Born in Slovenia, at the age of 6 Richard Klingler moved to Switzerland where he lives today. Richard started coding around 16, though he jokes whether what he did could be called coding, typing on an 8-bit computer called the ZX Spectrum. His first job was as an electronic department leader at a die bonder factory. Soon after, he started developing web applications then moved on to working as an embedded Linux developer making applications and kernel drivers for radio modem communication. His last job was as an embedded IoT engineer where he started to use Xojo for in-house development of testing applications.

For the last few years Richard built up a tool shop in his basement where he has started welding, wood working and growing his collection of machinery. For him, this work is a great way to do something with his hands and he finds pleasure in seeing immediate results. It is an added bonus if the stuff he builds can be used in his garden or be sold through his girlfriend’s online shop! When he’s not coding or working with his machines, he’s cooking. Special projects include his famous lasagne made with homemade, fresh pasta and his chocolate Christmas cookies.

Q&A with Richard Klinger

Mac, Windows or Linux?

Mac and Linux.

When did you start using Xojo?

April 2012 when it was REAL Studio.

How did you find Xojo?

When I searched for an uncomplicated platform for developing macOS applications instead of using Xcode.

Since this Summer you have been pretty active on the Xojo Forums. What do you find yourself doing while on the forums?

At the beginning I was mainly active to get back into Xojo programming as I hadn’t it used for a while. Sometimes I was even able to help out other people. The forum is very good reading material to learn how people implement the same thing differently.

In fact, it was because of a thread (asking about a Dynamic 2-dimensional array) on the Forums that another user suggested you for Spotlight On. Can you tell us more about this project?

Unfortunately, not much as it was a company prototype project which might go in production one day. But basically I was looking for a solution for how to control a CNC GCode interpreter from within a desktop application to test marking on stainless steel pipes with a felt pen. I ended up using snippets of GCodes for each letter/number. So in Xojo I just loaded the corresponding GCode for each letter/number, scaled it so it would fit onto the pipe, and sent the final code out via USB serial port.

In my last weeks at that company I did a touchscreen application for Raspberry Pi, which should do in the end the pulling in of steel pipes, cutting to the right length and labeling it for sanitary installation. I wanted to do it first with PyQt6, but very soon decided that Xojo is a perfect fit for this.

What do you build with Xojo now?

An IDE for macOS to simplify FPGA electronics development based on open source tools which are console applications only therefore simplifying the development process. As I wanted to have a more native macOS look I acquired the great NSToolbar plugin which has also an outstanding support from the author.

The progress can be seen on its website https://www.fpga.ch

Mostly I use Xojo for hobbies now as it is just a breeze to quickly develop something to verify an idea. Also, in combination with embedded electronics, Xojo is a perfect match to communicate with it via serial interfaces or IP networking.

Xojo isn’t the only tool in your kit. What is a piece of software more people should know about?

As I deal a lot with databases and REST API I use RapidAPI and Navicat Premium Lite on macOS which are both free tools.

Then of course for graphics the Affinity suite. And just recently I bought an App Wrapper license for distributing macOS applications.

But also don’t forget SF Symbols. I quickly built my own image scaler application with Xojo to copy/paste macOS icons from SF Symbols and generate automatically icons at a desired resolution with @1x/@2x/@3x scaling.

If it’s one of many things you use, what do you tend to use Xojo for?

To develop helper applications for electronics development, like controlling power supplies and function generators, grabbing screenshots from oscilloscopes. An idea exists for doing a combination of instrumentation control and test automation, sort of a poor-mans LabView.

What’s your biggest Xojo success?

Personally, my FPGA IDE for macOS. Not sure if it will be a success out there when once published in 2025. But during this project I learned a lot about the power of DesktopCanvas and DesktopListbox.

Thank you to Richard Klinger for answering questions and sharing his Xojo projects with the community. You can, in the words of Bart Simpson “Absotively posalutely“, find Richard on the Xojo Forums.

