Touch-panel PCs ship with Python-GTK support

By Eric Brown
2009-11-03

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Techsol announced it is now shipping its Linux-ready Medallion Touch Panel Computers (TPCs) with Python-GTK support. The new support enables developers to develop embedded GUIs using Python-GTK on a desktop PC and easily load it onto Techsol's TPC touch-panel systems, thereby accelerating proof-of-concept design, says the company.

Developers can now load Techsol's Medallion TPC devices, such as the recently released Techsol TPC-43B (pictured below) with one of four supplied Python-GTK (also known as PyGTK) GPE images. Unlike most scripting environments, Python-GTK provides the Gimp Tool Kit (GTK) widget toolkit for Python. As a result, developers can make use of a full Linux environment running a GTK GUI on an X server, says the company.

Techsol TPC-43B

It's said users can develop a PyGTK application on a Linux desktop, then copy the .py files to the TPC's embedded Linux stack via a USB memory stick. This capability enables rapid prototype development for proof of concept designs, according to Techsol.

Techsol TPC-43A (left) running Python-GTK interface; image on right demonstrates identical PyGTK display on desktop PC
(Click to enlarge)

Because Python is an interpreted scripting language, no cross-compiling or toolchain configuration is required, thereby avoiding the learning curve for cross-compiler development environments, says Techsol. As a cross-platform technology, the Python implementation is said to offer the benefits of range and consistency, running the same on a Pentium-class desktop as on an ARM-powered embedded device.

Techsol is a British Columbia-based embedded board and development services vendor that offers extensive in-house customization features, as well as Linux development tools for its Medallion touch panels. The company has been around for 14 years, and for a decade, it has been developing various, highly customizable, production-ready embedded modules, boards, and devices based on its ARM9-based Medallion module.

Availability

Medallion TPC systems with PyGTK are available now, says Techsol. The company is offering a reduced cost on its TPC-43A wall-mount computer development kit in a version with PythonGTK and related demos preloaded. The company is now offering a 30 percent price break on the system, at $875 U.S.

More information may be found at Techsol, here.

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