someone talk me into open sourcing my software. I'm fond of open source, and I think it'd be better for this project and the community, but I guess I fear donations wouldn't be enough to allow me to work on this as much as I'd like. I've planned to probably at least have a free version, and sell a premium version, but I don't like putting restrictions on it that would keep people from using it. I'd like to post the source code soon, but I'm really unsure how I should license it. I do it because it's what I enjoy doing, but my ultimate goal is to do what I enjoy for a living.
I've only recently started rewriting my grow control project in java, but it's coming together faster than I could have imagined. below is the first screenshot of it I've posted online. a quick description of what this program is/does, this part is the server app that will run in the background. it will have a full gui that can connect remotely to this server. so far, it connects to an internet time server to get the most accurate time possible, then it loads plugins and starts up schedulers and timers. the first, and so far only plugin is ArduinoGC, which connects to an arduino microprocessor either over usb or ethernet. I built a few special outlets with relays and mosfets built in, mostly simple circuits. you plug lights fans and pumps into these outlets, then use an rca wire to connect the outlet to the arduino and run the program. I just had this new java version working for the first time last night. it needs some work yet, and all the settings are hard-coded, nothing loads from the configs yet, but it'll be functional in no time.
one big concern is reliability. I think, with my experience of developing this program over the last few years, it should be pretty reliable out of the box. the arduino and other electronics have been running some christmas lights in my living room for the last 6 months to a year. even the cheap version of the ethernet shield has been extremely reliable for me. my designs include protections and safety measures. the server part of the program is also fully multi-threaded, so it's fast, and hard to imagine how many devices it could actually handle. I would guess at least thousands. by having a simple framework for plugins, any imaginable functionality can be added by dropping in a jar file.
if any java programmers would like to help put it together, or make a plugin, feel free to contact me.
I've only recently started rewriting my grow control project in java, but it's coming together faster than I could have imagined. below is the first screenshot of it I've posted online. a quick description of what this program is/does, this part is the server app that will run in the background. it will have a full gui that can connect remotely to this server. so far, it connects to an internet time server to get the most accurate time possible, then it loads plugins and starts up schedulers and timers. the first, and so far only plugin is ArduinoGC, which connects to an arduino microprocessor either over usb or ethernet. I built a few special outlets with relays and mosfets built in, mostly simple circuits. you plug lights fans and pumps into these outlets, then use an rca wire to connect the outlet to the arduino and run the program. I just had this new java version working for the first time last night. it needs some work yet, and all the settings are hard-coded, nothing loads from the configs yet, but it'll be functional in no time.
one big concern is reliability. I think, with my experience of developing this program over the last few years, it should be pretty reliable out of the box. the arduino and other electronics have been running some christmas lights in my living room for the last 6 months to a year. even the cheap version of the ethernet shield has been extremely reliable for me. my designs include protections and safety measures. the server part of the program is also fully multi-threaded, so it's fast, and hard to imagine how many devices it could actually handle. I would guess at least thousands. by having a simple framework for plugins, any imaginable functionality can be added by dropping in a jar file.
if any java programmers would like to help put it together, or make a plugin, feel free to contact me.
