Simulator for Arduino

Copyright 2014-2020 Virtronics. All Rights Reserved.

Simulator for Arduino

Table of contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 4
What's new .................................................................................................... 4
Free Version Differences ................................................................................. 5
Simulator or Arduino ...................................................................................... 5
Getting Started .................................................................................................. 6
System requirements ...................................................................................... 6
Getting help .................................................................................................. 6
Using the IDE .................................................................................................... 6
Program Window ........................................................................................... 7
Legend ..................................................................................................... 8
Program Popup Menu ................................................................................. 9
BreakPoint ................................................................................................. 9
Bare Minimum ......................................................................................... 10
Loading a Sketch ...................................................................................... 10
Running a Sketch ..................................................................................... 11
Hidden code ............................................................................................ 11
Variables Area ............................................................................................. 11
Variables Popup Menu .............................................................................. 12
Arduino Area ............................................................................................... 13
Arduino Popup Menu ................................................................................ 13
Menu System ............................................................................................... 14
File Menu ................................................................................................ 14
Run Menu ................................................................................................ 14
View Menu .............................................................................................. 15
Hardware ................................................................................................ 16
Tools ...................................................................................................... 17
Logic Analyzer ..................................................................................... 18
Serial Monitor ...................................................................................... 19
Unit Testing ......................................................................................... 19
Trace ...................................................................................................... 20
Options ................................................................................................... 21
Help ....................................................................................................... 21
Dialog Windows ........................................................................................... 22
Edit Window ............................................................................................ 22
EEPROM Window ..................................................................................... 23
Input/Output Window ............................................................................... 24
Simulation Popup Menu ........................................................................ 25
View Subroutines ..................................................................................... 26
Call Stack ................................................................................................ 26
Class Explorer .......................................................................................... 27
Error Message .......................................................................................... 27
Shortcut Toolbar .......................................................................................... 27
Shortcut keys ............................................................................................... 28
Example Sketches ......................................................................................... 29
Test Sketches ........................................................................................... 29
Language Processing ........................................................................................ 29
Keywords .................................................................................................... 29

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Custom Libraries ..........................................................................................

Millis ...........................................................................................................
Troubleshooting ...............................................................................................
Registry Settings ..............................................................................................
Version Info ....................................................................................................
Credits ............................................................................................................

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Simulator for Arduino

Introduction
Simulator for Arduino is an Arduino Simulator which may be downloaded or purchased from
www.virtronics.com.au. The Free version has a ten minute trial, a thirty day trial period (or 300 second until
unlocked) then a 30 second delay on opening sketches and is code limited to 150 lines. The Pro Version
has no limitations.
The benefits and features of an Arduino Simulator are:
Speed up Arduino designs
Try out other Arduino boards first and see the pin-out configurations
Demonstrate a project to a potential customer remotely
The ability to educate and demonstrate the inner workings of an Arduino sketch
Run a sketch without the hardware, or prior to purchasing hardware
Debug a sketch, step through or run with a breakpoint and see the variables change
Find out number overruns such as setting a byte to 256, assigning a new value to a const variable, or
use library routines without including the library
Graphically view L:CD and colour screens
Trace and Error logs

Improved Serial Monitor which allows an interface between the Simulator and the real world
Simple logic analyser to view digital pins graphically
Automated testing (Unit Testing) to check that sketches will provide a certain output
Variable watch which shows only the last variable changed or selected variables
Variable insight which allows for variables values to be viewed by clicking on them in the Sketch
Window (ensure Menu Option is turned on)
Design a new board inside the Simulator using the Hardware > Save Settings and Load Settings items.
Many more features and continuous improvements with regular updates

The SIMFORARDUINO Pro Version license is licenced to one user only for use on up to 3 computers or to
100,1000 or 10000 computers for SiteWide Educational licences at a discount.
Press F1 inside the Simulator to open context sensitive help.

What's new
Version 0.99F - Mar-2014
1. Allow nested arrays test1[test2[0]]
2. Add syntax colours rectangles for different skins
3. Add Serial.readString
4. Improve timer1 interrupt - add all functions
5. Press ms after millis to increment by 1 second or timer1 interrupt when activated
6. Add hint to Millis text showing when next timer1 interrupt is due
7. Allow breakpoint on timer interrupt - ensure current instruction is executed before ISR
8. Add hidden commands to Stimulus file & Allow breakpoints when Stimulus file command run
9. Allow map instuction to run over 4 lines (an any instruction over any number of lines)
10. Fixup Serial Monitor echo only working for println but not print commands
11. Allow Arduino/ Variable sareas to undock and redock using x-axis
12. Add persistent vertical scrollbar to sktehc screen
13. Char array strings only shrink when Char is Selected - Hex no always show hex etc
14. Fixup Tools> Logic Analyzer

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15. Add Chipkit Uno

Free Version Differences

The Free Version is identical to the Pro Version, apart from the addition of a timer delay window and a Code
Limit of 150 lines. The Free version is supplied as a demo version to allow users to trial the Simulator for
Arduino program. The logic and operation of the Simulator for Arduino program is identical apart from the
timer delay and code limit. The Pro Version License comes with the latest Simulator version and Upgrades
until the end of the Calendar year.
Click the Get Unlock key to receive a free 30 day trial with no timer but with the 150 line limit and 100
sketches. After Unlocking, the Simulator will appear with the time and sketch loads left on the Status bar as
shown here. After 30 days the timer will be reset to 30 seconds for each new sketch loaded or edited.
Note; With the latest version, there is now ten minute free trial before any unlock is needed.

Simulator or Arduino
Simulator or Arduino is a good question and Simulator and Arduino or even Arduino and then Simulator is a
good answer. The Simulator was not designed as a replacement for Arduino but an add-on product to the
Arduino development kit and has been designed as a training/demo/debugging tool. It has not been
designed as a development or compiling tool. We fully support the Arduino project and encourage new users
to buy and try a real Arduino kit first and then purchase the Simulator when needed. For first time users,
please refer to the book "Getting Started with Arduino" by Massimo Banzi.
To develop code for Arduino, a good starting point is to use the Arduino Uno together with the Arduino IDE.