If you have an app, a project or a person you want to see featured in Spotlight On, tell us about it!

For Geoff Haynes, his work as a developer started at home with BASIC on a Commodore 64, that led him to PHP and Microsoft SQL Server for some web development, which then lead him to traveling the US amusement park circuit to install the hardware and software for point of sale (POS) systems. Today, he is settled and running Raximus Studios, using Xojo and enjoying doing what he knows best.

Q&A with Geoff Haynes of Raximus Studios

Mac, Windows or Linux?

Windows for anything requiring a UI. Linux for everything else. Sadly, I do not own a Mac but my iPhone is my daily driver for most tasks.

What’s next on your “Learn Next” list?

I spent a couple months early in 2023 learning about electrical engineering and designing circuits. I started building an EEPROM bios programming circuit but did not have time to finish it. I would like to learn more about electrical engineering and circuit design in the future.

What programming moments made you think “Wow, I love my job so much.”

• The first time I used the Xojo crypto module to send encrypted data back and forth to an Android app written in Java.
• The first time I compiled a class library in C# and used declares in Xojo to access the functions inside of it.

What is something that has surprised you about coding in the last 10 years?

The major shift to web-based cloud systems replacing software running locally on computers.

What is a cool piece of software more people should know about?

• I think SQLyog is a great tool for MariaDB. I tried many different tools used to manage MariaDB and SQLyog is my favorite.
• Voidtools Everything is a great program I use a lot to quickly find files on my development machine.
• By far, UnmanagedExports by Robert Giesecke is the most useful tool I use in every new software project.

What’s the most interesting thing you worked on recently?

Earlier this year I wrote a C# class library that can take image files and convert the binary data to work with ESCPOS commands to print perfect graphics using receipt printers in Xojo. That was really challenging and satisfying when I got it working perfectly.

Music or no music while coding?

The answer depends on what I am coding. If I am designing UI or server backend code then no music. If I am working on tedious tasks e.g. threading database queries then it’s usually Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool or the Tron: Legacy soundtrack playing in the background.

When did you start using Xojo?

In 2009 I was offered a position to develop different types of software for a local IT business that was interested in writing custom applications for their clients. This is how I started using Xojo (then Real Studio). For the next several years I wrote many different types of custom applications for local businesses in Real Studio. Some examples include an office check-in manager, a contest management system, I also developed a system that was designed to work with grocery store membership cards. In addition to Real Studio, I also wrote many different types of mobile Android applications in Java. In my spare time I worked on custom database report applications in Real Studio for clients that I met during my time working in the POS industry. 

What did you first build with Xojo?

In 2016 after I parted ways with the local IT company, I decided to start Raximus Studios when I had the idea to design an arcade debit card system in Xojo that could take advantage of the cheaper IoT circuit boards that had become available.
I integrated the arcade debit system with other existing POS systems that I knew from my years of subcontractor work in the POS amusement industry. A few other systems I have designed in Xojo that are currently in use at locations include:

•  An unattended gate access system that controls turnstile entry through barcode and QR scans as well as biometrics. 
• A media control system that uses IR scanning devices to control AV devices like the type of systems used to control multiple monitors in restaurants and bowling alleys. 
• A cloud-based gate security system used to design and create photo ID cards that are scanned and verified for gate entry. 

What are you building with Xojo today?

In 2023 I started work on my own amusement and entertainment POS system written in Xojo. This new POS system RAXPOS will be launching in early 2025 at the first location. 

Thank you to Geoff Haynes for answering questions and sharing his experience with Xojo with the community. You can contact Geoff at @raximusstudios and learn more about his projects at Raximus Studios. If you have an app, a project or a person you want to see featured in Spotlight On, tell us about it!

• Facebook
• X
• LinkedIn
• GitHub
• YouTube

Each year for Hour of Code, I volunteer at the local Middle School to talk to the students about what it is like to be a programmer and do a little bit of programming. This year I plan to demonstrate Xojo Dojo with a Raspberry Pi and show the kids how much fun coding and Xojo programming can be.

