My question is how do you update your ui, with data from serialport, while still updating other ui components? I have tried using a background worker, but it seems to block the ui, while the data is streaming in.
Image of form:
My code is:
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
static bool _continue;
static SerialPort _serialPort;
BackgroundWorker dataWorker;
string message;
public delegate void UpdateListboxData();
private void buttonPortConnect_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Set the read/write timeouts
_serialPort.ReadTimeout = 500;
_serialPort.WriteTimeout = 500;
_serialPort.Open();
_continue = true;
dataWorker = new BackgroundWorker();
dataWorker.RunWorkerAsync();
dataWorker.DoWork += StartDataWork;
}
private void StartDataWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
Delegate del = new UpdateListboxData(DataRead);
this.Invoke(del);
}
private void DataRead()
{
while (_continue)
{
try
{
message = _serialPort.ReadLine();
}
catch (TimeoutException) { }
}
}
}
you have to use Serial Port DataReceived Event and Delegate
private void serialPort1_DataReceived(object sender, System.IO.Ports.SerialDataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
if (TextBox.InvokeRequired)
TextBox.Invoke(new myDelegate(updateTextBox));
}
public delegate void myDelegate();
public void updateTextBox()
{
int iBytesToRead = serialPort1.BytesToRead;
//Your Codes For reding From Serial Port Such as this:
char[] ch = new char[?];
serialPort1.Read(ch, 0, ?? ).ToString();
//........
}
The way to update a winforms UI is to use if (control.InvokeRequired) {...} and Invoke as shown in the example here How do I update the GUI from another thread?
You should not read data inside the invoke'd function. This is blocking your UI.
Either read data directly in "DoWork" and invoke the delegate only with data.
Or you might use the DataReceived event of SerialPort.
Related
I have a Windows Form application and managed DLL in one solution. DLL contains some time consuming functions during which I wish to update the Form contents (callback from the DLL to the Form with progess updates). I have the following code:
Form code, where I initialize the DLL and give it a callback function in the Initialize method. I also start a separate Thread to periodicly check the message_queue for new messages from the DLL. The DLL function is also called in a separate Thread (non blocking for the UI).
private LibraryDLL library_dll;
private ConcurrentQueue<string> message_queue;
public MainForm()
{
InitializeComponent();
library_dll = new LibraryDLL();
message_queue = new ConcurrentQueue<string>();
library_dll.Initialize(ProcessMessage);
new Thread(() =>
{
Thread.CurrentThread.IsBackground = true;
string message;
if (message_queue.TryDequeue(out message))
{
PrintMessage(message);
}
}).Start();
}
private void ProcessMessage(string message)
{
message_queue.Enqueue(message);
}
private void PrintMessage(string message)
{
this.Invoke((MethodInvoker)delegate
{
listBox_rows.Items.Add(message);
});
}
private void button_send_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
new Thread(() =>
{
Thread.CurrentThread.IsBackground = true;
library_dll.DoWork();
}).Start();
}
In DLL code, I use the callback method to report progress:
private CallBack callback;
public delegate void CallBack(string message);
public LibraryDLL() { }
public void Initialize(CallBack callback)
{
this.callback = callback;
}
public void DoWork()
{
callback("working...")
Thread.Sleep(500);
callback("working...")
Thread.Sleep(500);
callback("working...")
Thread.Sleep(500);
}
My problem is, that instead of string "working" appearing every 500ms, it appears 3 times after 1500ms (only after the Thread in which the DoWork method is running ends). I also tried the Invalidate()-Update()-Refresh() sequence in the Form's PrintMessage function, but without any effect.
Thanks for the advice!
EDIT1:
I modified the code to use the BackgroundWorker, however, the problem remains (nothing for 1500ms, than all 3 strings at once).
