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[on:]

G'day All,

I'm having issues with some data handling within my program.  Basically I can't figure out how to manipulate the strings in my array of strings.

I need to be able to have a string array with data already in them and search that data so that i can either replace the data or add to it.

Its for an RFID project i have to do for TAFE, it monitors a tool board and when a user removes tools it stores which tool that user has currently.  So when a user puts a tool back he/she may still have other tools attached to his/her name so i can't simply wipe the data from that user.  I need to be able to find and edit the data within the array.

eg.

char* user_tools[17]={"spanner8", "spanner10", "spanner12", "spanner14"}

say the user returns "spanner10"
i need the command to search user_tools for "spanner10" and then re-arrange the strings so that the data would look like

{"spanner8", "spanner12", "spanner14"}

any help greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[Reply #1 on:]

Check out the string library, should help you do what you need.

http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/TextString

[Reply #2 on:]

I would take a differnt approach and fiddle with an index to the tools instead of the strings. Lots of ways to do this, here is one idea:

Code:

enum Tools { SPANNER8,SPANNER10,SPANNER12, SPANNER14,NumberOfTools}; // enum is just a sequential list of items starting from 0
char* user_tools[NumberOfTools] = {"spanner8", "spanner10", "spanner12", "spanner14"};

boolean usedTools[NumberOfTools];

void useTool(int tool )
{
    usedTools[tool] = true;
}

void returnTool(int tool )
{
    usedTools[tool] = false;    
}

// prints strings of used tools if argument is true, unused tools if argument is false
void printTools(boolean isUsed){
  for( int i=0; i <NumberOfTools; i++)
    if(usedTools[i] == isUsed)
      Serial.println(user_tools[i]);
}

//usage:
 printTools(true); // print used tools
 useTool(SPANNER8);
 printTools(true); // print used tools
 returnTool(SPANNER8);

Not run the code but I hope the idea helps

[Reply #3 on:]

I've actually made a library for you, if you're interested.

This is an example of usage: http://arduino.pastebin.com/f3b6a0334
It will enable you to send command strings through serial, and the arduino will act upon them.

My library consists of three classes/structs

• Tool - definition of a single tool
• Toolkit - collection of tools
• ToolUser - a user of a toolkit

If you send +Spanner10$ it will add a spanner10 to a user
If you send -Spanner10$ it will remove a spanner10 from a user


I imagine there are a few functions that you would like to add to the API.
Maybe a getNumberOfTools() for knowing how many tools a user has, or a has(tool); to find out if a user has a tool.

You are free to edit the source and do whatever you want with it. If you have questions, PM me or use the @contact from the example.


This is a Serial log from a testrun of the example sketch that comes with the library.

Code:

You can add or remove tools by usnig these commands:
      +SpannerXX$
      -SpannerXX$
      Where:
            + and - indicates the wanted operation (add / remove)
            XX could be either 8,10,12 or 14
            $ indicates command end
Write '+Spanner10$' in order to add spanner10
Write '-Spanner10$' in order to remove spanner10

Tools in toolkit:
      spanner8
      spanner10
      spanner12
      spanner14
mlaser has these tools:
      spanner8
      spanner12
      spanner14

//sent: +Spanner10$
//result:
mlaser has these tools:
      spanner8
      spanner12
      spanner14
      spanner10
//sent: -Spanner10$
//result:
mlaser has these tools:
      spanner8
      spanner12
      spanner14

[size=14]Donwload here[/size]

[edit][size=12]A quick example:[/size]

 
#include <Toolkit.h> //http://hosting.alexanderbrevig.com/arduino/libraries/Toolkit.zip

//initialize some tools
Tool spanner8 = Tool("spanner8");
Tool spanner10 = Tool("spanner10");
//prepare the toolkit
Toolkit toolkit;
//initialize a user
ToolUser mlaser = ToolUser("mlaser",toolkit);   //user name is mlaser, and this user can use tools from the Toolkit named toolkit

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  //add tools to the toolkit
  toolkit.addTool(spanner8);
  toolkit.addTool(spanner10);
  
  //ask toolkit for spanner8 and spanner10
  mlaser.request(spanner8);
  mlaser.request(spanner10);
  
  mlaser.printTools();
  /* prints:
 mlaser has these tools:
     spanner8
     spanner10
 */
  
  //ask toolkit to recieve spanner8
  mlaser.replace(spanner8);
  
  mlaser.printTools();
  /* prints:
 mlaser has these tools:
     spanner10
 */
}

void loop(){
  
}

[/edit]

[Reply #4 on:]

man this forum is excellent.  Never had this many helpful replies in such a short time.  Thanks for all your input, now to decide how to approach it

[Reply #5 on:]

another quick question.

I have my RFID transmit hooked up to the RX pin on the arduino.  Is there something i can do so that i don't have to pull the RFID pin out of the RX arduino pin when i want to upload a new program?

Cheers

[Reply #6 on:]

I have my RFID transmit hooked up to the RX pin on the arduino.  Is there something i can do so that i don't have to pull the RFID pin out of the RX arduino pin when i want to upload a new program?

Well you could try wiring a series 1K resistor, that is how the USB chip has it's send and rec lines wired to pins 0 & 1 on the Arduino board. As long as the RFID is not actively sending data during the upload it should be OK.

Lefty

[Reply #7 on:]

Hi AlphaBeta,

Could you post a fresh link to your Toolkit.zip. I'm looking to do something similar and it would be really helpful to have a look at it.

Cheers