The EVE Screen Designer 3.x (ESD3.x) integrated development environment (IDE) generation further facilitates EVE-based human machine interface (HMI) construction. It presents a simple, highly intuitive package through which a wide range of exciting visual effects can be created and various items of graphical content edited, to derive enhanced user experiences.

Building on the previous generation, it has advanced code generation capabilities (with exported C-based source code being applicable to any hardware associated with Bridgetek’s FT90x MCUs), plus a greater scope of widgets that can be incorporated. As users rely predominantly on visual programming (though there is provision to use text for editing purposes), they do not need to have an in-depth understanding of EVE display lists.

Using a straightforward drag-and-drop method, widgets (buttons, dials, clocks, gauges, scroll bars, etc.) can be taken from an extensive library and placed into the HMI design. Once the design has been completed, ANSI C code is subsequently generated in relation to the specified hardware platform.

It is possible to simulate the whole design on the ESD3.0 IDE, before compiling and downloading the generated source code. This means that the user can check they are totally happy with the look and feel of the HMI before it is implemented.

Furthermore, the logic node editor function gives users complete visibility of how different elements of the design interact with one another, so they can see what effect changing a particular element will have on the other elements that are connected to it.

Through this the effectiveness of the control structure can be maximized – allowing the coding up of a specific response to a button press, for example. The Bridgetek ESD3.0 IDE package works with the Windows operating systems (ideally Windows 10, but also Windows 7 and 8 when appropriate updates have been applied).