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For larger projects, the Arduino Mega or Due may be more suitable. This Simulator has not been designed
to check for syntax errors, and we recommend only using the Simulator for debugging only after the Arduino
sketch compiles in the Arduino IDE but there is still some annoyign issue.
Official Arduino kits are recommended since these are well designed and support for the Arduino project
leads to more cool new development boards and IDE upgrades. Please note that the official arduino website
is www.arduino.cc.

Getting Started
Getting Started.
Download the zip file, extract the setup.exe file. When finished, run this program to install the Simulator for
Arduino program and click yes to accept the EULA (End User Licence Agreement). For the Free Version,
there is a ten minute trial period then an unlock process. To Unlock the Simulator, click on the Get Unlock
Key button and then copy the Unlock Key back to the Simulator and clicking Unlock. Please email us if
there are any issues with this process.

System requirements
The System Requirements are a PC Pentium II or later.
The Simulator for Arduino program will run on the following systems:
WINDOWS
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

2000
XP
Vista
7
8 and 8.1

MAC
Windows using Parallels
Windows using VMWare VM systems
LINUX
Wine on Linux (windows emulator)

Untested on Windows 98,ME and 95. If the Simulator does run on any of these systems, please let us know
by sending an email to [email protected]

Getting help
For help, please email [email protected] and please attach the sketch, or click the email button
inside any Error Message. Replies sometimes can take a few weeks.
Also, please make use of the forum (http://forum.virtronics.com.au/) which may be a little quiet sometimes.
There are already many questions and answers on the forum and threads can be subscribed to in order to
be emailed about new replies.
Before emailing, please check that the sketch compiles in the Arduino IDE first.

Using the IDE

The Simulator for Arduino IDE has several sections. These are:

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The Menu system which contains options and settings

The Shortcut Toolbar provides single click action for commonly used operations
The Program or Sketch window
The Variables area
The Arduino Area

Note that the order of the Program window, Variables are and Arduino picture may be swapped by Selecting
View|Arduino on Left. The preferred method is to have the Program Window on the left so that the work flow
is input,data and output. The Arduino picture and/or Variables area may be hidden by selecting Options >
Show Arduino and/or SHow Variables and clicking on it to uncheck these options.
When the Simulator for Arduino IDE is resized, the Variables window will disappear first since this is seen
as the least important window. If the main screen is made smaller, the Program window will then disappear
and the Arduino Screen will always be on top. This allows for sketches to be simulated as they would
appear for real. There is also a Minimize button designed for this purpose.

Program Window
The Program window area shows the program listing, and the cursor will always be in the vertical center of
the screen. The Program Window allows for the program to be stepped through. When selected, the
following keys may used to run the program:
F7 key may be used to step through the program and
F8 can be used to step over subroutines while still executing all the code inside the subroutine.
F9 may be used to run the program
Shift F8 may be used to step out of a routine
F2 may be used to force a reset
F3 may be used to open the Find window to search for text
F6 may be used to edit the sketch
See the Shortcut Toolbar for more info on the step and run icons

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A new line may be selected by right clicking anywhere in the Program or Sketch window and selecting Set
Next Statement.
The Statusbar shows the Line number, Last Line number and the next code to be executed. If the AutoStep
time is set to less than 2ms, the Status-Bar will not update until Run or AutoStep is stopped.
Special Simulator hidden code may be used to setup a particular hardware configuration, and this allows the
setup configuration to be saved inside the comments of the sketch. See Hidden code for more detail.

Legend

The Legend may be turned on by selecting View | Legend or right clicking onteh Arduino picture and
selecting Legend.
The Legend shows the colours and states of the Digital output. The AnalogWrite value of a digital pin will be
displayed to the left of the digital pin when the analogWrite() routine is used.

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Program Popup Menu

The Program Area Popup menu has these options:

Set Next Statement - change the program line
Breakpoint1-4 - right click to add a breakpoint in red or clear it. Left click on the breakpoint to see which
number it is. Also refer to breakpoint condition in the Edit Window.
Clear All breakpoints - clears all breakpoints with one click

View Line Numbers - turn on the line numbers in the Program Window - this is useful for checking
subroutines
Edit Sketch - allows the sketch to be edited in the Edit Window
Syntax Colouring - show comments as light gray, #if hash commands in medium grey, definitions in
green, constants in Olive and subroutines as blue
Match Braces - find the opening or closing bracket for the current line
Tabs On Top - places the tab with the filename at the top if checked or else the bottom

Find - open the Find window to find text inside the sketch

Show Arduino - uncheck to hide the Arduino picture and allow more screen area for your super sketch
Errors Enabled - turn off to prevent any annoying errors, and hope for the best. Please note this must be
manually turned on again to show any sketch errors.

BreakPoint
A breakpoint can be set by right clicking anywhere in the program window.

The pop-up menu has an option which can be clicked to add or clear the breakpoint. Please note that a
breakpoint condition can be added in the Edit Window to only break at the red line on a certain condition
such as when a variable is above a certain level such as i>=17.

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If a BreakPoint is added, the breakpoint line will be shown in red. This is commonly used with the AutoStep
or F9 command. The breakpoint can also be saved inside a comment using Hidden Code
the syntax
// breakpoint(20)
will set a breakpoint on line 20. If a breakpoint is set on a new line, the previous breakpoint will be cleared.
To turn off a breakpoint, select the same line and select Breakpoint.
Left click on a set Breakpoint to find out which number it is. Right click to clear it.

Bare Minimum
Bare Minimum will load the bare minimum needed for a new sketch. Select Run|Edit Sketch and the press
the rightmost button to load the Bare Minimum to start writing a sketch. The text will appear as shown
below. Modify and then click the button Save File As to save the sketch to a new filename.

