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Notice: This page contains information for the legacy Phidget21 Library.

Phidget21 is out of support. Bugfixes may be considered on a case by case basis.

Phidget21 does not support VINT Phidgets, or new USB Phidgets released after 2020. We maintain a selection of legacy devices for sale that are supported in Phidget21.

We recommend that new projects be developed against the Phidget22 Library.


Click on the 2phidget22.jpg button in the menu bar to go to the Phidget22 version of this page.

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Software Overview

From Phidgets Legacy Support

Phidgets’ philosophy is that you do not have to be an electrical engineer in order to do projects that use devices like sensors, motors, motor controllers, and interface boards. All you need to know is how to program.

We have developed a complete set of Application Programming Interfaces (API) that are supported for many different operating systems, and which can be used through many different programming languages.

We suggest starting with the Getting Started guide for your device. This will help you run a basic example to check your hardware and drivers.

The next step would be to choose your operating system below, and from there choose a language, learn about how to write code for your Phidget, and get API references for your programming language.

The APIs are covered in more detail in the API common to all devices and the API that pertains to your specific device.

Operating System Support

These operating system pages provide drivers for using Phidgets. They help you set up your system after following the Getting Started guide for your device. The operating systems links below are also on every Getting Started guide, so if you have not yet read the one for your device, head straight there.

Phidgets can be run either directly through USB or remotely over a network via the Phidget Webservice. Most operating systems below can run Phidgets directly, but a few can only control them over a network.

Phidgets can run either directly or over a network on these operating systems:

Phidgets can only be used over a network by these operating systems:

Language Support

We provide a variety of supported languages for using Phidgets. Each language has its own libraries, which may be found on the language pages below, along with code examples and an in-depth API.

Many languages also depend on the core drivers being installed as well. These drivers can be found on the operating system pages above.

Phidgets supports the following languages. If you have some flexibility in what language to use, we recommend using a Core Language:

Language API Code Samples Events Logic Code Use via Direct USB* Phidget Webservice Native Library** Phidget User Base
Core Languages
Icon-CSharp.pngC# All Devices All Devices Extensive
Icon-C++.pngC/C++ All Devices All Devices Extensive
Icon-Java.pngJava All Devices All Devices Extensive
Icon-Python.pngPython All Devices All Devices Extensive
Icon-Cocoa.pngCocoa All Devices All Devices Extensive
Mobile Languages
Icon-iOS.pngiOS All Devices InterfaceKit Only X Moderate
Icon-Android.pngAndroid Java All Devices InterfaceKit Only 3.1 or Higher Only Moderate
Icon-Flex AS3.pngFlex AS3 All Devices All Devices
Scripting
Icon-Applescript.pngApplescript All Devices All Devices
Icon-Autoit.pngAutoIt All Devices None
Icon-Ruby.pngRuby All Devices All Devices
Science and Math
Icon-LabVIEW.pngLabVIEW All Devices All Devices
Icon-Matlab.pngMATLAB All Devices Some Devices X X Moderate (Small?)
Icon-Simulink.pngSimulink All Devices InterfaceKit Only
Multimedia
Icon-Adobe Director.pngAdobe Director All Devices InterfaceKit Only
Icon-Flash AS3.pngFlash AS3 All Devices All Devices
Icon-LiveCode.pngLiveCode InterfaceKit Only InterfaceKit Only
Icon-MaxMSP.pngMax/MSP All Devices All Devices
Web Oriented
Icon-Delphi.pngDelphi All Devices Some Devices
Other Languages
Icon-CSharp.pngC# (.NET Compact) All Devices Some Devices
Icon-REALBasic.pngREALBasic All Devices None
Icon-Visual Basic Net.pngVisual Basic .NET All Devices All Devices
Icon-Visual Basic.pngVisual Basic 6.0 All Devices All Devices
Icon-Visual Basic for Applications.pngVisual Basic for Apps All Devices Some Devices
Icon-Visual Basic Script.pngVisual Basic Script All Devices Some Devices

* A direct USB connection would be plugging the Phidget into a USB port and using it locally. This is the typical way to use a Phidget. However, some platforms (such as the iPhone platform) do not have USB ports and hence can only use a Phidget over a network, via the Phidget Webservice.

** Native library support means that the calls you make to a Phidget in this language are in the language as well. If the calls are non-native, the use of Phidgets is through an external library linker, such as callib() in MATLAB, for example. The core Phidget library is written in C, and most other languages use this library as their core, but a 'Native' interface cleanly hides this detail.

Most languages have code samples for all Phidgets, but some have only some devices (visit the language page to learn which ones), and some only have an Interface Kit example. The Phidget Interface Kit is a common Phidget with provides an interface with analog sensors, digital input, and digital output. So, when we choose which examples to write, the Interface Kit is often at the top of our customer's lists.