BackgroundWorker bck_worker;
public MainForm()
{
InitializeComponent();
library_dll = new LibraryDLL();
library_dll.Initialize(bck_worker);
bck_worker = new BackgroundWorker();
bck_worker.ProgressChanged += new ProgressChangedEventHandler(bckWorker_ProgressChanged);
bck_worker.WorkerReportsProgress = true;
bck_worker.WorkerSupportsCancellation = true;
}
private void bckWorker_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
library_dll.DoWork();
}
private void bckWorker_ProgressChanged(object sender, ProgressChangedEventArgs e)
{
PrintMessage((string)e.UserState);
}
private void button_send_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
bck_worker.DoWork += new DoWorkEventHandler(bckWorker_DoWork);
bck_worker.RunWorkerAsync();
}
private void PrintMessage(string message)
{
listBox_rows.Items.Add(message);
}
And the DLL:
private BackgroundWorker bck_worker;
public LibraryDLL() { }
public void Initialize(BackgroundWorker bck_worker)
{
this.bck_worker = bck_worker;
}
public void DoWork()
{
bck_worker.ReportProgress(25, "working...");
Thread.Sleep(500);
bck_worker.ReportProgress(50, "working...");
Thread.Sleep(500);
bck_worker.ReportProgress(75, "working...");
Thread.Sleep(500);
}
EDIT2:
OK, I now tried to add the Invalidate-Update-Refresh sequence at the end of the PrintMessage function and it finaly works (with the BackgroundWorker approach)!
Use background worker and workers's report progress to update your UI: background worker doc
I have several textboxes in my wpf application. The LostFocus-Event of each textbox starts a backgroundworker to send the data to a connected serial port.
private readonly BackgroundWorker online_mode_send_worker = new BackgroundWorker();
online_mode_send_worker.DoWork += online_mode_send_worker_DoWork;
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerCompleted += online_mode_send_worker_RunWorkerCompleted;
private void TextBox_LostFocus(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerAsync(data);
}
private void online_mode_send_worker_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
List<object> data = (List<object>)e.Argument;
Port.WriteLine(STARTCHARACTER + XMLSET + XML_TAG_START + data[0] + XML_TAG_STOP + data[1] + ENDCHARACTER);
string received = Port.ReadLine();
}
private void online_mode_send_worker_RunWorkerCompleted(object sender, RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e)
{
//do some things after worker completed
}
At this point, everything is working fine.
But sometimes I have to send two data-points directly after each other and there I have a problem.
private void TextBox_LostFocus(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerAsync(data1);
//wait until backgroundworker has finished
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerAsync(data2);
}
The Backgroundworker is still running and I get an exception thrown.
Is it possible to wait after the first online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerAsync(data) until it has finished and then start the second online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerAsync(data)?
while(online_mode_send_worker.isBusy); is not working because the main-thread is blocking and the RunWorkerCompleted() is not thrown and so the Backgroundwoker is always busy.
I have found something like this, but Application.DoEvents() is not available in wpf.
while (online_mode_send_worker.IsBusy)
{
Application.DoEvents();
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(100);
}
Here is a rough idea of what I mentioned in the comments.
public class Messenger {
private readonly BackgroundWorker online_mode_send_worker = new BackgroundWorker();
private readonly ConcurrentQueue<object> messages;
public Messenger() {
messages = new ConcurrentQueue<object>();
online_mode_send_worker.DoWork += online_mode_send_worker_DoWork;
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerCompleted += online_mode_send_worker_RunWorkerCompleted;
}
public void SendAsync(object message) {
if (online_mode_send_worker.IsBusy) {
messages.Enqueue(message);
} else {
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerAsync(message);
}
}
public Action<object> MessageHandler = delegate { };
private void online_mode_send_worker_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e) {
if (MessageHandler != null)
MessageHandler(e.Argument);
}
private void online_mode_send_worker_RunWorkerCompleted(object sender, RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e) {
object nextMessage = null;
if (messages.Count > 0 && messages.TryDequeue(out nextMessage)) {
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerAsync(nextMessage);
}
}
}
You have a queue to hold on to messages that were sent while the background worker was busy and have the worker check the queue for any pending messages when it has completed doing its work.