// Simulate(Uno) link sketch to Arduino board here

void setup() {
// put your setup code here, to run once:
}
void loop() {
// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
}
Loading a Sketch
To load a sketch, select File|Load Sketch, press the Load Sketch button at the top left or press F4.
Navigate to the correct folder and select the *.ino file (or *.pde for previous Arduino versions). C files can now
be simulated since the C and Arduino syntax is compatible.

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Running a Sketch
After a sketch has been loaded, the first executable line of code will be highlighted. Now press the Step Into
button or the down arrow. Alternately, the F7 single step or F8 button may be pressed. The F9 button allows
the program to be autorun with a 5ms interval (adjustable) between steps. This 5ms time can be adjusted in
the Edit Window and for training, this can be set to 500ms to demonstrate in slow motion the operation of a
sketch.
The middle section of the screen displays the variables grid, and these are organised into Bytes, Chars,
Int(eger)s, Long, Strings and Defines. Any value in the grid can be changed by selecting it and typing in a
new number.

Hidden code
Special Simulator hidden code may be used to setup a particular hardware configuration, and this allows the
setup configuration to be saved inside the comments of the sketch.
This hidden code can be one fo four formats:
Simulate(Uno) - Simulate the particular Arduino board - please note that Simulate(Uno_LCD.txt) will also
work if the text file is found
breakpoint(line,tab, condition) - will setup a breakpoint at the line on the correct Tab, (leftmost=1) with
the condition. If the condition is left blank, it will not be set
SimulateLCD(x,y,width,height,pixel width,pixel space, backlight color, on color, off color) will setup a
LCD area on the Arduino picture. The colors are 24bit in a BGR format where 255=Red.The pixel width
should be no more than 5)
SimulateLED(x,y,width,height,color ) where color os the color of LED segments for a 7 segment display
SerialIn(data) will load the Serial Port input data with the data inside the parentheses
Stimulus(stim.sti) will load a Stimulus file. Stimulus actions are shown in the statusbar after the Next
line data and will happen at set times. View the _Sim Test\v98g\test.sti file for a sample
Sample Stimulus file
20,pinMode(1,OUTPUT); // at 20us make digPin1 an output
50,pinMode(5,OUTPUT); // at 50us make digPin5 an output
100,digitalWrite(5,HIGH); // at 100us turn on digPin5
Note that there is also a virtual library <Graphics.h> which allows for colour screen rendering. See the
Graphics.ino demo sketch under _Sim Test\v0.98 checks

Variables Area
The Variables area shows the status of all the variables used in program and their current value. The Value
may be changed by clicking in the relevant cell and changing the value. Please note that having a lot of
variables shown can slow the program execution. Either select Watch or Select Options> Show Variables
and turn this off to hide the variables to make program execution faster.
Double click in the first four columns to auto-resize the variable area.
Double Click in the Qualifier column or right click and select Watch to turn on Watch mode. This allows only
selected variables to be watched.
The Qualifier column typically shows if the value is a const, unsigned, static, volatile or pointer type (Note
that Pointers are not fully supported). The qualifier number in a heading row (shown by the gray shading)
shows how many variables of that type have been defined.

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When returning from a subroutine, the stack will be returned the the original state, and any variables defined
in the subroutine or passed as arguments will be cleaned or removed.
Right Click in the Variables area to bring up the Pop-up Menu.
The second column is the watch column, and clicking in this column will show a w. The right click Pop-up
menu can then be selected to show only Watched variables. This is useful when only a few variables are
relevant amongst several hundred. The gray area in the W column may be clicked to show or hide all the
variables for that type. The last variable changed will always be shown for the last program step.
Arrays can be folded by clicking in the second or Watch column and a + sign will show that the Array has
been folded. When folded, only the first element of each array will be shown and for character arrays, the
string value of the whole array can be easily viewed. Alternately, the array may be folded at any element of
the array and in this case, the elements above will be shown, but the elements below will be hidden. Click
the + again to unfold the array
Clicking in the Qualifier column will enable or disable the watch, and the W in the second column indicates
if the Watch is on (W) or off (blank). The last variable changed will always be shown.

Variables Popup Menu

The Variables Area Popup menu has four options:

Watch - only display variables which have a w or + in the second column of the grid

Bin - display Variable value in binary

Decimal - display Variables value in decimal
Hex - display Variables value in hexadecimal
Char - display Variables value in Character format and hexadecimal

Find - open the Find window to find text inside the variables area

Clear All Variables - useful for header files which have a #ifdef FILE_H at the beginning. Clearing the
variables, then allows the header file to be stepped through. NOTE: doing this in the middle of stepping
through a sketch will cause errors since the Simulator will no longer be able to find or set variables.
Allow Undock/Dock - select this to undock or redock the Variables area from the main SImulator
window. If unchecked, the cvolumns may be resized.

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Arduino Area
The Arduino picture area allows for the digital inputs and outputs to be displayed along with the Analog input
and output values. The digital pins are defined up to D53 for the Mega and D13 for the Uno.
The Analog Pins are defined as A0 to A5 for the Uno with A0 equal to 14. Other boards are setup according
to the Arduino configuration.
The Simulator also allows for custom boards to be setup.

Arduino Popup Menu

The Arduino Area Popup menu has these options:

Arduino on Left - display the picture of the Arduino on the left and the Program window on the right
Legend - display the digital pin legend on the top right of the Arduino picture
Show Volts - this option allows for the analog number to be displayed as volts in the format x.xx
(accurate to 0.01V)
Minimize - turn off the Tool bar and menu to make the Arduino picture as minimal as possible. the
program can be resized to then only show the Arduino picture and the Title (which shows the sketch
name).

Load Sketch - load a sketch into the program window - useful in minimize mode
Input/Output - show the input/output window - useful in minimize mode

Uno - set the Arduino board to a Uno type

Due
Papilio - great value FPGA platform for under $50
Esplora
Mega - set the Arduino board to a Mega type
Mega 75% - same as above but with a small picture to fit most laptop screens
Leonardo

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LilyPad - wearable Arduino

Nano
Uno32 - Microchip Chipkit - a copy of the Arduino Uno but running a Micrchip 32bit processor
Other - configure your own board

Menu System

The Menu system has eight sub-menus. These menus allow the Simulator to be customised.
Note that right clicking in the toolbar will bring up a Language popup menu.

