1. Improving Scilab’s Xcos User Interface
Lakshmi Prasanna Mutyala
Pulkit Mittal
Srinivas Baride

2. Introduction
Scilab:
A free and open source software for numerical computation
Provides a powerful computing environment for engineering and scientific applications
Xcos:
A graphical editor package available with Scilab to design hybrid dynamical systems models
Models can be designed, loaded, saved, compiled and simulated

3. Aim of the Project
Add new features to improve the GUI of Xcos to make it more user friendly
An attempt to provide an open source equivalent of LabVIEW
It is likely to be used for several virtual labs projects

4. Features implemented New TK Scale block with additional properties
Run time auto scale feature for Xcos graphics
Search block tool in Xcos palette browser
Recently used blocks palette
Key events for blocks panel and selection of multiple blocks
Combining input/output windows in a single window

5. TK Scale block An input slider block
Allows user to change the input during simulation/ run time
User can select the input range

6. Continue... All TK Scale windows have same label as “TK Source:”
Unable to differentiate for multiple Sliders

7. Continue...
No “label’’ field for user to specify the name of the block

8. New TK Scale Block Differentiates between multiple sliders
Uses utility function - curblock
Feature for customizing the Block Name

9. Continue...
Added new TK Scale block using utility functions

10. Runtime Auto Scale feature
Manually specify range of Y-Axis
Graph not visible if data exceeds the range

11. Continue.. Auto - scales the range of Y-axis at run time
If value exceeds the range, auto adjust to new range

12. User must know the palette name of the block
In case the user doesn’t know the palette name then he/she has to go through all the palettes

13. Continue... Added a search engine for blocks
Written a method that returns block paths related to search keyword
Used these paths to reference actual blocks and displayed the same in the panel
1 point on technical details

14. Recently Used Blocks Palette
Added a palette named Recently used blocks
Every selected block is being added here without duplication
Technical details - 1 point

15. Key events and Multiple block selection
Added key events for navigation keys
Enabled multiple block selection using both ctrl and shift keys
Provided Drag and drop feature for multiple blocks

16. Combined input/output windows in a single window
In Xcos on simulating a diagram, it would open multiple windows for each input and output blocks
Leads to cluttering of windows
Most Scilab windows allow docking and undocking
We added this feature to all other windows
We took advantage of this feature, and combined all windows to a single window

17. Cluttering of windows on simulation

18. Combined windows on simulation

19. Challenges Debugging in eclipse
We could only access java source code in IDE
Execution used to get halted after starting simulation
Debug and Compile using command line
Debugging is manual work
Time consuming
No sufficient documentation for new developer to kickstart

20. Thank you...