Communication with a computer

Maybe we need to go back to the old "Basic" language which is essentially very close to the spoken word.

Since Windows arrived most of us have forgotten how to address a computer by any means bar clicking a mouse button.

Andy

There is voice recognition software available now that lets you issue commands in your native language. My friend is a trekkie who turns his computer on by saying "Computer". It only works for his voice. The computer will execute BASIC commands as well as windows menu commands.

I did that too. Only problem was that "computer" has developed selective hearing like my kids. :-)

jehu

There is a running joke amongst a couple of my MCU programming friends and I; when the overhead of using high level language "C" becomes a pain we will break out the dip switches and a debounced momentary switch to parallel program the flash in machine code one instruction at a time. We argue that every CS or SE student should have atleast one lab programming in machine code, great way to weed out the second year students!

Have a good day all.

This makes me miss my old Assembly language days.

Sir,Do you know how to do the interfacing of hardware to Computer(software0? I am really keen to know about this. Please sed me some Useful links about this.

Also some practical projects which can show the communication between computer and our hardware will be also effective in order to learn much about it.

Thanks.Mani

Answers for the question you asked could take GBs of server space! You need to be a little more specific. What is "our hardware"? Printer, scanner, PLC, GPS, UPS, game controller, home automation system, data aquisition...?

"How to interface computer to hardware?" Is a commonly asked, but very poor question. There are many "layers" of abstraction that involved to get from software (ie design and writing of code) all the way out to the input/output of the "hardware" at hand.

I will be assuming that "computer" means a typical PC that you could mail order from your favorite PC manfacturer. Also, that "hardware" means off-motherboard hardware.

Several questions you need to identify: (Very much not an inclusive list!)

1. PC software side:

* Who will design & code the software for the PC?

* What operating system(s) do you want to target?

* What is the significance of the PC? GUI? (Graphical User Interface)

2. What kind of "Interface" level do you want to use:

* bandwidth required (how fast do you need to send/recieve information?

If you are working with a homeautomation system, you won't need much speed, if however you are working with a complicated data aquisition system with several 3 axis acclerometers, strain guages and the like; you may need a wide channel to get the data to the computer.

* distance between hardware and computer.

* environment; industrial, comercial, out side, residential, etc.

Some typical interface examples:

Ethernet, USB, RS232, RS485/422, Bluetooth, ZigBee, PCI, ISA... These probably shouldn't even be all listed together since they represent such a large range of how to "breakout" from software to usable hardware I/O. Most all serial and ethernet port drivers are interfaced to the PC's processor via PCI buss (some on board, and some are cards that plug into motherboard of PC)

try out www.howstufworks.com try searches on "USB" "PCI" "serial port" "parallel printer port" You might get some useful info there, and remember to pick through some of the links at the end of the articals, sometimes they are helpfull.

Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with the capabilities of microcontrollers and/or DSPs (Digital Signal Processor) since most interfaces will require another "processor."

If I want write a simple program such as solving a 'New scientist' Enigma quiz I download a CPM (Pre DOS) simulation and run BASIC, my 64 bit AMD which now runs like a 8080 albeit a lot quicker and I can talk to it in an almost human language.

Like yourself , I'm a big fan of q-basic (as shipped free with early windows).As you say it can deal with some pretty good maths.Graphics are a bit week though .I did get it running a good routine for 3D stress analysis - rotating a cube and outputting the stress tensors on each face.If I'm bored I just leave it churning out primes. I had a nice routine for solving ax³+bx²+cx+d=0, which is quite happy with non-real roots , but I swapped it to Excel 'cos the interface was prettier.However excel is precision limited , so I reverted back for a project on my own version of RSA encryption (I was just playing with the handling of big numbers).I don't feel like a dinosaur now , having heard a like mind ! Kris.

The only way I can run Basic is to run a CPM emulation, this runs surprising quickly on a modern 3Gb clock rate machine.

I don't think CPM would be at lot of use for the brute force cracking of RSA codes!

Q-basic runs fine on the computer I'm using now - a fairly run of the mill Dell .RSA algorithms can be simplified with some nifty mathematical 'tricks' - check out techniques based on Euclid's algorithm. Admittedly , I haven't used numbers of the size used in reality , but I can pull off manipulations in Q-basic that would be a pain to set up in Excel. abc^def mod(ghi) kind of thing is easy , but obviously not very secure !

I am happy you take every blog seriously .

There is a lot of clarity in your entries .

Your participation enlivens the thread .

RK

At last, it appears I'm not alone!

I remember working at Marconi in England on my school vacations (my Dad worked there) I switched some very simple assembler (there was nothing else back then) into a DEC PDP11 (i think).mmmm lights and switches (read that bit with a Homer Simpson voice)

Then went on to basic...bought a Sinclair zx81...

Remember all those early PETs ...and PCs, yes we got Qbasic free and it worked...and you could communicate with the outside world.

Now the OS takes up so much processing power and memory the average PC is almost as quick as an old 286!

(ok...an exageration)..but loads of us still use Microsoft word...which doesn't even come with the OS and still has the same bugs! Please save me from Vista.

Pencil me in for a tirade against the tyrany of Microsoft...I'm sure a few of you can write your own...so I won't actually bother.

I have to moan here...'cos my Wife won't let me moan about Bill Gates (she loves her laptop)