File Menu

The File Menu Items are:

Load Sketch F4 - Load a Sketch into the Program Window
Edit Sketch F6 - Edit a Sketch in the Edit Window

Print Setup - open the Printer Setup Dialog Box

Print - print a scaled picture of the program
Print Text - print the sketch as a text file with no formatting

Open Sketch in Notepad - this opens the sketch in Notepad for quick viewing and editing of the sketch
Open Sketch in Arduino - this opens the sketch in the Arduino IDE if Arduino is the default program to
open sketches. If this does not happen, right click a .ino sketch, select Open With and then Choose
Default Program and set to Arduino.exe
Log Errors - all errors will be logged to the ErrorLog + date.txt file Note that Errors here mean program
and simulator errors
Exit - close the program

Run Menu

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The Run Menu Items are:

Hard Reset - reset the program normally
Reset - reset the program to the start or Setup routine and clears all variables
Step Into - step one line through the program, and step into any subroutines
Step Over - step one line and step over any subroutines running the code inside the subroutine
Step Out of - Step out of a subroutine
Run - perform a step once every time period which is 5ms by default -see Shortcut toolbar
Soft Reset - a new function to reset the sketch without needing to reload all the #include files

View Menu

The View Menu Items are:

Simulation data - open or Close the Simulation input/output window
Subroutines - View the Subroutines and Line Numbers - double click on any subroutine to see it in the
sketch window without changing the program counter
EEPROM - View the EEPROM data
Open the Call Stack Window
Open the Class Explorer - view class objects with their values
The Call Stack Window is very important in debugging since it shows the origin of the current loop which
may be a subroutine, while loop or any other condition. The loop level is show at the right in the Status bar.
The middle area is the standard Arduino library objects, while the right area is for user defined C++ objects.

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Hardware

The Hardware Menu Items are:

Uno - display the Board picture as an Arduino Uno board
Due - display the Board picture as the ARM-based Arduino Due
Papilio - display the Board picture as the Papilio One FPGA devkit
Leonardo- display the Board picture as an Arduino Leonardo board
LilyPad - display the Board picture as an Arduino LilyPad board
Mega - display the Board picture as an Arduino Mega board
Mega (x75%) - a smaller version for laptops
Nano - display the Board picture as an Arduino Nano board
Uno32 -= display the Microchip Uno32 board
Other - open up any picture file preferably 350 pixels wide to overlay on the Arduino picture

Screw Terminal - Show the Virtronics custom Screw Terminal board

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LCD - Show the Virtronics custom LCD board with a 16x2 LCD fitted
LCD 8x2 - - Show the Virtronics custom LCD board with a 8x2 LCD fitted

Save Hardware Settings - save hardware settings to a .txt file which can be edited later
Load Hardware Settings - load hardware settings from a .txt file
Show All - Show all the pins, pin names and analog values for the Arduino board
Hide All - Hide all the pins, pin names and analog values for the Arduino board

The hardware settings are saved to a text file with the format shown below. Clicking anywhere on Arduino
picture will show the X,Y coorindates in the Status Bar and also save them to the clipboard.
Picture(Uno,350,506) // pix,width,height
resetSw(345,105) // Reset Switch x,y
onLed(273,454) // power led x,y
txLed(276,256)// transmit led x,y
rxLed(260,256)// receive led x,y
d13Led(309,256)// d13 led x,y
crystal(192,160)// crystal x,y
usb(250,32) // usb x,y
maxPin(13,5,19)// maxDigitalPin,maxAnalogPin,maxAllPins
externalInterrupts(2,3) // External Interrupts int0pin int1pin ...
LCD_Enabled(-29,-16,200,200,0,0,0,0,0)// x,y,w,h,pixel w, p-p,blit_color,oncolor,offcolor width=6*lcdx*p-p
height=10*lcdy*p-p - for graphic screen
digitalPin0(367,490,340,490,396,490) // pin x,y pin label x,y analogValue x,y
...
analogPin0(45,406,71,406,2,406) // analog label x,y pin x,y analogValue x,y
...

Tools

There Menu Tools are:

ASCII Table - view the full ASCII table with character, hex and binary representations. Useful to most
programmers and now viewable with large Text.
Barcode Maker - the ability to set and print various barcodes - useful for the Virtronics Barcode Scanner
Shield
Calculator - a simple programming calculator for adding and multiplying hex numbers
Connectors - view some common electrical connectors such as the serial D9 connector, USB typeA,
USB mini and DC jack
Logic Analyzer - view digital pins 0-13 graphically using the trace - automatically activates the File|Trace
option
Serial Logger - show Serial data graphically from the real World or from the Simulator
Serial Monitor - an improved Serial monitor with a classic Bluegiga toolbar

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Automated Testing - the ability to automatically test series of sketched or commands. Very useful.

In all these Tools (except Automated Testing), the keyboard commands such as F7 to single step and F8 to
step one line at a time will work.

Logic Analyzer
The Logic Analyzer can show the pin states in a graphical format using the trace data.
The menu allows pins to be turned on and off, and scrolling the mouse wheel can expand or shrink the time
scale.

Options
All Pin On - turn on all 53 pins
All Pins Off - turn off all 53 pins
Pins 0-13 On - turn on the Arduino digital pins only
Pins 0-19 On - turn on the Arduino digital and Analog pins (analog pins 0-5 map to pins 14-19)

Auto Scale Y - allow the waveform to use the vertical space

Load - load an old trace file
Enable Green line - displays a green line inteh sketch window corresponding to where the prorgam was
at that stage

Debug - turn on a whole stack of debug data (may be removed at a later date)

TimeBase - turn on vertical lines for the selectd timebase

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Serial Monitor
The Serial Monitor is provided to be able to view real Serial Data.
The Serial Data will be transmitted from the Simulator out the designated Serial Port.

