Software Overview

Phidgets’ philosophy is that you do not have to be an electrical engineer in order to do projects that use devices like sensors, motors, motor controllers, and interface boards. All you need to know is how to program.

We have developed a complete set of Application Programming Interfaces (API) that are supported for many different operating systems, and which can be used through many different programming languages.

We suggest starting with the Getting Started guide for your device. This will help you run a basic example to check your hardware and drivers.

The next step would be to choose your operating system below, and from there choose a language, learn about how to write code for your Phidget, and get API references for your programming language.

The APIs are covered in more detail in the API common to all devices and the API that pertains to your specific device.

Operating System Support

These operating system pages provide drivers for using Phidgets. They help you set up your system after following the Getting Started guide for your device. The operating systems links below are also on every Getting Started guide, so if you have not yet read the one for your device, head straight there.

Phidgets can be run either directly through USB or remotely over a network via the Phidget Webservice. Most operating systems below can run Phidgets directly, but a few can only control them over a network.

Phidgets can run either directly or over a network on these operating systems:

• Windows
• Mac OSX
• Linux (Kernel 2.6+)
• Windows CE ??
• Android (3.1 and above)
• OS - Phidget SBC

Phidgets can only be used over a network by these operating systems:

• IPhone iOS
• Android (3.0 and earlier, or no USB port)

Language Support

We provide a variety of supported languages for using Phidgets. Each language has its own libraries, which may be found on the language pages below, along with code examples and an in-depth API.

Many languages also depend on the core drivers being installed as well. These drivers can be found on the operating system pages above.

Phidgets supports the following languages. If you have some flexibility in what language to use, we recommend using a Core Language:

Language	API	Code Samples†	Events	Logic Code	Use via Direct USB*	Phidget Webservice	Native Library**	Phidget User Base
Core Languages
C#	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Extensive
C/C++	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Extensive
Java	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Extensive
Python	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Extensive
Cocoa	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Extensive
Visual Basic 6.0	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Extensive
Visual Basic .NET	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Extensive
Mobile Languages
iOS	All Devices	InterfaceKit Only	✓	✓	X	✓	✓	Moderate
Android Java	All Devices	InterfaceKit Only	✓	✓	3.1 or Higher Only	✓	✓	Moderate
Scripting
Applescript	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Moderate
AutoIt	All Devices	None	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Small
Ruby	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Small
Science and Math
LabVIEW	All Devices	All Devices
MATLAB	All Devices	Some Devices	X	✓	✓	✓	X	Moderate (Small?)
Simulink	All Devices	InterfaceKit Only	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Small
Multimedia
Adobe Director	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Small
Flash AS3	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Extensive
Flex AS3	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Moderate
LiveCode	InterfaceKit Only	InterfaceKit Only	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Small
Max/MSP	All Devices	All Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Moderate
Other Languages
C# (.NET Compact)	All Devices	Some Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Extensive
REALBasic	All Devices	None	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Small
Visual Basic for Apps	All Devices	Some Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Small
Visual Basic Script	All Devices	Some Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Small
Delphi	All Devices	Some Devices	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Small

* A direct USB connection would be plugging the Phidget into a USB port and using it locally. This is the typical way to use a Phidget. However, some platforms (such as the iPhone platform) do not have USB ports and hence can only use a Phidget over a network, via the Phidget Webservice.

** Native library support means that the calls you make to a Phidget in this language are in the language as well. If the calls are non-native, the use of Phidgets is through an external library linker, such as callib() in MATLAB, for example. The core Phidget library is written in C, and most other languages use this library as their core, but a 'Native' interface cleanly hides this detail.

^† Most languages have code samples for all Phidgets, but some have only some devices (visit the language page to learn which ones), and some only have an Interface Kit example. The Phidget Interface Kit is a common Phidget with provides an interface with analog sensors, digital input, and digital output. So, when we choose which examples to write, the Interface Kit is often at the top of our customer's lists.