CHANGELOG.md

Changelog

All notable changes to PixelMaestro will be documented in this file.

The format is loosely based on Keep a Changelog.

[v2.1.1] - 2020-03-05

Added

• Added wrap parameter to Sections. This lets you toggle whether to wrap Pixels in an offset Section from one side to another.

Changed

• Fixed bug where a short Animation cycle could cause a division by 0.

[v2.1.0] - 2019-11-26

Changed

• Fixed Canvas::draw_text() bug.
• Fixed Pixel fading not working properly on 32-bit devices (PR #10).

Removed

• Removed extra map() call from CycleAnimation.

[v2.0.2-docs] - 2019-07-26

Changed

• Migrated docs to Sphinx.

[v2.0.2] - 2019-07-09

Added

• Added ability to change where Animations are centered using Animation::set_center().

Changed

• Disabled Canvas Fonts by default. This means Canvas::draw_text() will not work unless you add the CANVAS_ENABLE_FONTS preprocessor directive to your sketch.
• Fixed interval calculation bug when scrolling a Section along the Y axis.
• Fixed bug when calculating Section brightness.
• Fixed bug when calculating the size of a Cue.
• Minor Pixel rendering optimiations.

[v2.0.1] - 2019-06-30

Added

• Readded EEPROM Arduino examples.

Changed

• Fixed bugs where Animations didn't support maps larger than 255 x 255.
• Revised CueController logic to avoid executing Cues too early.

Removed

• Removed LightWS2812 Arduino examples.

[v2.0.0] - 2019-06-19

Important Changes

Cue Changes

Due to changes in how Cues are formatted, Cues created in version 1.x are incompatible with this version.

Pixel Changes

Pixels now use a faster - but slightly less accurate - method of fading colors. You can enable accurate fading by adding the PIXEL_ENABLE_ACCURATE_FADING preprocessor directive to your project, but note that this uses an additional 3 bytes of RAM per Pixel.

If you don't need fading and want to disable it altogether, use the PIXEL_DISABLE_FADING preprocessor directive. This frees 3 bytes of RAM per Pixel and results in faster refresh times. If you want to toggle fading during runtime, don't use this directive but instead use Animation::set_fade(bool toggle).

API Changes

Many pointers have been converted to references, requiring changes to your code. The Arduino code samples have been updated to reflect this.

Canvas Changes

Canvas drawing methods and Cues now require you to specify which frame to draw on. This lets you draw on a specific frame without having to switch to it first.

For example, if you wanted to draw a point on frame 5, you would normally have to do this:

canvas.set_current_frame_index(5);
canvas.draw_point(x, y);

Now, you can use:

canvas.draw_point(5, x, y);

Added

• Added ability to allocate more than one Section when declaring a Maestro.
• Added ability to mirror Sections across the x and y axes.
• Added two new Animation orientations: HorizontalFlipped and VerticalFlipped
• Added CueController:BlockedCues, which let you block specific Cues from executing.
• Added performance-related preprocessor directives:
  • PIXEL_DISABLE_FADING disables fading, which saves 3 bytes of RAM per Pixel.
  • PIXEL_ENABLE_ACCURATE_FADING enables more accurate color reproduction when fading is enabled. Requires an additional 3 bytes of RAM.
• Added Point::in_bounds(x, y), which checks whether the coordinates provided are within the boundaries of the Point (when used as a dimension).

Changed

• Changed several internal pointers to references. This may require code changes to your Arduino sketches.
• Rewrote Pixel rendering logic to improve performance.
• Merged the MappedAnimation class into the base Animation class. All Animations now use maps to store color data per frame.
• Rewrote CueHandlers to reduce program size.
• Fixed CanvasCueHandler::draw_frame() not supporting frames larger than 255x255.
• Increased Canvas frame count from an 8-bit integer to a 16-bit integer.
• Fixed bug where Section::set_offset() wasn't affecting Canvases.
• Fixed bug where AnimationTimer::delay_ wasn't being properly calculated or applied.
• Increased maximum Cue buffer size from a 16-bit integer to a 32-bit integer.
• Fixed Show crash when enabling relative time and looping after the Show has already ended.
• Renamed Section::set_one() to Section::set_pixel_color().
• Modified CueController::read() to check the read index against the buffered Cue's size before trying to run the buffered Cue.
• Fixed memory leak when removing a Canvas or Animation without first removing its Palette.
• Added Handler nullptr checks to CueController::run() methods.

Removed

• Removed WaveAnimation mirror option.
• Removed Canvas::in_bounds() (see Point::in_bounds() instead).
• Removed mirror option in AnimationCueHandler::set_wave_options.

[v1.0.2] - 2018-12-03

Added

• Added per-Section brightness controls.

[v1.0.1] - 2018-11-23

Added

• Added Show::sync() for synchronizing Show timer with Maestro timer.
• Added Maestro::remove_show() to allow Shows to be deleted.
• Added Utility::srand() for setting the initial RNG seed.

Changed

• Added library.json for PlatformIO compatibility.
• Updated platformio.ini.

