Graphics Workshop was last week, have had some time to digest now. It was v=
ery=20
well presented, good content, good value. All software was provided though =
we=20
were encouraged to pre-install MPLABX and XC32 beforehand to speed things u=
p.=20
Harmony was provided on the day, to ensure we got board support for the=20
Mikromedia board we used. Presenter was Microhip FAE from Australia special=
ising=20
in graphics, and indeed the developer of the course/lab/notes.

Split into learning sessions and hands-on lab sessions (read: race to see w=
ho could=20
get the example working the quickest and not end up looking dumb). First up=
 was=20
an intro to Harmony and it's configurator, with a lab to get an LED flashin=
g=20
employing a timer interrupt.

Next up was graphics. A lengthy but good overview of graphic LCDs was given=
,=20
covering the different interfaces, with and without controllers, with and w=
ithout frame=20
buffer memory, CPU requirements etc. Lab was built on previous code and=20
implemented a green/black flashing dot on the LCD... the graphics analog of=
 the=20
flashing LED.

Third lab used the Microchip Harmony Graphics Composer (MHGC) tool, resulti=
ng=20
in a full colour background picture on the LCD and a timer counting in minu=
tes and=20
seconds in a large font.

Fourth lab added a touch screen button to reset the timer. Plenty of info i=
n the lab=20
notes to go over it later and really learn the details. The Mikromedia boar=
d comes=20
with a bootloader, but they hadn't figured out how to make the code produce=
d in the=20
labs compatible with it, so programming was with PICKIT3's which they provi=
ded=20
(but not for keeps).

Take homes were a Mikromedia dev board (with 2.8" 320x240 resistive touch L=
CD,=20
PIC32MX460F512L, USB, serial flash, accelerometer, uSD, MP3 audio decoder),=
=20
16GB USB drive with the labs/software/datasheets etc, laptop/tablet sleeve,=
 and a=20
Microchip back-pack. And lunch, did I mention there was lunch? Still a big =
jump to=20
my first project using a PIC32, and Harmony, and graphic LCD, and touch - b=
ut=20
have the confidence now to tackle it. Would recommend the workshop to anybo=
dy=20
interested.

Didn't ask how they got around the NZ tax issue, perhaps they could claim t=
he=20
attendees pre-purchased a USD100 dev kit tax free from the US, and the=20
presenters hand delivered it along with a free seminar ;-)



--=20
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