Control Given Back to Touchpanel?
staticattic
Posts: 200
When I took my AMX Programming classes a year or so ago, our instructor wanted us to code everything out, including touch panel functions like page flips and popups. I have been doing it that way every since I have been unleashed on the public. As I have gained more experience with TPD4, I have seen where the TP can do quite a bit of "thinking" on its own. Is it generally a good idea to let the TP do some of its own thinking or is it better to keep all of the control within the NetLinx?
0
Comments
this is a much discussed and much cussed topic on the forum.
I suggest you look at any one of the threads dealing with it.
Here's one for example: http://www.amxforums.com/showthread.php?t=2830&
Just search the forum for 'popups from program' and you'll find some discussins.
I reread my post and one might assume I was being cranky with you. That was not the intent at all. I hope you didn't take it that way. It was not the intention.
It's a common question and a good discussion. There are camps on this forum on the subject. There's the 'do it all in the code camp' The other end of the spectrum is the 'do it all in the panel' crowd. Most people seem to be somewhere in the middle leaning one way or the other. I'm definitely in the 'do it in the code' crowd but will on occasion put a few navigations in the TP. For me it tends to be 'are you sure?" type notices or quick 10-key entries.
I did not take it that way at all. I have to agree with you. I am in the 'do it in the code' crowd too.
My office is in Indianapolis. I'm working on a job in Montana. We have an "8 hour" service agreement which we obviously can't do thousands of miles away. If a panel goes bad, I need to get a replacement quick. So...
The job has 8 rooms, all designed differently enough that each has it's own available sources. I have one touch panel file with multiple "headers". Depending on which master the panel connects to, the correct header pops up. With one loaner touch panel, the client just changes the master's IP address and, through the magic of code controlled touch panels, POOF... all of the correct sources show up, the name of the room populates, the conference phone number shows up...
If you want to recreate a cussing panel for every cussing job you cussing do...keep on programming in your panels. :-)
Ah, once more into the fray...
I agree and that's also why I do 99.9% of my touch panel navigation from code.
The trend I've seen on the board is that programmers who do larger, mult-panel systems tend to gravitate toward TP nav in code. People who do smaller, one or two panel systems seem to argue the opposite.
For those of us who do the bigger systems, we'd drive ourselves nuts trying to manage all those panels. (particularly, if the client wanted to make a small change throughout the entier system.)