[v1.0.0] - 2018-07-29

Changed

• Fixed memory leak when building MappedAnimations maps.

[v0.30.3] - 2018-06-30

Changed

• Follow Semantic Versioning specifications.

[v0.30 r2] - 2018-06-24

Changed

• Merged Arduino IDE-compatible changes provided by per1234

[v0.30] - 2018-04-18

WARNING: This update breaks backwards compatability with v0.20.1 and earlier Cuefiles.

Added

• Arduino
  • Added USB Arduino sketch for use with PixelMaestro Studio. This sketch lets you store Maestros in persistent memory (EEPROM) and run commands in real-time.
  • Added modified light_WS2812 library to reduce sketch sizes.

Changed

• Animations
  • Converted Plasma animation to a MappedAnimation.
• Canvas
  • Consolidated all three Canvas types into the base Canvas class. This "new" Canvas class is structured like a PaletteCanvas with transparency support.
• CueController
  • Replaced enable_handler() with separate methods to reduce Arduino sketch sizes.
  • Fixed crash when reading a Cue whose CueHandler isn't enabled.
• CueHandler: Added serialize_palette() and deserialize_palette() methods.
• Section
  • Pixels now reset their values after calling Section::remove_animation().

Removed

• Section: Removed set_one(uint32_t index...)
• Canvas: Removed different Canvas types.

[v0.20] - 2018-03-17

WARNING: This update breaks backwards compatability with Cuefiles from v0.12 and earlier.

Added

• Animations
  • Added new Palette class for managing color palettes. Palettes take and store an array of RGB colors for use in Animations and PaletteCanvases.
  • Added fire animation.
  • Added skew and mirror parameters to Wave animation. Skew offsets each row (or column) by the specified number of Pixels. Mirror reflects the grid along the orientation axis.
• Canvas
  • Added Canvas::set_drawing_color(), which sets the color used when calling activate(). Applies to ColorCanvases and PaletteCanvases.
• ColorPresets
  • Added Palette presets.
• Cues
  • Added Canvas::activate() and Canvas::deactivate() Cues.
  • Added Section::remove_animation() Cue.
  • Added Maestro::set_brightness() Cue.
• Maestros
  • Added boolean return value to Maestro::update(). This returns true if the Maestro runs its update (i.e. its refresh Timer triggers).
• Timers
  • Added start() and stop() methods to all Timers..

Changed

• Animations
  • Removed vertical orientation from the Mandelbrot Animation.
  • Renamed Animation::pause to Animation::delay. Now it actually acts as a delay timer, waiting the specified amount of time before starting the next cycle.
  • Replaced LightningAnimation::up_threshold and LightningAnimation::down_threshold with LightningAnimation::drift. Drift is a signed integer, where negative values indicate a downward drift and positive values indicate a upward drift.
• Layers
  • Rewrote Layer mixing algorithm. This fixes an issue when combining the Overlay and Alpha MixModes in Sections with more than one Layer.
• Shows
  • Renamed set_timing() to set_timing_mode() to prevent confusion with Timers.
• Timers
  • Set default interval time to 1000.
  • Changed AnimationTimer::pause to delay. Now it waits the specified amount of time before running the next cycle.
• Many bugfixes.

Removed

• Animations
  • Removed color parameters from Section::set_animation(). You must now set a color palette using Animation::set_colors().
  • Replaced color arrays with new Palette class. You will have to set a Palette using Animation::set_colors(). Both Animations and PaletteCanvases can use Palettes.
  • Merge animation is replaced by the Wave animation. Use WaveAnimation::set_mirror(true) to simulate merging.
  • Removed Mandelbrot animation's vertical orientation.
• Cues
  • Removed Events list parameter from MaestroCueHandler::set_show(). You need to call ShowCueHandler::set_events() to initialize the Event list.
• Shows
  • Removed requirement that Events needed to have an Event time > 0. Events with an event time of 0 will now run immediately.

[v0.12] - 2018-01-22

Changed

• Event: Increased buffer size.
• Section:
  • Changed Scrolling parameters. Parameters now represent the amount of time to complete a scroll along the respective axis. Added separate reverse parameters for reversing the scrolling direction.
  • Modified set_one() so that it can be used without an Animation.

[v0.11] - 2017-12-23

Added

• Added PaletteCanvas class. PaletteCanvases draw shapes using colors defined in a palette, similar to Animations.

Changed

• AnimationCueController: Fixed index counter overflow when processing large color palettes.
• Canvas:
  • Fixed exception when setting frame count below current_frame_index.
  • Fixed and added checks on next_frame(), delete_frames(), and set_current_frame_index().
• Cues:
  • Fixed issue in SectionCueHandler::set_animation() where the old color palette was deleted before the new palette was assigned.
  • Fixed issue where ShowCueHandler::Actions::SetTiming was identified as SetEvents, causing Show Cues to fail.
• Section: Added ability to copy attributes when using Section::set_animation().

[v0.10] - 2017-12-05

Added

• Arduino: Added new sketches and modified existing sketches for clarity.
• Docs: Moved all docs into a GitHub wiki.
• Show: Added get_current_index() to get the current queued Event.

