Questions about Wokwi

Community General Discussion
1

Hi
For those using Wokwi. How does one communicate (i.e. ask questions, etc?) Discord won't accept membership. I'm not on LinkedIn. Does one have to 'join the club', for $? The Facebook page seems more for project presentation, not inquiries?
Specifically, I'd like to know

  • how to either request, or make, more hardware devices, such as:
    • SPDT CO toggle (on-off-on), (on)-off-(on), on-off-(on)
    • SPST toggle (off-on, off-(on), (off)-on)
  • Why does the pushbutton presently available not latch until clicked again, instead seemingly randomly returning to 'open'?
  • if there is any way to 'watch' internal variables, other than serial Monitor output; specifically, I'm interested in a way to provide a list of variables to monitor, if it's possible, for debugging; and yes, I know, Serial Monitor is how we do it with real hardware, so providing more extensive tools may be 'breaking the paradigm'.

If there's a more appropriate place for this thread, forum or elsewhere, please let me know.
Thanks.

2
  1. How old is your Discord account?
  2. Have you read the rules when you entered the server?

Here's the link for the server : discord.gg[slash]cH95xf7T

3

try GitHub - wokwi/wokwi-features: Wokwi Feature requests & Bug Reports

1 Like
4

What I've found is
a: hold ctrl key (windows), click the switch,

or b: click the switch then hold ctrl

move the cursor off the switch, release ctrl. The switch will stay activated until you move over it then off of it with the cursor.

5

Yes, I was aware of that, but on my system it seems to release randomly, even if the cursor is far away. Not sure if it's Chrome, or what, but seems not reliable. When I get round to it, I'll bring it up on the Discord feed, and maybe Github as well.
Thanks, all, I've got two options to pursue, when I have time.

6

Click pause to show pin states.

7

I've just wired a slide switch in parallel with buttons I want to hold down and be able to do other things.

There is an 8 bit logic analyzer part available, just wanna make sure you see that.

And I have heard rumors about some beta ability to use some kind of real debugger. I haven't looked into it as I typically don't have any bugs in my code.

No, I mean Imma not going to try to use a buggy debugger until there's just no choice.

a7

8

I'm using it to demonstrate something to someone else. The last thing I want to do is explain extra switches in terms of, "well, it doesn't quite do what it should, so I added this fixup". I mean, I will, but it's rather...gauche.

The inability to have commonly available simple stuff grates. I get it, "write it yourself", but an SPDT switch? Really? It seems like it's geared to support the bits supplied in $10 Starter kits, and not much more, in some ways. Strange, if they want a broader audience it would seem like more library items would be an easy win.

The watch item, well, admittedly, it's supposed to emulate an Arduino, and you can't watch a variable in an Arduino without Serial Monitor, so it does slavishly imitate the target.
Anyway, it's another tool in the closet. Hammers won't turn screws, either, that's why we have screwdrivers. Similar case.

9

If you encounter a problem then the Discord channel is the place to go. For non-paying and paying users alike.

The buttons can be kept pressed: https://docs.wokwi.com/parts/wokwi-pushbutton#stickiness

If your buttons are released somehow, then you can help Wokwi to find the cause. Go to the Discord channel and tell about your Operating System, Browser and version, screen readers or add-ons that can update the screen, blockers, VPN or other things that can block things. Your help will be appreciated.
Have you tried an other browser ?

Wokwi also simulates the ESP32. If the maker would have spent hit time on buttons and switches instead, then there would be more buttons. But now a class of students can develop a IoT application. Think about those students when you have trouble with a button :wink:

1 Like
10

Yes. I did not know that. On a tablet, it once was true you could slide off a pressed button and it would stay pressed. But wokwi on an iPad is not the best experience otherwise.

The buttons unpress here on Chrome under OSX if you merely roll over them.

a7

11

That's okay, Koepel, it's all good. It just means Wokwi, for me, is of limited use at this time; it can't be everything to everybody, and for what it does, it's very educational.

Partly, I was just exploring whether I had missed something, or if there were extensions available, or what, as it's new to me. No big deal, so don't stress out over it. I'm glad it is of use to the ESP32 crowd, I'll remember that if I ever cross that line!

