UCCNC for Linux

[xoriam]

Is there any plan to release a Linux version of UCCNC?

[GaryLa]

UCCNC is based around the .NET offering from Microsoft.

Unless there's a Linux version of that, I'm guessing putting this on Linux is well beyond a simple porting.

The hardware can obviously be attached to the PC, but a lot of work would be required to recreate the user interface and all that that implies.

I'd like to see it too, particularly since Microsoft is taking a "one-size-fits-all" approach to their operating system. On January 1, Windows 7 is being dropped.

I don't understand why they don't release a consumer and an industrial version.

[cncdrive]

There is platform independet .NET available, it is called Mono framework.
It was released from the source code of the .NET framework once Microsoft made that open source.
So, yes, .NET applications can run on Linux with Mono.

The problem with the UCCNC to port to Linux is that it uses lots of Windows API which are not supported by Mono. These are mostly the communication libraries and profile and screenset file reading/writting functions.
So, for us to port the software to Linux means that we would have to find the platform independent or Linux based indentical function libraries and make them to work.
It would be lots of work for sure and for this reason we've asked a few people about what they think about the idea of making the software to run on Linux,
but the response we got was 99% that it is not important and that they would not use it on Linux.
So, we dropped this idea for now, because we have lots of other planed developments in the UCCNc which according to users are more important.

[Vmax549]

You really do not want to port UCCNC to Linux. There are many reasons not to. One is hardware support across teh many flavors of linux. I just went throught that setting up 2 PathPilot Controllers. I could NOT find modern Motherboards and CPUs that would work. There were ZERO drivers available to run teh boards under the version of Linux that PP uses. I had to return 2 Motherboard CPU combos (Gen7) because Linux could NOT support them. I had to end up with older Gen5 motherboards and CPUs so that Linux could run on them.

NOW you will find teh same problem with older version of Windows(XP,Win7,Win8) running on teh latest MB/CPUs as there are ZERO drivers to support them as well MS and INTEL teamed up to monopolize the PC market AGAIN. The latest hardware will only run on WIN10. You would have thought they would have learned from teh last time they tried it . Hopefully this time teh US Gov will breakup the MS monopoly and stranglehold it has on teh PC market.

Just a thought, (;-) TP

[cncdrive]

Terry,

That is because of how LinuxCNC (Pathpilot) works.
The UCCNC works totally different.
The problem with LinuxCNC is that it requires a realtime kernel from Linux hence the problem.
The UCCNC buffers the motion, so it could run on any Linux which has at least ethernet support, it does not require realtime OS.
Again, we will not port it now for sure, maybe in the future, we will see.

[Vmax549]

HI Balazs, It was not a real time problem but a problem with compatible hardware and drivers. Linux would NOT run properly because it did not have drivers to match teh newer hardware(gen7-8) (USB and video) were teh MAIN problems. Once I dropped back to Gen5 hardware there were drivers available.

You certainly do not want to do anything like LinuxCNC does as far as configurations it is a beast to work with.

BUT PP does work VERY well once setup NICE GUI interface and SMOOTH motion.

Just a thought, (;-) TP

[CL_MotoTech]

I quite like Linux, but I'd much rather have a UCCNC port for OS X.

[3d0g]

You certainly do not want to do anything like LinuxCNC does as far as configurations it is a beast to work with.

Ehhh, that's more the devil you know. I worked with LinuxCNC for many years before switching to UCCNC and the text-based configs were a pleasure to work with. The migration was long and painful at times for me.

[cncdrive]

Terry, I ment that you cannot run any Linux distributions with LinuxCNC because it requires a realtime kernel which requires a special Linux distribution.
With the UCCNC if we will make it Linux compatible then you will not need a special Linux distribution, because it does not require a realtime kernel.
And so because you do not need a special realtime Linux distribution you could much more easily find compatible computer hardware...

[xoriam]

I think a very remarkable use of a UCCNC version for Linux could be in single board computers (SBC) like Raspberry Pi, you can buy it and also a 9 inches touch screen all for less than 150 euro, and it could be mounted on the electrical cabinet of the machine, would be a very nice feature.

https://www.amazon.de/Raspberry-Bildsch ... s9dHJ1ZQ==