Open source lxi-tools v2.7 released

[coromonadalix]

Kinda noob here,  can it control  an    Agilent L4411A meter thru usb or lan interface, i don't have the gpib interface ....   for now

Not sure if it mimick an 34401a controls,   searching all the docs i can find about this one ... (snatched a deal on Ebay)

and finally,   do we have to install the Keysight i/o librairies even if you use an virtual box to run LXI-tool  ??


Or someone compile it for 32-64 bit windows ??

[lundmar]

Kinda noob here,  can it control  an    Agilent L4411A meter thru usb or lan interface, i don't have the gpib interface ....   for now

Yes, the Agilent L4411A is a LXI class C certified device - it has that shiny LXI logo on the front 



This means it is discoverable via LAN and you can send SCPI commands to it via the VXI11/TCP protocol so it should work just fine with lxi-tools.

Not sure if it mimick an 34401a controls,   searching all the docs i can find about this one ... (snatched a deal on Ebay)

The complete SCPI programmers reference for this device comes in form of a MS help file but someone in this forum converted it to PDF here

and finally,   do we have to install the Keysight i/o librairies even if you use an virtual box to run LXI-tool  ??

Nope. That is the beauty of lxi-tools - it is lightweight and does not require any special drivers. If you run it in a virtual box VM you just have to make sure that the VM network adapter is a bridged network adapter, else lxi-tools will not be able to discover your device automatically on your local network.

Or someone compile it for 32-64 bit windows ??

Sorry, there is no Windows port of lxi-tools available. However, it may be possible to install and run lxi-tools, both the command-line tool lxi and the GUI tool lxi-gui, via Windows WSL2 on Windows10/Windows11 but I have no confirmation of that yet.

[lundmar]

@coromonadalix: Feel free to let me know if you get the Agilent L4411A working with lxi-tools. Then I can add it to our list of tested instruments. Thanks.

[EsPiFF]

Can the liblxi be used to develop LXI devices?

I know, that lxi tools was developed as a LXI host, to connect with LXI devices. But I thought, that liblxi contains all the functionality to support both the host side as well as the device side. So, would it be possible to expose ADCs/DACs on a Raspberry Pi (maybe from a HAT) as an LXI instrument, with the liblxi?

That would be very good, to one central LXI host and device code base.

[lundmar]

Can the liblxi be used to develop LXI devices?

I know, that lxi tools was developed as a LXI host, to connect with LXI devices. But I thought, that liblxi contains all the functionality to support both the host side as well as the device side. So, would it be possible to expose ADCs/DACs on a Raspberry Pi (maybe from a HAT) as an LXI instrument, with the liblxi?

That would be very good, to one central LXI host and device code base.

No sorry, currently liblxi only implements client features. It is my plan at some point to add server features and that is the reason that if you look in the git repository you will find the autogenerated VXI11 server RPC source.

[EsPiFF]

sorry for mixing up the words "device" and "host". Luckily, you still understood what I was asking, and pointed me to the correct terms "lxi client", what is the PC. And "lxi server", what is the instrument. 

I will follow the development here. Great that you are already working on the instrument side. My guess is, when liblxi also supports writing an instrument with it, there will be millions of installations.

[ralphrmartin]

Possible problem? Or my misunderstanding?

I installed lxi-tools 2.3 via snap, on debian testing, and I am getting the following error message when running lxi-gui:
Failed to realize renderer of type 'GskGLRenderer' for surface 'GdkX11Toplevel': libEGL not available
I thought a snap was supposed to include all needed libs - or am I missing something?

[lundmar]

Possible problem? Or my misunderstanding?

I installed lxi-tools 2.3 via snap, on debian testing, and I am getting the following error message when running lxi-gui:
Failed to realize renderer of type 'GskGLRenderer' for surface 'GdkX11Toplevel': libEGL not available
I thought a snap was supposed to include all needed libs - or am I missing something?

Yes, it is supposed to but there is stuff that even the host environment must provide for snaps to work successfully. Is your Debian very old? Right, you are running testing. Well, testing is not considered stable so maybe it has issues. Does the snap on the stable channel (v2.2) work?

I've updated the snap edge channel to include the missing libegl so it might work now.

[ralphrmartin]

Thanks. I did "snap refresh", and now I am getting  a slightly different message:

Failed to realize renderer of type 'GskGLRenderer' for surface 'GdkX11Popup': Failed to create EGL display


Using "snap refresh lxi-tools --stable" does not produce any such errors on launching; launching seems much slower.

[lundmar]

Thanks. I did "snap refresh", and now I am getting  a slightly different message:

Failed to realize renderer of type 'GskGLRenderer' for surface 'GdkX11Popup': Failed to create EGL display


Using "snap refresh lxi-tools --stable" does not produce any such errors on launching; launching seems much slower.