The Options are:

Sim Output data Echo - allows for data transmitted using the Serial.write or Serial.print commands to be
Echo in the transmit box
Sim Real Serial Input - great feature to allow incoming serial data to be ported to the Serial Indata in the
Input/Output window
Hex Write - send outgoing data as two hex characters followed by a space
Hex Read - display incoming data in Hex format
Unreadable - show unreadable characters as their character representation otherwise display as <hh>
where hh is the hex code
BlueGiga Toolbar - for those using classic Bluegiga device such as the ones from ESDN
In the COM Menu item, select AutoDetect to view only the available Com ports.

Unit Testing

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Automated testing is an extensive page setup to automatically test sketches against set outputs. This
helps with testing the Simulator, and while it takes a lot longer to setup a test script, in the long term, this
will save much time.
At the bottom are 4 buttons labelled T1 to T4 and new. These are for routine tests which are all text files
found in the _Sim_Test folder:
T1 is for the Examples from 1.Basic up to and including ArduinoISP
T2 is for the rest of the Official Arduino examples using the standard libraries such as SPI, Wire and
Ethernet
T3 is for bug fixes and known previous issues
T4 is for a Simulator-oriented test script test each function as it is listed inside the Simulator source
code
New shows the latest test scripts added
Each line in a script file conforms to the following basic syntax:
test(function or variable, expected integer result expected float result, expected string result)
NA means not applicable or No test
Extra single letter functions are:
+ for single step
@for read data from Input/Output port using the integer result as the line number
(SoftSerial,Serial,SPI,EthernetClient,EthernetServer,Ethernet, Wire,LCD, KeyBoard,File & Udp)
! load a file
~digPin - read a digital pin state with the pin set by the integer result and check the colour is the same
as the expect float result read as an integer

The analog(x,val,NA,NA) can only be used once at the start of the script
Examples(Int,Float,Str,Output)
analog(0,123,NA,NA)
// ***** 0 BASIC *****
test(!01.Basics\AnalogReadSerial.ino,NA,NA,NA) // 1.1 AnalogReadSerial
test(+++sensorValue,123,NA,NA)
test(++@Serial,0,NA,123)
test(!01.Basics\Blink.ino,NA,NA,NA) // // 1.2 Blink.ino
test(+~digPin,13,0xffffff,NA)
test(++~digPin,13,255,NA)
test(+millis() ,1000,NA,NA)
test(+~digPin,13,0xffffff,NA)
test(+millis() ,2000,NA,NA)

Trace

Trace On - save all program steps to a text file with the filename based on the current date. the digital
pins state is also saved for the Logic Analyzer
Serial.Write - trace into all the output bits of each serial.write instruction and add time to the millis

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function depending on the baud rate

SPI.txfer - trace into the output bits of each 8 bit transfer and add 24us for each transfer (3us for each
bit)
Wire.send - trace the output bits of each I2C output byte

The middle three options are specially designed for the Tool > Logic Analyzer and allow the digitalPin
changes to be view in real time similar to the way an oscilloscope would display the voltage levels. When
Trace On is selected or deselected, the lower 3 options are also selected or deselected.

Options

The Option items are:

Library Code - open and display the actual code for a library such as <SPI.H> - note the Library director
should be setup to point to the right directory first - see here for more info.
Standard Include - open and display the actual code for header files such as <stdint.h> and
<inttypes.h>
avr.file.h - open and display the actual code for any avr/file.h files.
No Include Files - stop those annoying open file dialogs - may not allow classes to be used.
Board Lights - Uncheck to be able to run graphic colour screen sketches without the board leds
activating
Variable Insight - Uncheck to turn off the sketch window hover function to see variable value during
stepping
Show Arduino - Uncheck to hide the Arduino picture
Show Variables - Uncheck to hide the Variables area
Autosize Variable Area - automatically resize the variable area when reset or a new sketch is loaded
Please note that having any of the options turned on such as the include and library code options can cause
many errors since these files use high level C++ syntax structures so these options should be used with
care.
On the positive side, these libraries allows for library code to be easily inspected. This can be very useful
when adding a colour display from an online store such as Adafruit and then being able to open the
Adafruit_GFX and Adafruit_SSD1206 library to see how the SPI port drives the colour display.

Help

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The Help Menu items are :

About - Show the Program version
Show Help F1 - show this help - Note: this can also be activated by pressing F1
Buy a real Arduino - open the Buy Arduino page
Buy a Shield for Arduino - open the Shields for Arduino page
Training Videos - watch all the Youtube videos related to the Simulator and Shields
Arduino Reference - display the Arduino language reference page
Arduino Uno - display the Arduino Uno Page
Arduino Due - display the Arduino Due Page
Unlock Key - view the Unlock Key and licence info - please note the Pro Version now requires an
Unlock
The Help | About screen shows the current software version.
The F (for Free version) after the version number indicates the Simulator is identical to the Pro Version but .
The Free version has been provided as demo version to allow the Simulator for Arduino program to be
evaluated prior to purchase. It is anticipated that after a month of use, it will be more economically viable to
purchase the Pro Version than continue to run the Free Version.
Limitiations of the Free version are:
a Code limit of 150 lines which will be displayed on the Delay Timer screen
an incrementing delay timer (from 30 seconds) window any time a new sketch is loaded or edited
A trial period of 30 days or 10 sketches with no timer after an unlock process
An initial trial period of 30 minutes (no unlock required)

Dialog Windows
The Simulator has several dialog windows which can display more information when activated. These are:
The Edit Window
The Input/Output Window
View Subroutines
Error Message

Edit Window
The Edit Sketch Window allows for sketches to be edited and updated or reloaded into the Program window
Close - closes this window and resumes simulating the program
Update Sketch - save this edited sketch back to the program window
Save File As - save this sketch to a new .ino file
SaveUpdate - save the sketch under the same name and update the sketch in the program window
Bare Minimum - load the bare minimum code skeleton - see here for more info

