GUI student attendance system

I really hope you can help me since im new. The title is attendance system .My group has to come up with a GUI that can be interfaced to an arduino programme of two other groups. One group is doing an RFID scanner and the other one is doing a keypad logger. The task is to create an attendance system where students can sign in either using an RFID or keypad in which will appear on the GUI my team will create. The two groups saved their students profile on the arduino by declaring it in their codings. My question is, is it possible to create this kind of GUI while extracting their input using only arduino? can you point out any reference i can view to help me? pls i am really in need of assistance since there are no reliable references i can look up to. HELP pls,tq

aveaqim:
My question is, is it possible to create this kind of GUI while extracting their input using only arduino?

The depends. What is going to be displaying this "GUI interface"? A touch screen attached to the Arduino? A computer the Arduino is plugged into? A computer the Arduino is NOT plugged into? A series of complicated mirrors and lasers?

The other two groups have set a library of student names,id number into their codings. They were able to display the students who are present into the serial monitor.So everytime when a student flashes an rfid card, or key in(using keypad) their id number into the login site, it will pop out at the serial monitor.So what i want to do, is extract the students who has "activated" their names(by means of rfid card or keypad) into the GUI. For example, if we're using the RFID card, everytime a student flashes their card, i want the GUI to display their student names,id number, and hopefully display a "present" sign on the side of it. I have not found any useful references, pls, if you could point out to a useful link.

Is there a programme i could use to display the GUI?if so, could you help me understand it? cause how i want it to work is, the GUI just stays there, so when a new student keys in or flashes their card, the GUI will automatically detect this and display it afterwards.

aveaqim:
Is there a programme i could use to display the GUI?

You can write a program using Processing, which runs on a computer and goes hand and hand with the Arduino IDE development. Alternatively, depending on your level of expertise, you could create something in C#, .NET or even a web based application.

considering i have never done GUI before, what do you mean by 'you could create something in C#, .NET or even a web based application' , where can i find this? and what is it?

i've heard of processing, and ive even downloaded it with G4P+Gui Builder, but the problem is, nothing in the site matches my problem, so i just need a little help if anyone how to use it, or any alternative methods, do share and tq

aveaqim:
considering i have never done GUI before, what do you mean by 'you could create something in C#, .NET or even a web based application' , where can i find this? and what is it?

C# and .NET are programming languages. You would need to install Microsoft Visual Studios and create a program that displays and updates the GUI. Since it's clear you don't have experience doing that, I would look into writing a Processing program as it is closely related to Arduino. You should also learn how to use Google. When you see a term you don't recognize. Google it. There is no point in me wasting time posting that information when there is already a plethora of information out there.

aveaqim:
i've heard of processing, and ive even downloaded it with G4P+Gui Builder, but the problem is, nothing in the site matches my problem, so i just need a little help if anyone how to use it, or any alternative methods, do share and tq

So you're looking for a complete solution that you don't have to make any modifications for? Good luck, that's going to be a tall task.

No i dont mean that at all, i told you i need a little help, or any specific websites i could look up to. I dont expect you to display all the codings here, i just need references, or any other method that can help me with this. I am currently looking up Microsoft Visual Studios, and trying to find GUI examples online, but is it possible to interface it with the arduino?

aveaqim:
No i dont mean that at all, i told you i need a little help, or any specific websites i could look up to.

I don't think www.arduinoStudentRFIDGUI.com has been setup yet.

but is it possible to interface it with the arduino?

Yes, via Serial communications. There should be plenty of examples for doing that with processing. Probably some for C# and .NET too

You really just need to be a little bit more precise about how you want to go about this project. Your basic question was how to display graphically data from the arduino. This can be done a lot of different ways, you need to make some choices based on your experience and knowledge. Some questions to help clarify the direction you take

  1. Where do you want to display this information? (On a separate computer, on an LED display)
  2. How will you connect the arduino to this display? (Serial via usb)
  3. What is going to process the data transferred from the arduino? (Custom program)
  4. What language will this program be written in (java, C#, .net, ruby, python, php, etc)

The route I would take if it was up to me would be to write a java program for my PC that would listen for data from the arduino on the serial com port and process the data to be displayed in a GUI. If you don't have any programming experience you are going to have a tough time completing this project.

its seems as if the project is really done & working already? but you have no visual feedback of who has logged-in?..is this correct?