12

It's al good if it will be fixed, starting with the sticky buttons :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: Are you using Chrome under OSX as well ?

13

No, Chrome on W10, W11. Two machines. I'm going to have to work up an example, I guess, but right now, it's not a priority - I'm not using it for the next few days, unless I find another use here on forum, and need a sticky button. Wokwi was a way to demonstrate a particular configuration for someone I was helping, and worked very well except that his implementation will have some 'sticky buttons', and that was a...sticking point!

14

I decided to make a Issue about the latching buttons that were releasing: https://github.com/wokwi/wokwi-features/issues/686
It was fixed in half an hour.

Can you test if you can keep them pressed by clicking with the Ctrl key down and that they stay pressed ?

You can make an Issue on Github for the extra buttons that you want. If you can give examples of photos or pictures, that can be helpful. There is now a button, a slide-switch, a dip-switch and a keypad.

15

Hi,
Sorry for the belated reply, that issue is fixed now. Just tried it, latches nicely.
As for the other input devices, I guess Github is the only option. I'm not going to request something I don't need right now, but there are several items I use that can't be done easily, so when it trips me up I'll post them there.
Two issues today with Wokwi that are really giving me gas. I have a sketch that runs nicely on a Nano from the IDE, lots of serial debugging. Try to run it in Wokwi, and it resets on every character; useless.

And, tried to modify the serial monitor to no line ending - the Doc help says to add a section to the json, but the text they suggest won't fit anywhere. Try to put it anywhere in the json, and the simulation goes black until I take it out.
If you're curious, I can provide a link to the Wokwi.
Thanks

16

The "diagram.json" is a bit tricky. If the diagram turns black, then use Ctrl+C to undo.
This is the page for the Serial Monitor: The Serial Monitor | Wokwi Docs
There is a link to "diagram.json" and you are supposed to click on that and to understand the json file structure.

I made a test: https://wokwi.com/projects/385410237990141953
The diagram.json is this:

{
  "version": 1,
  "author": "Koepel",
  "editor": "wokwi",
  "parts": [ { "id": "uno", "type": "wokwi-arduino-uno" } ],
  "connections": [],
  "serialMonitor": 
  {
    "display": "plotter"
  }
}

The problem that Wokwi resets can be a bug, but I suspect a bug in your sketch.
It happens if you have a bug that you don't notice yet in real life, but Wokwi might have a newer compiler version or other options and that bug causes the Arduino board to crash.

1 Like
17

Okay. So, the top of my diagram.json sheet looks like this:

{
  "version": 1,
  "author": "Anonymous maker",
  "editor": "wokwi",
  
  "parts": [
    { "type": "wokwi-arduino-nano", "id": "nano", "top": -302.4, "left": -58.1, "attrs": {} },
    {
      "type": "wokwi-pushbutton",
      "id": "btn1",

So I tried this:

{
  "version": 1,
  "author": "Anonymous maker",
  "editor": "wokwi",
  
   "parts": [
    { "type": "wokwi-arduino-nano", "id": "nano", "top": -302.4, "left": -58.1, "attrs": {} },
    "connections": [],
    "serialMonitor": 
    {
      "display": "plotter"
    }
    {
      "type": "wokwi-pushbutton",
      "id": "btn1",

But, no luck. A black screen is a wonderful error message. Not. Even 'does not make sense, goober" would be better.
Is this indentation-sensitive, too?

18

That is not the complete file 'diagram.json', but the "serialMonitor" is not an item of "parts", but it is at the main level, I tried to show that and I gave a link to a working project that sets the Serial Monitor.

It is not indentation-sensitive.

Can you give a link to your Wokwi project ?

19

I'll get back to this in a few hours, @Koepel. On the road today.
C

20

Problem resolved. last 5 lines of the json, finishing with the connections of the diagram, then the serial monitor:

    [ "r3:2", "nano:4", "green", [ "h0", "v27.6", "h115.2" ] ],
    [ "r5:2", "nano:3", "green", [ "h0", "v18", "h115.2" ] ]
  ],
  "serialMonitor": { "display": "auto", "newline": "lf" },
  "dependencies": {}
}

And Wokwi is now behaving. Did not change my code, but did reboot the PC, so... If I can replicate, I'll be back.
Thank you, @koepel. I've flagged your solution.