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Sketch Font type - changes the font type of the main program window
Sketch Font size - changes the font size of the main program window
Skin - this will change and save the skin for the whole Simulator program. The default skin is Windows.
Click Invert to show text against a dark background
Library Directory - set for using custom libraries or click Reset to set the Library directory to the default
value
Language - change between English, French, Italian and Other for titles only - also Input and output the
language text
BreakPoint condition - set to break on a certain condition at the red line. The condition can be any
expression and can even be a formula - such as i+=10.
Serial InData - provides the ability to Change the Default Serial - Also available as a hidden code
command - Reset to set default value of 123456ABCDEF\n
AutoStep - the delay between single steps in the run mode
Syntax Colours - allows the user to adjust and save the syntax colours - Default will reset all colours

EEPROM Window
The EEPROM window allows for viewing and modifying of the EEPROM memory.
The EEPROM Window also has the added function of being able to view a full hex file contents, the ability to
view the contents in different formats (eg Decimal, Hex or Char) and being able to change and save the file.
there are many hexfile editors available on the internet and this feature is just a small part of the Simulator

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Right click to bring up the popup menu which has several options:
Clear EEPROM - set all EEPROM memory to FF
Set All to 0 - all EEPROM memory to 00
Decimal - display Variables value in decimal
Hex - display Variables value in hexadecimal
Char - display Variables value in Character format and hexadecimal
Save to Hex File - save the EEPROM memory to a hex file
Load from Hex File - load the EEPROM memory from a hex file

Input/Output Window
The Simulation Window allows for data to be simulated for the six analog inputs for the Uno or 16 analog
inputs for the Mega. The window may be resized to be smaller, and the scrollbars and text boxes will
automatically resize to suit.
The ShiftIn and PulseIn allow the return values for these functions to be set.
The Analog Value may be changed by moving the respective scrollbar, or entering a new value in the white
Edit box.
Input and Output data is displayed in five ports. Each port has its own line for input data and a box for output
data. Each Port can be expanded or contracted to suit the display and resized.
The ports are assigned in the order they are setup.

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Simulation Popup Menu

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The Simulation Window Popup Menu has two items:

Show All Ports - to view the five ports and reset the Splitter bars if needed
Hide Unused Ports - close all ports except the opened ports

Inside each port is another Popup window with three options:

Clear - clear the Port screen
Copy - copy the data to the clipboard
Open in Browser - open the Port data in the default web browser, useful for sketches using Ethernet

View Subroutines
The View Subroutines window allows for the Subroutines to be viewed along with the number of parameters,
the line number and the tab. The line numbers may be viewed in the program window by selecting Line
Numbers

There is now a new Combo Box on the Shortcut toolbar which allows for all the subroutines to be viewed and
shown in the Program Window without changing the program counter.

Call Stack
The Call Stack displays the different levels of sketch loops in the left grid
The middle grid shows the Arduino objects, names and Enabled status.
The right grid shows classes found and objects derived from these classes.

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Class Explorer

The Class Explorer allows for all the class variables to be viewed and inspected. These may only be
modified in the Variable Area at present.

Error Message

The Error message screen displays any code which the Simulator cannot process or which the Simulator
decides if an illegal operation such as:
the above operation, outside the setup() and loop() routines
setting a digital pin which is set to input
changing a const(ant) value
setting a variable to a value outside its limits
addressing an array element before the start or past the end of the array
The File|Log Errors option allows these errors to be logged to an ErrorLog +date.txt file.
The Log button will only be shown if the Error could be related to internal Simulator logic. If the Error
message starts with Sketch Error, the Simulator has guessed that it is more likely the error is in the
Sketch. If this is not the case, please email the sketch to [email protected]

Shortcut Toolbar

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The Shortcut Toolbar provides single click actions for commonly used operations. Right Click on this toolbar
to show the Language popup menu which allows easy switching between English, French, and Italian( and
other languages when requested).

Button Functions:
Load - loads a sketch from the last used folder into the Simulator
Edit - Edit a sketch

Left up arrow - F2 Reset

Left Down Arrow - Shift F8 Step out of subroutines excluding setup and loop
Down Arrow - F8 Step Over - single step jumping over any subroutines
Right Down Arrow - F7 Single Step and Step into any subroutines

Millis - the run time in milliseconds (NOTE: ms not seconds). This value can be changed at any time.
Each program step takes around 1us

Run - F9 AutoStep the program one instruction every xx ms The ms value can be edited. This time is
the delay between line execution and is not the actual speed of the program since each line may take
1-100ms to execute. If the AutoStep time period is set to 1ms, the variables, blue program traceline and
statusbar will not update to increase speed.
Abort - abort if the program is stuck in any loop

Simulation - show or close the Simulation input/output window

Step Into (F7) - this button allows for the program to be single stepped

SubRoutines - contains a list of subroutines - select a subroutine from the list to jump and highlight in
blue that subroutine first line without affecting the program counter

The Milli seconds variable is displayed in a text box. This value can be adjusted by typing in a new value.
Each line of program execution takes 1us or 0.001. The commands Delay and delayMicroseconds will add
the accurate number of milliseconds or microseconds to the Millis Text box.

Shortcut keys
Several keyboard shortcuts have been added. These are

F2 for Reset
F3 for Find
F4 for Load a sketch
F5 to open the Simulation Window
F6 - Edit a sketch in the Edit Window
F7 to Step Into
F8 to Step Over
Shift F8 to Step out of a subroutine
F9 to Run or AutoStep
Ctrl-F for Find (same as F3)
F11 for Soft Reset

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Example Sketches
Several sketches have been included for testing the Simulator. These are the Official Arduino examples in
the folders 01 Basics to 19 Wire.
In addition there are:
_Sim_Samples - Samples for the latest Youtube videos
_Sim_Shields - sketches to run on the custom Virtronics Shields for Arduino
_Sim_Test - test sketches and sketches sent in for error checking and fixing
_SIM_Extra - sketches with some new tryout features and sketches from the Videos
Libraries - this folder has some test Library sketches and various header files
In a typical install, the sample sketches will be found in this folder:
C:\Program Files\Virtronics
or for Windows 64 bit
C:\Program Files (x86)\Virtronics

Test Sketches
The test sketches are made up of issues with the Simulator and are used to do quick checks on patch
versions of the Simulator. The major releases of the Simulator are fully tested against most of the sample
sketches.
The test Sketches can be found in the _SIM_Test subfolder.

