Control a third party GUI using Matlab

Is there a way to communicate with a third party GUI to select features listed on the GUI?

[Ajay Kumar]

I plan to use a switcher that I purchased. It is a Kiethley 3706-S LXI model switcher. The company has come up with a solution for Matlab using the instrument control toolbox and R2008a and higher.

I have R2007a and no Instrument control Toolbox. I was hoping to see if there is a solution to control the switcher without having to upgrade or spend extra costs.

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/20000-keithley-3706-system-switch-%E2%80%93-driver

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

Yes it is possible. Have a look at this guide and the other manuals here.

You will need to make an ethernet connection to the device, which is the main reason that the Instrument Control Toolbox is listed. But instead of the ICT you could probably download the MATLAB File Exchange contribution named "tcpudpip" which offers the same TCP interface.

The code contained within the #20000 download you linked to above is almost all just structured interface generation. Using the device without that interface would likely be less convenient, but it should be possible if you work through the documentation and write the interface yourself.

I have some experience with writing software interfaces to ethernet-connected devices. In my experience, sometimes the interface is very simple to write once you have established the TCP connection -- but if not, then while it might not exactly be "hard" to write, it often turns out to be tedious to write and debug and to uncover the undocumented design flaws and figure out how to program around them.

If you are familiar with working with TCP and familiar with talking to devices from MATLAB, and if the device interface happens to be straight-forward, then getting the data flowing might only be a day's work. But if those conditions do not hold, often it is more productive and more time-effective and more cost-effective to purchase the toolbox.

[Ajay Kumar]

Thank you very much for the response. I have established a connection trough the Ethernet already. The challenging part now is for automation I should be using Matlab to directly interact with the device. I haven't had much experience in TCP. But, I have no other choice. I will do whatever it takes for me to make this work.

I shall try the alternative that you posted. Hope it works. Thank you again. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for me or reading material that can be helpful to me. Thanks

Answer 2

[Jan]

Yes.

Please post any details, such that the answer can have any details, too.

[Ajay Kumar]

Thank you for the response. Would you need any further details?