Which GUI to use?

I want to create a GUI that will update when data is given to it by Matlab in real time. I heard Guide would work, but I also heard guide may be phasing out soon. Therefore, I have two questions.

1) If guide is phasing out, what is the new tool to use?

2) Can guide automatically update several images in real time? My end goal would to have an image of a car and when the gas pedal is pushed, have the wheels spin and show the mass flow of the gas.

Answer 1

[Sean de Wolski]

Who told you GUIDE was phasing out?

1. GUIDE or Handle Graphics. The learning curve for handle graphics is a little steeper but you have more power.
2. Yes.

[Matthew]

Thanks Sean! much appriciated. I dont exactly have a grasp on what GUIDE and Handle graphics are. From what I understand, GUIDE is the graphical part, where I can create buttons and what now and Handle is used in the callbacks for guide, or as I see it, the mastermind in the background that is actually doing everything. Is this a fair assumption to be made?

[Walter Roberson]

GUIDE is a design program that assists in constructing code. There are no special GUIDE graphics or libraries: it just emits code that you could have written yourself.

[Matthew]

Alright, that makes sense. can anyone point me in the right direction to make custom graphics? I could make set the background to a car and then put axis areas over desired locations, but that seems like excessive ammounts of hassles.

[Sean de Wolski]

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/24861-41-complete-gui-examples

[Image Analyst]

I like steep learning curves. The steeper the better, if you're plotting amount learned versus time.

[Matthew]

Sean,

I've been searching through those GUI examples and have learned a lot from them. However, I have not seen anything on custom graphics or updating multiple axes simultaneously. I have been searching through the answers section, but haven’t found anything to relevant.

However, I have been able to use a button to change the color of a blob I created from red to blue, so it is a start. Unfortunately, when I try to do two color changes on two axes, my code freaks out and does one color change then the other on the same axes.

[Sean de Wolski]

lol. The lead up was impressive for the blob changing from red to blue.

To change properties of a different axes, specify that axes by it's handle. This is really a topic for a new question, so I recommend you post a enw question with relevant code/pics so we can see what's going on and help you there.

[Sean de Wolski]

@IA, I'd never thought of it that way, but when you say that, it makes steep learning curves even better!

Unfortunately my learning curve for regular expressions is flat and frequently discontinuous.

[Matthew]

At Seans request, I have created a new page. It can be found here

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/38990-guide-run-multiple-commands-simultaneously

Answer 2

[Walter Roberson]

It is usually much easier to update multiple axes in sequential calls, rather than simultaneously. To update them simultaneously you need to use an advanced form of the set() call involving cell arrays to mark which changes are associated with which handle that you passed in.

What do you mean by "custom graphics" ? There are a limited number of built in rendering graphic types (text objects, lines, images, patches, surfaces) and some containers (e.g., axes); and everything else has to be built up out of those. You cannot add your own custom graphics such as infinity-symbol shaped graphics windows. (The original Silicon Graphics window manager was based on Postscript, and it was indeed possible to create custom window shapes in it. That was a long time ago, though.)

For working with multiple axes, I suggest you search MATLAB Answers for tag:always-parent

[Matthew]

By custom graphics, I meant be able to draw my own image on an axis and modify the properties from there (such as a gas canister). I've been looking into the fill command for this, but it seems like it’s more hassle than it’s worth for now. I would much rather have functionality before making everything look pretty.

I have created a new question that goes into more detail of my overall problem. This is the link http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/38990-guide-run-multiple-commands-simultaneously