The messenger can be used like this.
private Messenger messenger = new Messenger();
private void Initialize() { //I would expect this to be in the constructor
messenger.MessageHandler = MessageHandler;
}
private void TextBox_LostFocus(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
messenger.SendAsync(data);
}
private void MessageHandler(object message)
{
List<object> data = (List<object>)message;
Port.WriteLine(STARTCHARACTER + XMLSET + XML_TAG_START + data[0] + XML_TAG_STOP + data[1] + ENDCHARACTER);
string received = Port.ReadLine();
}
It seems that I missed the serial stuff. So what you want to do is synchronize your asynchronuouscalls:
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
Task.Run(() => mySerialDevice1.WriteData(data1));
Task.Run(() => mySerialDevice1.WriteData(data2));
}
public class SerialDevice
{
public Port Port { get; set; }
public object _LockWriteData = new object();
public void WriteData(string data)
{
lock(_LockWriteData)
{
Port.WriteLine(data);
}
}
}
also see:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/c5kehkcz.aspx
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/de0542zz(v=vs.110).aspx
ORIGINAL ANSWER
You can use Task instead of Backgroundworker.
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
Task.Run(() => OnlineModeSendData(data1));
Task.Run(() => OnlineModeSendData(data2));
}
private void OnlineModeSendData(List<string> data)
{
Port.WriteLine(STARTCHARACTER + XMLSET + XML_TAG_START + data[0]+ XML_TAG_STOP + data[1] + ENDCHARACTER);
string received = Port.ReadLine();
}
I also would like to suggest that you make real objects instead of passing string arrays as arguments.
For Example send BlinkLedRequest:
public class BlinkLedRequest
{
public int LedId{get;set;}
public int DurationInMilliseconds {get;set}
}
and a corresponding method:
public void SendBlinkLed(BlickLedRequest request)
{
....
}
I think your should use RunWorkerCompleted event and add a delegate:
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerCompleted += (s, ev) =>
{
if (ev.Error != null)
{
//log Exception
}
//if(conditionToBrake)
// return;
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerAsync(data2);
};
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerCompleted(data1);
Make sure you put there a condition to avoid infinite loop.
I'd say that if you MUST wait until after the first "job" is done, that what you want is Task.ContinueWith() and change your interface accordingly. The msdn page is good for it IMO, but watch out that you're waiting on the "correct" task object. Hint: it's the return value of ContinueWith() that you should call Wait() on. This is a good pattern to do for launching a Task and then waiting for it later as long as you can keep the Task that is returned so you can wait on it.
For a more generic "I only want one background thread doing things in the order they're added, and I want to wait until they're ALL done and I know when I'm done adding." I would suggest using a BlockingCollection<Action> with only one thread consuming them. An example of how to do that is found in this other answer.
Update:
bw.RunWorkerAsync(data1);
//wait here
bw.RunWorkerAsync(data2);
Is not good aproach, because UI will be blocked on time of waiting. Better:
bw.RunWorkerAsync(new object[] { data1, data2 }); //or new object[] { data1 } if no data2
Original answer:
I advice not to use construction: while (bw.Busy) { ... } (it consumes cpu time), use synchronization objects, for example, ManualResetEvent
BackgroundWorker is great class, but does not support waiting. Just create addition object for waiting:
var bw = new BackgroundWorker();
bw.DoWork += Bw_DoWork;
bw.RunWorkerCompleted += Bw_RunWorkerCompleted;
bool wasError;
ManualResetEvent e = null;
private void TextBox_LostFocus(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
if (e != null)
return;
wasError = false;
e = new ManualResetEvent(false); //not signaled
bw.RunWorkerAsync(data1);
e.Wait(); //much better than while(bw.Busy())
if (!wasError)
bw.RunWorkerAsync(data2);
e = null;
}
private void Bw_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
//background work in another thread
}
private void Bw_RunWorkerCompleted(object sender, RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Error != null)
{
//catch exception here
wasError = true;
}
e.Set(); //switch to signaled
}
If you need only call twice you can do this:
bw.RunWorkerCompleted += new RunWorkerCompletedEventHandler(bw_RunWorkerCompleted);
void bw_RunWorkerCompleted(object sender, RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e)
{
online_mode_send_worker.RunWorkerAsync(data2);
}
But if you need to queue commands you need rewrite in another way Using Task.