But lxi-gui starts regardless of these errors right?

I'm getting similar errors when I start lxi-gui from the edge channel. It is errors thrown from GTK4 - they seem to vary depending on GTK4 version used so I think it is ok to ignore them.

The difference of the snaps are that on the edge channel I'm using a new snap base image (core22). It should be faster to launch.

[coromonadalix]

Woah  i lost some threads ....

@coromonadalix: Feel free to let me know if you get the Agilent L4411A working with lxi-tools. Then I can add it to our list of tested instruments. Thanks.

LXI tools like the Keysight software's DMM connectivity 1.0.2.0  ok,  benchvue(s)  2017 and up are ok,  i/o librairies suite ok 

Even a basic excel sheet w macros seems to work  BUT  i think the meter as to be ready to take the measurement(s)   there is a command i don't catch ...   

Maybe thru the CONFig  command or the SENSe command  before the MEASurement commands  from the sheet link  (previous thread)


Kinda  lost a little  loll   for now I'm connected thru usb  since i don't have an AR488 gpib dongle ... has to order the @artag boards


QUESTION :  could it be ported to android as an app But i do think about an RASPI touchscreen version like an  cpi-a070wr (raspi panel pc)  who sit somewhere

I have an crazy idea to remotely control the meter / far away  ....   but controlled with an simple tool

I do know about some ar488 with esp wifi add on ...


I'm trying other softwares like testcontrol, but have an hard time figuring out the menus and some meter functions, even some visual studio codes etc ...   

I'm sad to see  there is no interest foe the 34410 / 34411 / l4411 series,  not sure the coding of the 34461  can or could work ??

[ralphrmartin]

But lxi-gui starts regardless of these errors right?

I'm getting similar errors when I start lxi-gui from the edge channel. It is errors thrown from GTK4 - they seem to vary depending on GTK4 version used so I think it is ok to ignore them.

The difference of the snaps are that on the edge channel I'm using a new snap base image (core22). It should be faster to launch.

Yes, lxi-gui seems to start OK. I'll ignore them for now, then, thanks, but will report back if something seems not to actually function ok.

[lundmar]

QUESTION :  could it be ported to android as an app But i do think about an RASPI touchscreen version like an  cpi-a070wr (raspi panel pc)  who sit somewhere

Sorry, no Android app.

Yes, you can install lxi-tools on Raspian or other Linux distros such as Ubuntu and it will just work.

I have an crazy idea to remotely control the meter / far away  ....   but controlled with an simple tool

lxi-tools is a really simple tool for managing any of your network attached LXI compatible instruments. Just plug in your instrument on your LAN network and fire up lxi-tools and it should discover it.

[lundmar]

I've released lxi-tools v2.3 which is a minor bug fix release that fixes an annoying bug with selecting instruments and copying IP or ID.

https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools/releases/tag/v2.3

As usual, latest version is immediately available via snap. Distributions will catch up later.

[lundmar]

lxi-tools v2.4 has been released: https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools/releases/tag/v2.4

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Changes since lxi-tools v2.3:

    Prefix all lua functions with lxi_

    To avoid conflict with existing lua APIs.

This means lua scripts will have to be updated to call the new lua function names.

[WaveyDipole]

Is there an appimage or Flatpack available yet? SNAP is not supported on my Linux distro. Unfortunately I am still stuck on version 1.21 CLI (which works well enough :-) ) as the package comes without the gui tool. It would be nice to be able to use the latest version with my new scope! Even the repository on Linux Mint (which is a Ubuntu derivative) only has 1.21 and does not install the GUI tool either. Due to its covert activity Mint actually disables SNAP although it can be re-enabled if required.

[JohanH]

I've built the flatpak a couple of times. Here are the steps for someone who wants to do it:
 - Clone lundmar's flatpak repo, e.g. git clone https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools.flatpak
 - Update the commit for lxi-gui in the file io.github.lxi-tools.yaml (at the end), so in this case 5ee36cdbeb52c021930cac811b63752855e9444e for the 2.4 release
 - Pull in submodules to the git repo (git submodule init, git submodule update)
 - To build and install, run: flatpak-builder build io.github.lxi-tools.yaml --force-clean --user --install

That's it. For more details, consult flatpak documentation for your own distro.

Edit. You probably also have to do the following before building the flatpak unless they are already installed:

 - flatpak install org.gnome.Sdk
 - flatpak install org.gnome.Platform

and select version 43 for both.

[RoGeorge]

The lxi-tools are available in the repositories (not the GUI LXI tool, the command line tool called 'lxi').  Used it a couple of days ago, installed from the Ubuntu repositories.

