Building GUI Applications with Ardulink-Swing

The ardulink-swing module provides pre-built Java Swing components for building desktop GUIs that control Arduino boards.

Available Components

Component Description
ConnectionPanel Connection settings (port, baud rate, transport)
ConnectionStatus Visual connection status indicator
SignalButton Button that sends analog/digital values to a pin
Linkable Interface for components that bind to a Link

Maven Dependency 

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.ardulink</groupId>
    <artifactId>ardulink-swing</artifactId>
    <version>2.3.1</version>
</dependency>

Quick Example 

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;

import org.ardulink.core.Link;
import org.ardulink.core.pin.Pin;
import org.ardulink.gui.ConnectionPanel;
import org.ardulink.gui.ConnectionStatus;

public class SimpleGUI extends JFrame {

    public SimpleGUI() {
        setTitle("Ardulink Controller");
        setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        setLayout(new BorderLayout());

        // Connection panel with port/baud selection
        ConnectionPanel connectionPanel = new ConnectionPanel();
        add(connectionPanel, BorderLayout.NORTH);

        // LED toggle button
        JButton ledButton = new JButton("Toggle LED");
        ledButton.addActionListener(e -> {
            try {
                Link link = connectionPanel.createLink();
                link.switchDigitalPin(Pin.digitalPin(13), ledButton.isSelected());
            } catch (Exception ex) {
                ex.printStackTrace();
            }
        });
        add(ledButton, BorderLayout.CENTER);

        // Status indicator
        ConnectionStatus status = new ConnectionStatus();
        add(status, BorderLayout.SOUTH);

        pack();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> new SimpleGUI().setVisible(true));
    }
}

Linkable Interface

Components implementing Linkable automatically bind to a link:

import org.ardulink.gui.Linkable;

public class MyComponent extends JPanel implements Linkable {
    private Link link;

    @Override
    public void setLink(Link link) {
        this.link = link;
        // React to link changes
    }
}

When ConnectionPanel establishes a connection, all Linkable components in the frame receive the link via setLink().

SignalButton

SignalButton is a specialized button that sends analog or digital values:

import org.ardulink.gui.customcomponents.SignalButton;

SignalButton aheadBtn = new SignalButton();
aheadBtn.setButtonText("Forward");
aheadBtn.setId("ahead");
aheadBtn.setValue("100");         // Analog value to send
aheadBtn.setValueLabel("Speed");  // Label for value slider
aheadBtn.setIcon(new ImageIcon("arrow-up.png"));

When pressed, it sends the configured value to the Arduino pin mapped to its ID.

Sample: See the Full Application

The Smart Car Driver sample demonstrates a complete GUI application using these components.

Next Steps