One Task where inside it you will have a for-loop where you will send your data through serial port sequentially.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/pt-br/library/system.threading.tasks.task(v=vs.110).aspx
I'm writing a fairly basic application, where one of the tasks is communicating with an Arduino Uno card.
I would like to write the serial communication as a separate module, so the forms only calls for the input from Arduino, and the module will handle the creating and opening of the serialPort and reading data from it.
For testing purposes I wrote a program for the Arduino which prints the elapsed milliseconds every half second to the serialPort.
I would like to populate the textBox of my Form with the output from Arduino after I press a button.
I create the serialPort in the SerialComm class, and although I attach a DataReceived event handler to it, it never seems to fire.
Here is the code for the SerialComm class:
class SerialComm
{
private List<String> availablePorts;
private SerialPort arduino;
private string receivedText;
public String[] portList
{ get
{
EnumPorts();
return availablePorts.ToArray();
}
}
public string receivedData
{
get
{
return receivedText;
}
}
public void InitialiseSerial()
{
arduino = new SerialPort();
arduino.BaudRate = 9600;
arduino.DtrEnable = true;
// Add event handler
arduino.DataReceived += new SerialDataReceivedEventHandler(arduino_DataReceived);
}
public void EnumPorts()
{
availablePorts = new List<string>();
foreach (string s in SerialPort.GetPortNames())
{
availablePorts.Add(s);
}
}
public void StartMC(SerialPort serialPort, String portName)
{
arduino = serialPort;
if (arduino.IsOpen)
{
arduino.Close();
}
else
{
//Initialise Serial Port
arduino.PortName = portName;
arduino.Open();
}
}
//This never fires==================
private void arduino_DataReceived(object sender, SerialDataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
receivedText = arduino.ReadExisting();
}
public void CloseMC()
{
if (arduino.IsOpen)
{
arduino.Close();
arduino.Dispose();
}
}
}
In the Form I call the text from Arduino like this: (I have a button (Button1), a combobox for selecting the COM port (comboBox1) and a textBox on the Form)
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
SerialComm arduino = new SerialComm();
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//Arduino
arduino.InitialiseSerial();
String[] portList = arduino.portList;
foreach (String COM in portList)
{
comboBox1.Items.Add(COM);
}
if (portList.Length > 0)
{
comboBox1.SelectedItem = comboBox1.Items[0];
}
else
{
comboBox1.Text = "No microcontroller found!";
}
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
arduino.StartMC(serialPort1, comboBox1.SelectedItem.ToString());
//as the DataReceived never fires arduino.receivedData stays null
if (arduino.receivedData != null)
{
for (int i = 0; i < 101; i++)
{
textBox1.AppendText(arduino.receivedData);
}
}
}
private void Form1_FormClosing(object sender, FormClosingEventArgs e)
{
arduino.CloseMC();
}
}
Do you see any reason why the event handler doesn't trigger?
Thank you very much for your help in advance.
Best Regards,
Peter
I am new to C# and am having trouble figuring out how to pass an event from a thread up to the GUI form thread. Any help would be appreciated. All of the examples I find are WAY too complicated. I just want to start with one event from the treat up to the GUI and have the GUI do something (right now, anything).