- To install it, from a terminal type 'sudo apt install lxi-tools'.
- To show the version, type 'lxi --version' (the one installed this week is v2.1)
- To take a screenshot, type 'lxi screenshot -a 192.168.1.4'.  Replace 192.168.1.4 with the IP address of your instruments.
- To find more, type 'man lxi'.

[WaveyDipole]

The lxi-tools are available in the repositories (not the GUI LXI tool, the command line tool called 'lxi').  Used it a couple of days ago, installed from the Ubuntu repositories.

- To install it, from a terminal type 'sudo apt install lxi-tools'.
- To show the version, type 'lxi --version' (the one installed this week is v2.1)
- To take a screenshot, type 'lxi screenshot -a 192.168.1.4'.  Replace 192.168.1.4 with the IP address of your instruments.
- To find more, type 'man lxi'.

Thanks. This is what I did in the first instance - installed with apt. That installs just the CLI version. lxi-version returns

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lxi v1.21
The screenshot command you kindly posted does work and I had got that far. I tested it and it works with the MSO5000 so I do have a CLI solution, even though it be an older version of the software. Which Linux distro are you using?

I've built the flatpak a couple of times. Here are the steps for someone who wants to do it:
 - Clone lundmar's flatpak repo, e.g. git clone https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools.flatpak
 - Update the commit for lxi-gui in the file io.github.lxi-tools.yaml (at the end), so in this case 5ee36cdbeb52c021930cac811b63752855e9444e for the 2.4 release
 - Pull in submodules to the git repo (git submodule init, git submodule update)
 - To build and install, run: flatpak-builder build io.github.lxi-tools.yaml --force-clean --user --install

That's it. For more details, consult flatpak documentation for your own distro.

I got as far as the pulling in submodules step which completed successfully. However the build and install step does not work.

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$ flatpak-builder build io.github.lxi-tools.yaml --force-clean --user --install
error: org.gnome.Sdk/x86_64/43 not installed
Failed to init: Unable to find sdk org.gnome.Sdk version 43
I cannot tell gnome which package I need to install - there are dozens of them! Google was not too helpful either. I am still trying to figure that out. I tried gnome-devel which installed dozens of packages on my system but didn't work. If anyone has any idea which one it needs, that would be appreciated.

[JeremyC]

I got as far as the pulling in submodules step which completed successfully. However the build and install step does not work.

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$ flatpak-builder build io.github.lxi-tools.yaml --force-clean --user --install
error: org.gnome.Sdk/x86_64/43 not installed
Failed to init: Unable to find sdk org.gnome.Sdk version 43
I cannot tell gnome which package I need to install - there are dozens of them! Google was not too helpful either. I am still trying to figure that out. I tried gnome-devel which installed dozens of packages on my system but didn't work. If anyone has any idea which one it needs, that would be appreciated.

Try:

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sudo apt install gnome-platform-devel
However, I suggest to install "snap", or enable it if already installed and go from there.

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sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd

[JohanH]

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$ flatpak-builder build io.github.lxi-tools.yaml --force-clean --user --install
error: org.gnome.Sdk/x86_64/43 not installed
Failed to init: Unable to find sdk org.gnome.Sdk version 43
I cannot tell gnome which package I need to install - there are dozens of them! Google was not too helpful either. I am still trying to figure that out. I tried gnome-devel which installed dozens of packages on my system but didn't work. If anyone has any idea which one it needs, that would be appreciated.

flatpak install org.gnome.Sdk

Then select version 43.

[WaveyDipole]

Ok so does this install it on my system or does Flatpack keep it separate? I am told its not a good idea to mix two different installers...

[JohanH]

Ok so does this install it on my system or does Flatpack keep it separate? I am told its not a good idea to mix two different installers...

I'm not sure what you mean by that?

Flatpak keeps its libraries separate from regular system libraries. They cannot mix. And you can install multiple versions of flatpaks and flatpak libraries. The only drawback is that they take a lot of space.

[WaveyDipole]

JohanH, thanks. I thought it would install the library onto my system like apt. If its kept separate then that's fine.

I tried the command as above but am still getting the same error message for that build step.

[RoGeorge]

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lxi v1.21...
Which Linux distro are you using?

If a 'sudo apt update' then 'sudo apt install lxi-tools' still gives v1.21 it might be because Mint uses some older repos than the current Ubuntu.  Mine shows Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS and lxi v2.1:

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a@b:~$ lxi --version
lxi v2.1

a@b:~$ cat /etc/os-release
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION_ID="22.04"
VERSION="22.04.1 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)"
VERSION_CODENAME=jammy
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
UBUNTU_CODENAME=jammy
a@b:~$