My wife teaches 7th grade math so I have a somewhat receptive audience, at least when it comes to middle school students. Of course, I’ll be sure to show off a few games made with Xojo. Asteroid Run was popular last year.

As Xojo developers you have a great perspective on coding, which would be wonderful to share with the youth of today. Most schools would absolutely welcome a guest speaker for a day so if you have a child in school or know someone that works at a school, I encourage you to see if you can help out by volunteering.

Looking for ideas? Here’s what we’ve done for the Hour of Code in past years:

• Hour of Code 2013: Math Facts
• Hour of Code 2013: Spelling Test
• Hour of Code 2013: Recap
• Hour of Code 2014: iOS Doodle
• Hour of Code 2014 Recap
• Hour of Code 2015: Cat Pictures
• Hour of Code 2017: Asteroid Run

Update (Dec 5, 2018):

Finished hour of code with 7th Grade students. They were very excited to learn a bit about coding and see some Xojo-made games.

Also, Xojo Dojo is now available for Mac and Windows. Download either of these from the main Xojo Dojo page.

sudo apt-get install libunwind8

The Raspberry Pi OS (Raspbian) does not automatically update itself. Since it is always a good idea to keep your Pi up to date, you can do it easily from Terminal using these commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

To learn more about Raspberry Pi and Xojo:

• Getting Started with Raspberry Pi
• Programming the Raspberry Pi with Xojo book

And don’t forget, you can build Console and Desktop apps for Raspberry Pi with your free Xojo license.

UPDATE: Now with Xojo 2019r1, you can develop and build console and desktop apps for the Raspberry Pi for free! Download today and get started! Xojo Pi supports Raspberry Pi 2, 3 & 4.

Back at XDC 2015 when we announced Xojo would be adding support for the Raspberry Pi, we thought it was a fun extra for Xojo users. We were not expecting the overwhelming excitement and interest from the Xojo community and makers around the world! To celebrate Pi Day like the true geeks we are, we’re making Xojo Pi licenses free from Pi Day & forever!

Email hello@xojo.com for your free Xojo Pi license activation code.

Share the new with you friends, we’re on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

UPDATED: 4/8/2019

Of course, Xojo apps work just fine on Raspbian Stretch.

The blog post does have this caveat about the upgrade:

Upgrading an existing Jessie image is possible, but is not guaranteed to work in every circumstance.

This scared me a bit, so I decided I would rebuild my SD card with Stretch so I could have a clean install. Here is how you can set up a new SD card and tweak some settings to make it easier to access the Pi remotely:

1. Download the Raspbian image from the official download page: Raspberry Pi Downloads
2. Download Etcher, which is a tool that can set up the SD card with the image.
3. Shut down your Raspberry Pi and removed its SD card. Be sure to first copy off any data you want to retain as this process will wipe the card and any data on it.
4. Plug the SD card into your computer. I used a USB micro SD card adapter for my Mac.
5. Run Etcher and select the Raspbian image you downloaded earlier.
6. Select the SD card in Etcher and click Flash. This wipes the card and installs Raspbian on it.
7. When it finishes, put the SD card back into the Raspberry Pi and power it up. You’ll also want to connect the Pi to a keyboard, mouse and display so you can do some initial configuration.
8. After the Pi boots and you are at the desktop, connect to your WiFi network.
9. Click the Pi icon in the menu and select Preferences->Raspberry Pi Configuration.
10. On the Interfaces tab, enable SSH and enable VNC.
11. You may also want to go to the Localisation tab and set the timezone.
12. Click OK.
13. Make a note of the Pi’s IP address if you do not know it. You can see the IP address by hovering the mouse over the WiFi icon in the menu.
14. Back on your computer, download RealVNC Viewer.
15. Install and run RealVNC Viewer.
16. Add a new connection and enter the IP address of your Raspberry Pi. You’ll be prompted for the username/password with is pi/raspberry unless you changed it.
17. You’ll now be remotely connected to the Pi and can use it without it being connected to a keyboard, mouse and display. This means you can also disconnect the keyboard, mouse and display if you want.
18. With this setup you can also use an FTP app to transfer files to the Pi. Just use the IP address and username/password for the Pi.
19. Lastly, refer to these steps to set up the Remote Debugger on the Pi so you can easily run and test your Xojo apps directly on the Pi.

