controlwidget - Collection of widgets for displaying and
controlling numerical values
package require Tcl ?8.5?
package require Tk ?8.5?
package require snit ?2.0?
package require controlwidget ?0.1?
::controlwidget::meter w args
::controlwidget::slider w args
::controlwidget::equalizerBar w args
::controlwidget::thermometer w args
::controlwidget::voltmeter w args
::controlwidget::tachometer w args
::controlwidget::rdial w args
$widget get
$widget set value
::controlwidget::led w args
::controlwidget::radioMatrix w args
$led on
$led off
$led setstate state
$matrix get
$matrix set index
The controlwidget package focuses on the display and interactive
control of numerical values. It mimicks several of the meters and controls
found in laboratory settings but also daily life: volt meters, equalizers
and tachometers to name a few. They can be seen as alternatives for the
scale widget.
Note: The package has not sofar been tested extensively,
and that may result in an unexpected appearance if you use sizes that are
different than the defaults. Also not all options for the coloring of the
various parts and fonts and so on have been tested, so that may be another
source of bugs.
A last note: some parts have not been included in any option, most
notably the colors of parts that require lighter and darker shades to
cooperate.
The package distinguishes several typed of widgets:
- Vertical meters: the value of the variable is translated into a vertical
position, like with the coloured bars you find on your stereo
installation.
- Angle displays: the value of the variable is related to the angle of a
needle, like with tachometers.
- Interactive widgets: most widgets allow you to change the value of the
variable by pressing the mouse button on the needle and shifting it up and
down or left and right.
- Non-interactive widgets: some widgets, like the thermometer widget, do not
allow such interaction.
- Logical or choice widgets: some widgets display the values as either
on/off (or true/false) or as one of a set of discrete choices.
All widgets have in common, however, that you can connect them to
a variable and that changing the variable changes the display. Forthermore,
all widgets have the set and get methods to interact with the value that the
widget displays (whether that is stored in a global variable or not).
They also have in common that their appearance and behaviour is
determined by one or more options that you can set at creation time and
often later on as well. The widgets are all based on the snit
package, so that the methods configure and cget are available
to set and get these options.
Currently the package contains these widgets of the vertical
meter type:
- ::controlwidget::meter w args
- Create a vertical meter consisting of an axis and a moveable arrow.
- ::controlwidget::slider w args
- Create a widget containing one or more vertical sliders and an axis. You
can shift the slider handles interactively via the mouse.
- ::controlwidget::equalizerBar w args
- Create a widget containing one or more vertical bars resembling those
found on hifi graphical equalizers. Note that it is a read-only
widget.
- ::controlwidget::thermometer w args
- Create a thermometer widget (read-only)
These widgets all use a vertical axis and have the following
options in common for configuring the axis:
- axisformat
string
- Format string for formatting the numbers along the axis
- axisfont
string
- Name of the font to be used for the numbers
- axiscolor
color
- Color of the axis (including the numbers)
- from color
- Lower value for the axis
- to color
- Upper value for the axis
- majorticks
integer
- Number of major tickmarks to draw (each is labelled)
- minorticks
integer
- Number of minor tickmarks to draw between two major tickmarks
- log boolean
- Use a logarithmic axis (true) or a linear axis (false)
The package contains the following widget based on angle
displays:
- ::controlwidget::voltmeter w args
- Create a voltmeter-like widget.
- ::controlwidget::tachometer w args
- Create a tachometer-like widget.
- widget w
(in)
- Name of the widget to be created.
- arguments
args (in)
- List of key-value pairs, controlling the appearance and behaviour of the
widget. In addition to the ones given for the voltmeter widget:
- ::controlwidget::rdial w args
- Create a rotating dial. You can drag the dial to change the value. With
the shift button depressed the value changes slowly, with the control
button depressed it changes fast.
- widget w
(in)
- Name of the widget to be created.
- arguments
args (in)
- List of key-value pairs, controlling the appearance and behaviour of the
widget:
- variable
name
- Name of the variable to be associated with the dial
- value
value
- Value for the dial (if not associated with a variable)
- orient
string
- Whether a horizontal disk/dial is required ("horizontal") or a
vertical one ("vertical")
- step value
- Initial step for incrementing or decrementing the value
- slow value
- Factor on the step size for incrementing or decrementing the value
slowly
- fast value
- Factor on the step size for incrementing or decrementing the value
fast
- scale value
- Scale value to be applied to the actual value
- callback
command
- Command to be called when the value changes
- width
pixels
- The width of the widget
- height
pixels
- The height of the widget
- background
color
- The background color of the widget (coloring of the disk/dial)
- foreground
color
- The foreground color of the widget (the marker lines)
All these widgets have the following methods:
- $widget get
- Return the current value or values shown in the widget
- $widget set value
- Reset the value or values shown in the widget. If the widget is associated
with a variable, that variable is set as well.
Two further widgets are available, meant to display logical
values:
- ::controlwidget::led w args
- Create a LED-like widget.
- widget w
(in)
- Name of the widget to be created.
- arguments
args (in)
- List of key-value pairs, controlling the appearance and behaviour of the
widget. In addition to the ones given for the voltmeter widget:
- ::controlwidget::radioMatrix w args
- Create a matrix of radio buttons that behaves as a single widget.
- widget w
(in)
- Name of the widget to be created.
- arguments
args (in)
- List of key-value pairs, controlling the appearance and behaviour of the
widget. In addition to the ones given for the voltmeter widget:
- variable
name
- Name of the variable to be associated with the matrix
- orient
string
- The way the radio buttons are to be arranged (horizontal or vertical
first)
- rows integer
- Number of rows in the matrix
- columns
integer
- Number of columns in the matrix
- command
list
- Command associated with the radio buttons. Invoked when the active radio
button changes.
The LED widget has the following public methods:
- $led on
- Set the state to "on"
- $led off
- Set the state to "off"
- $led setstate state
- Set the state according to the value of "state"
The radioMatrix widget has two public methods:
- $matrix get
- Return the index of the currently selected radio button
- $matrix set index
- Select the radio button with index "index"
The code for most of these widgets first appeared on the Wiki. In
many cases, Arjen Markus merely refactored the code a bit and
"snitified" some of them. The original code was developed by the
following people:
- Vertical meter, LED display, radio matrix: Ron Fox
- Rotating dials: Gerhard Reithofer
- Voltmeter and tachometer: Marco Maggi
- Code for moving the needle: ?
controlling, displaying, numerical values, scale widget
Copyright (c) 2010 Ron Fox <rfox@...>
Copyright (c) 2010 Gerhard Reithofer <...@...>
Copyright (c) 2010 Marco Maggi <...@...>
Copyright (c) 2010 Arjen Markus <arjenmarkus@users.sourceforge.net>