Language Processing
Keywords
The following words are defined as keywords and should not be redefined in a sketch:
defined(ARDUINO)
1
defined(__AVR__)
1
defined(__AVR_ATMEGA168__)
1 for Uno or 0 for Mega
defined(NUM_ANALOG_INPUTS)
6 for Uno or 16 for Mega
FALSE
0
TRUE
1
LOW
0
HIGH
1
ARDUINO
100
TOTAL_ANALOG_PINSX // unused - default return value of 1
TOTAL_PORTS
14
INPUT
0
OUTPUT
1
INPUT_PULLUP
2
TOTAL_PINSX
20
SD_CARD_TYPE_SD1 1
SD_CARD_TYPE_SD2 2
SD_CARD_TYPE_SD3 3
PI
3.1415926535897932384626433832795
HALF_PI
1.570796326794896619231321691639
TWO_PI
6.283185307179586476925286766559
DEG_TO_RAD
0.017453292519943295769236907684886
RAD_TO_DEG
57.295779513082320876798154814105
NUM_ANALOG_INPUTS 6 for Uno or 16 for Mega

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TCC
0
NULL
0
DAC0
66
DAC1
67
ARDUINO
100
__AVR__
1
__AVR_ATmega328P__ 1 or 0
__AVR_ATMEGA168__ 0
NUM_ANALOG_INPUTS 6 or 16
__AVR_ARCH__
100
__AVR_ENHANCED__ 0
false
0
true
1
__GNUC__
4
__GNUC_MINOR__
3
__INT_MAX__
6
RASPBERRY_PI
0
WL_IDLE_STATUS
0
WL_CONNECTED
1
WL_NO_SHIELD
-1
MAX_SOCK_NUM
4
PINA-L (no PINI)
DDRA-L (no DDRI)
PORTA-L (no PORTI)
defined( ... )

Custom Libraries
The Simulator now has the ability to load custom libraries and single step through the code. Please note
that pointers are not supported and this is the typical reason for a library not to run.
To use a custom library, there are two methods. The first is to copy the header file and cpp file to the same
directory as the sketch, and then the Simulator will find these and load them in separate tabs.
The second method which is the preferred method is to use the library directory (.\Libraries) and then the
Simulator will automatically find the library header and source file and load them in separate tabs in the
Program Window. This method is better since the Simulator will find the files in the same place as the
Arduino IDE, and will save the effort of copying the files. The Library Directory can be setup by pressing F6
to load the Edit Sketch page and at the right hand side is an Edit Box which allows the Library directory to
be Set or Reset.

Millis
The Millis functions returns the number of milliseconds the program has been running for. In the Shortcut
toolbar, the Millis edit box shows the value of milliseconds as a floating point number. The micro function will
output this value * 1000.
Please note that the Simulator is not a real-time Simulator and runs around 1000 to 10000 times slower
than a real Arduino.

Troubleshooting

Menu has disappeared => resize the screen or right click on the Arduino picture and uncheck Minimize
The Language is wrong => Click Edit (second from left top button) and select language and change
back to the selected language

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I have too many errors and just want to run my sketch => right click in the Sketch Window and uncheck
Errors Enabled
No Errors are appearing when they should => right click in the Sketch Window and check Errors
Enabled
An error has come up => click the Log button to log the error to Quality Central or Email to email the
error with the sketch
The Simulator doesn't work as expected => check the forum or email [email protected]

Registry Settings
Disclaimer: Do not use a registry editor to edit the registry directly unless you have no alternative. The
registry editors bypass the standard safeguards provided by administrative tools. These safeguards prevent
you from entering conflicting settings or settings that are likely to degrade performance or damage your
system. Editing the registry directly can have serious, unexpected consequences that can prevent the
system from starting and require that you reinstall Windows .
All the Simulator settings are saved in the registry under the key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SimForArduino x.xx where x.xx is the version number
The Registry settings can be viewed by running the RegEdit program or a similar utility.

Version Info
Version 0.99F - Mar-2014
1. Allow nested arrays test1[test2[0]]
2. Add syntax colours rectangles for different skins
3. Add Serial.readString
4. Improve timer1 interrupt - add all functions
5. Press ms after millis to increment by 1 second or timer1 interrupt when activated
6. Add hint to Millis text showing when next timer1 interrupt is due
7. Allow breakpoint on timer interrupt - ensure current instruction is executed before ISR
8. Add hidden commands to Stimulus file & Allow breakpoints when Stimulus file command run
9. Allow map instuction to run over 4 lines (an any instruction over any number of lines)
10. Fixup Serial Monitor echo only working for println but not print commands
11. Allow Arduino/ Variable sareas to undock and redock using x-axis
12. Add persistent vertical scrollbar to sktehc screen
13. Char array strings only shrink when Char is Selected - Hex no always show hex etc
14. Fixup Tools> Logic Analyzer
15. Add Chipkit Uno
Version 0.99E - Dec-2014
1. Add adjustable syntax colours
2. Move settings into separate folders in registry
3. Add timer interrupt
4. ms goes red and pressing triggers timer interrupt
5. Add 4 breakpoints
6. Allow multi char arrays
7. Fixup char arrays - convert to strings
8. Improve return function
9. Add in undock variables
10. Add in LED support using timer interrupts
11. Addin 4 breakpoint conditions
12. Improve breakpoint hidden command // breakpoint1(12,3,i=0)
13. Improve library directory finding
14. Allow arrays to be part shrunk in variables

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15. Fixup line numbers to start at 1 where possible

