arduino-timetable
=================

Module to send commands to an Arduino based on a time table.


Regarding Pyinstaller
---------------------

As of September 2017 the Pyinstaller version on PyPi is not ready for
Python 3.6 and / or multiprocessing. I stopped trying to use Pyinstaller
for distribution. The experiment is still available in the `pyinstaller`
branch.


Installation
------------

As the only prerequisite, [Python (at least version 3.6)][python] must be
installed. An added bonus points, if [git][git] is also available.

The installation should be performed in a python virtual environment. A virtual
environment (short: venv) isolates your base python installation from the
application and vice versa. This procedure is considered a standard procedure
when working with python applications and scripts.

1. Choose the desired installation path (e.g. a folder in your home directory)
2. Create a python virtual environment with `python3 -m venv venv-ardunio-timetable`
3. Activate the environment:
   - Posix: `source venv-ardunio-timetable/bin/activate`
   - Windows: `venv-ardunio-timetable\Scripts\activate.bat`
4. [Download][download] the 'arduino-timetable' and unpack it or use git:
   `git clone https://git.cpi.imtek.uni-freiburg.de/holgi/arduino-timetable.git`
5. Change to the new directory and install the software. I would recommend
   to install the software as a 'development version', so that changes can be
   made easily. Change to the folder where 'setup.py' is located and run
   `pip install -e .`

As of Version 0.1.0, this will also install one GUI-like application called
'magnetictrap'. It is located at the following paths:

- Posix: `<path to virtual environment>/bin/magnetictrap`
- Windows: `<path to virtual environment>\Scripts\magnetictrap.exe`

Don't move this file around. If you want to have a shortcut on the desktop or
somewhere else, please create a shortcut, alias or symbolic link - whatever it
is called on your system.


Updating
--------

Find out if the installation was done using git:

- Open a command line and activate the environment.
- Change to the directory, where the 'setup.py' file of
  the package is located
- Issue a `git status` command. If the result is something along the line
  `fatal: Not a git repository`, git was not used for the installation
- Updating *with* git:
  - Issue a `git pull origin` command to update the package
- Updating *without* git:
  - Delete the folder that contains the 'setup.py' file
  - [Download][download] the software again and unpack it
- Change to the folder where 'setup.py' is located and run
`pip install -e .` again to installe the applications


[python]: https://www.python.org/
[git]: https://git-scm.com/
[download]: https://git.cpi.imtek.uni-freiburg.de/holgi/arduino-timetable/archive/master.tar.gz