To learn more about using the Raspberry Pi and Xojo together, refer to our free Programming the Raspberry Pi with Xojo book and the Raspberry Pi section of the User Guide.

Download Xojo today and get started with this simple music player app for your Raspberry Pi that can play mp3 and aac (m4a) files from a folder.

By default Raspberry Pi sound output is sent to the HDMI port. There is also a headphone port that can be used for sound output to make it easier to hook up speakers. To switch between the sound outputs, you use this command at the Terminal:

sudo amixer cset numid=3 1

Other values you can use are: 0=auto, 1=headphones, 2=HDMI.

Create the Project

Create a Desktop project and call it MP3Player. For controls, you will add three buttons and a label to Window1. Arrange them to look like this:

Change the name of the label from “Label1” to “NowPlayingLabel” and make it as wide as the window.

Now add these properties to keep track of the song files to play and the currently playing song sound:

CurrentSong As Sound
CurrentSongIndex As Integer
Songs() As FolderItem

The music files are loaded as Sound objects and the CurrentSong property is the song that is currently playing. The Songs() array is an array of the MP3 and AAC files that were loaded from the selected folder. And the CurrentSongIndex is the position of the current file (in the array) to play.

With this setup out of the way, you can start adding code. The first thing to do is to load the music files from the selected folder. Add the Action event to the “Choose Music Folder” button and enter this code:

' Choose a folder, grab all music files in the folder
' and save in array
Dim musicFolder As FolderItem = SelectFolder
If musicFolder <> Nil Then
  CurrentSongIndex = -1
  ReDim Songs(-1)
 
  Dim count As Integer = musicFolder.Count
  For i As Integer = 1 To count
    Dim f As FolderItem = musicFolder.Item(i)
    If f <> Nil And (f.Name.Right(3) = "mp3" Or f.Name.Right(3) = "m4a") Then
      Songs.Append(f)
    End If
  Next
End If

PlayNextSong

The last line calls a method, PlayNextSong, that starts playing the next song in the array. Here is the code for the PlayNextSong method:

Sub PlayNextSong()
  If CurrentSong <> Nil Then CurrentSong.Stop
 
  CurrentSongIndex = CurrentSongIndex + 1
  If CurrentSongIndex > Songs.Ubound Then CurrentSongIndex = 0
 
  If CurrentSongIndex <= Songs.Ubound Then
    CurrentSong = Songs(CurrentSongIndex).OpenAsSound
    CurrentSong.Play
    NowPlayingLabel.Text = Songs(CurrentSongIndex).Name
  End If
 
End Sub

Note: Do not type the Sub/End Sub part of the method in the code editor; instead enter that information in the Inspector.

This code stops any currently playing song, increases the current song index by 1 (looping back to the start if the end is reached) and then loads the sound file from the array so it can be played. Lastly it updates the label with the name of the song file.

You can do a quick test with just this code in place. Run the project (using the Remote Debugger) on the Pi and choose a folder containing music files. The first song in the folder should start playing.

Adding Features

There are still two buttons on the window that don’t yet do anything. The Play button will be used to Play and Stop the current song. Add the Action event to the Play button and enter this code:

If CurrentSong.IsPlaying Then
  CurrentSong.Stop
Else
  CurrentSong.Play
End If

The Skip button skips to the next song. Add the Action event and have it call the PlayNextSong method:

PlayNextSong

You can now again run the project on the Pi to test out these new features. When music is playing, click the Play button to stop and play. Click the Skip button to skip to and play the next song.

