MyOpenLab - English Translation

There is this great software MyOpenLab, which is kinda a Free, Libre, and Open Source (FLOSS) alternative to LabVIEW. It is a cross-platform Java environment for visual programming, creating GUIs and interfacing with hardware such as Raspberry Pi, Arduino ... you may read a review for the software by Al Williams here on Hackaday and a comparison to LabVIEW here.

Historically the software was developed by German folks and then later adopted by José Manuel Ruiz Gutiérrez a Spanish professor. The software itself seems amazing, except when you hit rock bottom due to the lack of English documentation and tutorials. There seems to be an astonishing body of material in Spanish though (e.g., here and here).

The freeware project MyOpenLab is a Java-programmed development kit for simulating circuits, creating animated demos or developing your own applications and components. Prerequisite for working with MyOpenLab is the Java JRE as of version 1.5. After starting the program, projects can be loaded or new ones can be started in a virtual machine (Java VM). A project consists of two levels: From a considerable number of ready-made components, an application can be created on a level called a "front panel" as a user interface (UI). The logical linking of the components placed there takes place on the circuit level - this is very reminiscent of the LabView concept. In this way, the user quickly gets to their own applications.

Applications include digital and analogue measurement, as well as the creation of flowcharts, neural networks, robotics and control solutions. Also the connection to real hardware is possible, the program supports some experimental boards. Own elements or applications can be saved as modules and then integrated into other projects as "Sub-VM". Help is provided by the numerous examples and a German-language Quickstart tutorial, a more detailed manual is unfortunately only available in Spanish (Translated to English here). A user forum allows you to contact other users.

You can free download MyOpenLab and safe install the latest trial or new full version for Windows 10 (x32, 64 bit, 86) from the official site.

Devices: Desktop PC, Laptop (ASUS, HP, DELL, Acer, Lenovo, MSI), Ultrabook

OS: Professional, Enterprise, Education, Home Edition, versions: 1507, 1511, 1607, 1703, 1709, 1803, 1809

Prerequisites

Java needs to be installed to install and use MyOpenLab.

What is MyOpenLab?

MyOpenLab is a Java-based software, which contains graphic blocks, each one fulfills a specific function and has properties configurable by the user, these components can be joined together to implement in a simple way the graphical part and The logic of an application.

Implemented interfaces

The software integrates elements to communicate with the most commercial platforms like Arduino®, Raspberry PI®, Android® and devices with Serial Communication.

Interfaces are included as users make suggestions on the available communication channels such as the Facebook page, the YouTUBE channel, and the Forum.

MyOpenLab Community

Share your experiences with the community of users!

You Can Use the forum in Spanish, English and other Languages with the participation of the developers.

You Can Access as a Guest to consult publications of different topics or register for a better experience!

The project was initiated by Carmelo Daniel Salafia-German Developer who designed and developed the project for several years, being the main developer until the middle of the year 2017 when he decided to transfer the development of the project to Engineer Javier Velásquez, who is currently the lead developer.

The distribution of the software has several examples of the use of the elements to make it easier for users to understand the logic of this program.

Users of this software do not necessarily have to be advanced programmers, but they must have a basic level of programming concepts.

The Project has been developed with Java® and Netbeans® and therefore run on different platforms if there are no hardware dependencies.

The software is available in German, English and Spanish.

Installation

1) Version 3.010 file does not contain an installer, but it will suffice, to extract the files to a folder called "../myopenlab" .

2)The file structure that is created should correspond to that shown below in the Figure 1, shown below.

The following figure shows the information window of the application where we can find important information regarding the tools used, the credits and the conditions of use. The application will work on the LINUX operating system, although this manual will talk about the application running under Windows .