(I am getting this from your comment of saying the RFID swipe is working and it displays the person who logged-in on the serial monitor..etc..)

assuming this correct..and the rest of the system is working fine..

IMO... all you'd need to do is push out whatever data (student name for example) out SERIAL again.. but not use serial monitor..

maybe use some sort of proxy script or PHP script that polls/waits for the names.. and updates some list/gui that way?
(ie: pushing the data out to an Adobe Flash app/page or something....for example)

laadams85:
If you don't have any programming experience you are going to have a tough time completing this project.

Yeah. Let's hope somebody on your team does - otherwise, how can they expect you to solve the problem?

Maybe a silly question, but what sort of course are you doing which requires you to successfully write a computer program when it appears you have little, if any, knowledge of the subject??

Wow firstly im sorry if ive offended you all with this question,but im really new to this,it is a subject i will be learning next semester but just want to try it out,because heard it is complicated..

xl97:
IMO... all you'd need to do is push out whatever data (student name for example) out SERIAL again.. but not use serial monitor..

maybe use some sort of proxy script or PHP script that polls/waits for the names.. and updates some list/gui that way?
(ie: pushing the data out to an Adobe Flash app/page or something....for example)

So you're saying save it on something else first(adobe flash,txt?) and then transfer this to a GUI?

laadams85:
The route I would take if it was up to me would be to write a java program for my PC that would listen for data from the arduino on the serial com port and process the data to be displayed in a GUI. If you don't have any programming experience you are going to have a tough time completing this project.

Yeah this is exactly what i was thinking,only the problem is,still new to the whole GUi think, havent found a programme that is easily understood..have downloaded processing & microsoft c# 2010 express,will try it out..

Magicj:
Maybe a silly question, but what sort of course are you doing which requires you to successfully write a computer program when it appears you have little, if any, knowledge of the subject??

it is kind of a next semester project,but groups have already been given and i just wanna know upfront about what it is all about...its embedded system?so yeah we havent learned it yet..

Apologize in advanced for this , i am clueless but am willing to learn..i've googled everything but havent found anything related to this..but i will try more,thanks for the responds guys

This seems like a rather rapid progression of concepts for a single course. We didn't get into GUI development until my third programming course, and anything involving physical hardware was a 300 level course.

People are getting snippy because, although you have written plenty of words, the only useful information you have given us can be summed up in two words: "GUI, and Arduino". You can either setup the GUI on the Arduino, or on a PC that the Arduino is plugged into. Either way, you will need to write the GUI yourself, there are no programs that will set one up for you. GUI design is a fairly high-level programming concept. Do you know any programming languages? C++, C#, Java, PHP, Python, anything? Do you even need any kind of advanced GUI, or is your instructor just expecting you to display some text on a 16x2 character LCD?

wizdum:
You can either setup the GUI on the Arduino, or on a PC that the Arduino is plugged into. Either way, you will need to write the GUI yourself, there are no programs that will set one up for you. GUI design is a fairly high-level programming concept. Do you know any programming languages? C++, C#, Java, PHP, Python, anything? Do you even need any kind of advanced GUI, or is your instructor just expecting you to display some text on a 16x2 character LCD?

I was planning on setting the GUI on the PC where the arduino is plugged into. i do know c++,c# but not a lot/nothing on the other programmes. No , i dont need any kind of advanced GUI..just a simple automated GUI in which it updates and appears when a student has logged in.i just need some advice on which programme i should use and which is the most easiest to understand? Since im not in a hurry i can take the time to learn.. I've already downloaded processing and microsoft c# 2010 express, and been exprementing them..but if there is any other easier to understand/c++,c# related programmes,that would be great

For c# you can start here

Create a program that mimics the behavior of the serial monitor, once you have that working you can start worrying about how to parse the data and display it the way you want to.