Version 0.99D - Sept-2014
1. Improve Logic Analyzer to have continuous time base
2. Add Read and Println to Logic analyzer - improve zoom feature
3. Add in 3 more breakpoints
4. Improve Find to search through all tabs
5. Add replace to Edit Sketch window
6. Addin ten more tabs to 30 tabs maximum
7. Fixup two or more declarations on same line
8. Allow for structs within structures or unions
9. Add Option to Autosize variable area or not
10. Fixup bug with setup where index is not centred vertically
11. Add GSM functions and test
12. Add Wifi Instructions and test
13. Fixup Keyboard bug which flagged error during Unit testing
14. Check for recursive Setup call and don't crash
15. Increase maximum loop level to 300
Version 0.99C - June-2014
1. Improve Trace function to record all digital pins from 0-53
2. Improve Logic Analyzer to add timebase, pins14-53, wheel scroll zoom, mouse hover and green line on
sketch line
3. Fixup Serial Monitor COM port not being saved
4. Move autostep ms to Edit page since not that relevant
5. Add reset to Set library on Edit page
6. Variable area double click now resizes, row height resizes with font
7. Add some more skins
8. fixup int i=digitalRead(x)
9. maxMin(tempC1) causing errors
10. Add email and file attach in Error message
11. fixup while in call stack
12. multi-expr lines
13. interrupt returns
14. add 10 minute startup free trial period
15. fixup redeclare PIN,PORT,DDR
v0.99 - 31-Oct 2013
1. Add Connectors
2. Add Class Explorer
3. Add Show Arduino option
4. Allow breakpiont to override previous
5. add double click to Show Subroutines
6. add many more unit tests
7. fixup rollover for variables
8. fixup array failures
9. add char s1[] = 'a','b';
10. fixup for loop issue
11. save Input/Output box heights
12. fix (unsigned long) cast
13. allow multi expression per line
14. allow two and three functions in one expression
15. fix Serial Monitor Auto Detect
v0.98 09 November 2012
1. Add Clear, Copy and Open in browser window to Input/output Ports
2. Add error message for floating point comma issue with brief instruction to fix
3. increase servos to 12
4. Add some Ethernet UDP support

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5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Add Screw Terminal shield

Add Due
Add two LCD shields 16x2 and 8x2
Fix some else issues
Move A0 to 14 for Uno and 54 for Mega
Improve string processing - strings get saved to temporary array to stop "quote mark issues
Enable multi line processing
Fix a breakpoint issue
Add support for SerialIn, Breakpoint(Line,tab, condition), and SimulateLCD
Fixup up themes
Add Edit and Language in case Language is set to ?

v0.97 03 August 2012

1. Add CallStack window
2. Improve EEPROM dramatically - add save/load clear and fill
3. Add F3 Find to Sketch, variables and edit
4. Add Leonardo and Mega 75%
5. Add ON/OFF for objects (in call stack window)
6. Add inline Simulate(Uno ) and Breakpoint commands
7. Add load/save language
8. fix a = b*c+d
9. add ?: and log10 operator
10. fix cos(a+b)+d
11. Add save and load hardware settings
12. Check all menu functions and fix Run F9
13. Remove back step
14. Fix break
15. Improve looping if/else/while
v0.96 22 April
1. Make Input/Output ports open as 1,2,3,4,5 so LCD, SPI and I2C can be used together
2. Start implement custom libraries - add four test samples sketchs
3. Add breakpoint condition and library directory to Edit Sketch screen
4. Add two more fonts
5. Add divide by zero check
6. Add recursive checks and max include checks
7. Stop input.output window resizing when reset is click
8. Improve minimize mode and add lights to LEDs
9. Add finger to reset button, pulse to crystal and USB plug
10. Add Structure, two dim arrays (without = yet) and strcmp
11. Add class and abject processing for up to 10 objects
12. Convert /t and .n to tab and linefeeds ( tabs do not quite line up yet)
13. Add PIN, PORT and DDR processing
14 Add many more keywords
15. Remove Option Delay and Tone
v0.95 27th Feb
1. Run/Stop button changes state when Abort is pressed or error is found
2. Add syntax colouring where possible
3. Improved the Uno/Mega selection - Uno picture will only shows pins 0-13
4. Added a font selection for the program listbox
5. BUG - Fixed reset issue with Line Numbers on - caused by attempted parse of commented line
6. String addition not recognised - "This" + "That" prints as is
7. LCD Scroll goes past characters allowed
8. Match Brace option Added
9. Add Windows Themes - still to test if it works on a separate PC
10. Improve variable area to have individual +- for folding arrays
11. Improve error processing so sketch errors are different from possible Simulator errors
12. if/While loops need to check for commented lines
13. Include file directory sometimes loses the directory (possible issue)

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14. Increase digital pins to 53

15. Add a button area to the reset switch and crystal
v0.94 28th January 2012
v0.93 6th January 2012
v0.92 - 30 December 2011
v0.91 - 16 December 2011
v0.80 - v0.90 1-Dec to 16-Dec-11 first test releases

Credits
This project has been a collaboration with many people.
Credit and thanks must go to these people for all their help: Adrian Wells, Marco Stuurman, Zeljko
Frankovic, Pete Lunt, Mark Grass Sr, Serge Desjardins, Peter Brouggy, Halam Rose, Larry Vatland,
Raimondas Butauskas, Jason Snow, J-Pierre Romanogli, Hamilton Elliott, Graeme Caie, Michael Moore,
Filipe Oliveira, Leon Rozengarten, Robert Lopez,Mauro Abbattista,Todd Radack,Alain Herben, George
Vrynios, Neko San, Mauro Abbattista, Alain Herben, Victor Aguilar, David Williams, Janis Gkatzaras,
Rodrigo Amaya, Ed Ross, David Cox, Shane Stenton, Freddie Snijman, Andres j. Ogayar, Anxionnaz
Yannick, Jeandaniel Planterose, Donald Dempsey, Enrique Condes, Peter Brown, Mladen Bruck, Jesse
Carneiro, Nigel Woodford, Ken Jensen, Koen Victor,Damir Kudeljan,Maxwell Yun, Douglas Hendricks,
Marco Baitelli, Howard Bassen, David Griffey, Patrick Beier, Fokko Dusseljee and few thousand more we
will add when there is some spare time.

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