If you’ve let a song play until it finishes, you’ll notice that the next song does not start playing. This is because there is no code to check if the current song has finished. If you recall the code in the Play button it checks a property called “IsPlaying” to see if the song is currently playing. That property could be also be used by a Timer to check if the song has finished playing so it could start playing the next song. However this won’t quite be enough. If the user manually stops the song, then IsPlaying will be false and the Timer will automatically start playing the next song, which is probably not the behavior you want. To track when a user has manually stopped the music, another property is needed. Add this to Window1:

IsSongStopped As Boolean

Now you can drag a Timer on to Window1 and add the Timer’s Action event handler with this code (you can leave the Timer with its default period of 1000 and Mode to Multiple):

If CurrentSong <> Nil Then
  If Not CurrentSong.IsPlaying And Not IsSongStopped Then
    ' The song is no longer playing and the user has not manually stopped
    ' so that must mean the song has finished on its own.
    PlayNextSong
  End If
End If

And lastly, you need to go back to the Play button Action event handler and change its code to set the value in IsSongStopped like this:

If CurrentSong.IsPlaying Then
  CurrentSong.Stop
  IsSongStopped = True
Else
  CurrentSong.Play
  IsSongStopped = False
End If

Run the project on the Pi and you’ll see that the next song starts playing about 1 second after the current song finishes.

More Raspberry Pi Projects

Are you interested in trying more Raspberry Pi projects with Xojo? Download Xojo for free and then check out the free Programming the Raspberry Pi with Xojo book available on the Xojo Dev Center, which contains this project and many others.

• A 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU (~10x the performance of Raspberry Pi 1)
• Integrated 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.1
• Complete compatibility with Raspberry Pi 1 and 2

That last bullet point is notable because it means that Xojo is also fully compatible with the new Raspberry Pi 3!

Although the new CPU is 64-bit, it remains fully compatible with the ARMv7 CPU used in the Raspberry Pi 2.

Your 32-bit Xojo apps will continue to work fine in the 32-bit version of Raspbian (the only version available right now) on the Raspberry Pi 3. Once you apply the latest Raspbian updates, you can even just take your SD card from your Raspberry Pi 2 and plug it into a Raspberry Pi 3. To run the updates, just run these commands from the terminal on the Raspberry Pi:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

One word of warning, though. Apparently the new Raspberry Pi 3 gives off quite a bit more heat than the Raspberry Pi 2, so you may want to invest in a heat sink or fan for your case.

The Raspberry Pi 3 has the same $35 price as the Raspberry Pi 2. Here are some tutorials to help get you started:

• Blinking LED Tutorial
• Button LED Tutorial
• More Tutorials

If you’ve received yours, let us know how you like it in the comments! Remember you can develop and build console and desktop apps for the Raspberry Pi using Xojo 2019r1 or later for free.

Download Xojo today and get started!

These projects are all free and show you how to hook up a variety of sensors to your Pi and then interface with them using Xojo. Topics include:

• Motion Sensor
• Relay Board
• Flame Sensor
• Humidity and Temperature Sensors
• Infrared Sensor
• Ultrasonic Sensor

These projects make use of the open source GPIO module that is included with Xojo and available on GitHub.

You can view all the Pi Projects here:

Xojo Pi/GPIO Projects

You can develop and build console and desktop apps for the Raspberry Pi using Xojo 2019r1 or later for free.

Download Xojo today and get started!

The answer is to use the GPIO module that is included with Xojo in conjunction with the wiringPi library. And now this module is also available on GitHub:

Xojo GPIO Module

This module is used for our two Raspberry Pi projects: Blinking LED and Button LED. They are also used by the Einhugur Pi projects for Xojo.

I encourage all you Raspberry Pi experts to clone the GPIO project on GitHub and push up any enhancements you come up with.