleCode|CSharp|C# Examples}} |
| you were using a PhidgetRFID instead of an PhidgetInterfacekit, you would declare an RFID object
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| instead of an InterfaceKit. The methods and events available would change but they can be accessed
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| in a similar manner.
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|
| <!-- Not sure if this section is even necessary
| | ===Libraries=== |
| ==Building your Project== | |
| Describe the different ways a project could be built using this language.
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| -->
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| ==Common Problems and Solutions/Workarounds==
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| There are no known issues specific to C# at this time.
| | {{AllQuickDownloads}} |