namespace testEvents
{
public delegate void StuffHappenedDel( MessageEventArgs e);
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
workerThread thread;
int j = 0;
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
thread = new workerThread();
thread.Start();
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
thread.Stop();
}
private void StuffHappenedDel(Object seder, EventArgs e)
{
j++;
}
}
public class workerThread
{
Thread worker;
private bool _quit = false;
/* I don't think this next line is correct*/
public event StuffHappenedDel StuffHappened;
protected virtual void OnStuffHappened(MessageEventArgs e)
{
if (StuffHappened != null)
StuffHappened( e);
}
public void Start()
{
ThreadStart start = new ThreadStart(Run);
worker = new Thread(start);
worker.Start();
}
private void Run()
{
int i = 0;
while (!_quit)
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
i++;
OnStuffHappened(new MessageEventArgs(false, "it worked!"));
Console.WriteLine(string.Format("Slept {0} seconds.",i));
}
Console.WriteLine("Thread exiting");
}
}
public class MessageEventArgs : EventArgs
{
public MessageEventArgs(bool Error, string message)
{
IsError = Error;
Message = message;
}
public bool IsError { get; set; }
public string Message { get; set; }
}
}
You need to register Form1 as a listener for the event. First, add a method like the following to Form1:
private void thread_SuffHappened(MessageEventArgs e)
{
MessageBox.Show("Stuff happened!");
}
And in Form1's constructor, register as a listener like so:
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
thread = new workerThread();
thread.StuffHappened += new StuffHappenedDel(thread_StuffHappened);
thread.Start();
}
Do you have to use this custom threading system, or are you able to use BackgroundWorkers? BackgroundWorkers haven an event ProgressChanged which fires on the thread that created the BackgroundWorker.
Alternatively, if you attach a handler to a background event from the UI thread, the work is still done on the background thread.
thread.StuffHappenedDel += new EventHandler<MessageEventArgs>(StuffHappenedDel);
Therefore, you need to marshall the data to the UI thread. One way is by using BeingInvoke.
private void StuffHappenedDel(object sender, MessageEventArgs e)
{
this.myControl.BeginInvoke( new Action(
() =>
{
//UI thread work (likely anything that affects UI. Heavy
//processing can continue on the bg thread outside this code block
}));
}
Also, you can use if (myControl.InvokeRequired) to check if you need to marshall data when changing a particular control.
if (this.InvokeRequired)
{
this.Invoke((Action)(() =>
{
//UI thread stuff
}
));
}
Edit to clarify
Your thread object that you've created needs to attach an event handler to the StuffHappenedDel event. To do this, you use something like this
thread.StuffHappenedDel += new EventHandler<MessageEventArgs>(StuffHappenedDel);
before you call thread.Start(). Now, this handler is called
private void StuffHappenedDel(Object seder, MessageEventArgs e)
{
j++;
}
whenever your event is fired.
If you want to make changes to any UI elements, you need to use the Invoke method described above.
Look into the Background Worker Class. Also, you can always fire an event that is handled by your GUI Class (though not on the GUI Thread) and then call Invoke
I have a serial port class, and I would like to control send/receive via my GUI, and have the GUI update based on receipt of data from the serial port (or other events). So the two relevant classes are the serial class and the main window class.
I have the code below which compiles, but I get an exception when I try to run.
public class MySerThread
{
public SerialPort serport;
public event SerialDataReceivedEventHandler newSerData;
public MySerThread()
{
serport = new SerialPort("COM1", 115200);
serport.Open();
serport.DataReceived += DataReceivedHandler;
}
public void DataReceivedHandler(object s, SerialDataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
byte[] data = new byte[serport.BytesToRead];
serport.Read(data, 0, data.Length);
// here's where I think I'm going wrong?
if(newSerData != null)
newSerData(s,e);
}
}
And then in my GUI class...
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
MySerThread myPort;
public MainWindow()
{
// Exception triggers here
myPort.newSerData += DisplaySerDataHandler;
}
private void DisplaySerDataHandler(object sender, SerialDataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
this.ReceivedCallback(e);
}
private void ReceivedCallback(SerialDataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
if(this.someTextBlock.Dispatcher.CheckAccess())
{
this.UpdateTextBlock(e);
}
else
{
this.someTextBlock.Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(new Action<SerialDataReceivedEventArgs>(this.UpdateTextBlock), e);
}
}
private void UpdateTextBlock(SerialDataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
someTextBlock.Text = "got new data";
}
}
So, what am I doing wrong here? What is the best way to do this?
You can't access myPort without creating an instance.
MySerThread myPort = new MySerThread();