EasyTerm

Five years of development, countless updates, improvements, and plans – all driven by one big vision: to make EasyTerm the most flexible tool in the world.

How to control EasyTerm?

EasyTerm is controlled via a simple text protocol through USB port, UART interface (typically via a PC, SBC like Raspberry Pi, or various embedded devices), or over the internet using the new WIFI module (sold separately). For maximum comfort and efficiency, there is no need to manually compose commands according to the manual or learn the API—you can use our CmdBuilder application and just fill a few forms.

And here lies the essence of the whole thing - you don't have to transmit commands each time - you can just for example transmit a command to display a button with "action" parameter being set to your frequently used command. Next time, just touch the button and command is executed as it was received externally. That´s the whole point of the example layouts and it is the core of its flexibility and customizability.

What can you do with EasyTerm?

A picture is worth a thousand words is here.

With a simple text command, you can, for example:

Operate integrated interfaces - such as generating an analog or PWM signal, converting voltage, reading a register via I2C...
Display graphical widgets - such as a slider for setting the frequency of a generated signal or for composing a message for a connected user device according to its API, filling in the parameter based on the slider position.
Log communication of connected devices and device behavior - log records in a widget supporting touch gestures and writing to FLASH memory.
Control connected user devices - by composing messages via slider, keyboard, button, checkbox widgets according to their API. Or use it as simple WIFI MQTT/UART bridge (WIFI module needed).
Parse messages from connected devices - visualize parsed data using form widgets, graphs, and logging windows.

Need a control panel for your device?

Even a dollar-cheap MCU with UART can have its own rich control panel by using EasyTerm. No library integration needed - just EasyTerm and a few text-commands sent by MCU's UART to EasyTerm (for example when your device powers-up).

You can also have multiple devices - each sending different set of commands. Thus you can reuse EasyTerm and each device will present its own GUI layout to EasyTerm.

Commands displaying widgets could have been sent before by a device other than your MCU (for example by PC) and whole layout of widgets could have been stored in EasyTerm memory by using specific command (e.g. "SaveLayout").

Displayed widgets can be used to control your device via its API or parse your device messages and render its contents on display. Your MCU can also send commands to control other aspects of EasyTerm (such as its I/Os, change its behavior etc.).

Want to automate?

Interesting possibilities can also be achieved in the field of automation. Due to the simple API, a wide range of functions can be realized, for example, through visual programming with Node-RED. Logic is then outsourced to Node-RED instance and it is easily adjustable without any device reprogramming. With the new WIFI module (sold separately), commands can be sent over WIFI using MQTT. Your Node-RED instance will contain the logic of your automation and send commands conditionally to EasyTerm and process its replies. You just adjust Node-RED logic in browser as needed.

Command <-> GUI widget integration example

By sending the command DAC v=2000 , for example, you can generate a voltage of 2V at the DAC output. However, commands can also be used as actions for graphical widgets, allowing EasyTerm to automatically compose commands based on user interaction. For example, you can display a slider configured to perform the action DAC v=%d . Moving the slider generates the appropriate voltage (the %d placeholder is replaced by the value corresponding to the slider's position). Similarly, connected user devices can be controlled—if you have a device whose API allows setting any parameter (e.g., via the message ParameterA:XY), you can set the slider widget "action" in the format ParameterA:%d to adjust this parameter via the slider. Using a button widget will invoke numeric graphical keyboard instead. The %s placeholder can be used with an alphanumeric keyboard.

Similarly, you can monitor various values sent through messages from user devices—if a device sends messages like Status: off, by setting the parsing mask for the form in the format "Status: %s", the string "off" (or anything else matching the parsing mask) will be displayed in the form after receiving this message.

With this principle, we have prepared a series of demonstrative "example" layouts for you, which will quickly turn EasyTerm into a touch-controlled signal generator, logger, I2C bus master, and much more (see HERE - Example Layouts tab).

This device is so flexible that for your comfort, we recommend watching the following videos. All information is also available in the manual (EN) HERE.