Changed

• Moved project into Beta state.
• Moved arduino folder into new examples folder.
• Canvas: Moved scrolling and offseting methods to Section.
• Pixel: Added nullptr check to Pixel::set_next_color() to prevent invalid colors when using color changing Cues.
• Several bugfixes and optimizations.

Removed

• Removed ability to set an Animation's center (use Section offset instead).
• Removed Scroll::repeat parameter. The grid will repeat by default.

[v0.9] - 2017-11-28

Added

• New Timing class handles animations and other time-based actions.
• Arduino:
  • Added NeoPixel sketch.
• Canvas:
  • Added set_frame_timing() to control delay between frame switches.

Changed

• All components that rely on timing (Animation speed/pause, Maestro refresh, Canvas scrolling, etc) now use the Timing class. get/set_speed(), get/set_refresh_interval() etc. now use get/set_timing().
• Cue:
  • Fixed issue where Show Cues weren't properly saving or loading.
• Section:
  • Added a reference to each Section's parent Maestro.
  • Renamed Overlays to Layers.

Removed

• Maestro:
  • Removed running option.
• Removed several redundant or unused functions/methods.

[v0.8.1] - 2017-11-14

Changed

• Split PixelMaestro Studio into separate project.

[v0.8] - 2017-11-13

Added

• Canvas:
  • Added support for animated drawings. Learn more in the Canvas docs.
• Cues:
  • Added CueHandler for Shows.
• Maestro:
  • Added simplified constructor for creating a Maestro with only one Section.
  • Added the option to bypass a Maestro's refresh rate and force it to update.
• Studio:
  • New Palette Editor dialog lets you create, edit, and delete color palettes.
  • New Simulated Device dialog lets you preview how actions performed in the Animation Editor will appear on serial devices.
  • Added support for displaying and controlling multiple Sections simultaneously. You can set the number of Sections in the Settings window.
  • Added the ability to add and remove Overlays.
  • Added number box to speed slider.
  • Added slider to control Animation pause threshold.
  • Added support for loading images into Canvases.
  • Added Show editor (in progress).

Changed

• Canvas:
  • Fixed Canvas scrolling behavior.
• Colors:
  • Moved pre-defined colors and palettes into ColorPresets class.
  • Replaced Colors::generate_random_colors() with a truly random color generator.
• Cue:
  • Added and fixed several Cues.
• Pixel:
  • Improved Pixel color changing logic.
• Studio:
  • Renamed GUI project to "PixelMaestro Studio".
  • Renamed "Animation Previewer" to "Animation Editor".
  • Added Cues for several Animation Editor actions.
  • Fixed settings not populating correctly when switching between Sections.
  • Improved saving to and loading from Cue (.pmc) files.
  • Fixed Canvas contents getting deleted on resize.
  • Set minimum application window size.
  • Changed status bar text when opening Workspaces.
  • Updated several demos.

Removed

• Removed pre-defined colors and color arrays from Colors class. You can now find them in the ColorPresets class.

[v0.7] - 2017-10-07

Added

• Animation Previewer:
  • Added support for sending commands to devices connected via USB/serial.
  • Added Preferences dialog. This lets you select a port for commands as well as change the appearance of the Animation Previewer. You can access it by clicking Edit > Preferences.
  • Added support for saving Maestro configurations to file as a series of Cues.
• Cue:
  • Added classes for converting PixelMaestro actions into portable commands. This allows you to control remote devices, save and load presets, schedule commands for later exection, and more. See the Cue documentation page for details.
  • Added Cue Demo to the GUI.
• Canvas:
  • Added ColorCanvas class for drawing Canvas objects using specified colors.
  • Added Color Canvas Demo to the GUI.

Changed

• Animation Previewer:
  • Changed row and column fields to only update the grid when losing focus.
• Animations:
  • Sections now manage memory allocation for Animations. Section::set_animation() now takes an enum value as a parameter instead of an Animation object. The Animation is automatically allocated and destroyed when changing Animations or destroying the Section.
  • Fixed issue where LightningAnimations generated multiple bolts with the same starting location.
  • Added resolution parameter to Radial Animation (only affects vertical mode).
• Canvas: -Renamed Canvas to AnimationCanvas. The Canvas class now acts as a base class for new Canvas types.
• Maestro
  • Moved control of the refresh rate from Sections to Maestros.
  • Changed default refresh rate to 40ms (25fps).
• Section:
  • Changed add_canvas() and add_overlay() to set_canvas() and set_overlay().
• Show:
  • Modified Events to store and run Cues. Event is essentially just a wrapper class for Cues.
  • Removed all extended Event classes.

Removed

• Removed extended Event classes.

Known Issues

• Loading Cues from a file is not supported.
• After opening the Animation Previewer, serial devices won't display animations until you change to a different animation.
• After changing the serial device port while the Animation Previewer is open, commands will continue being sent to the old port until you reopen the Animation Previewer.

[v0.6r2] - 2017-09-18

Changed

• Animations:
  • Animations now track their speed and update times instead of Sections.
  • Animations now take speed and pause parameters in constructor.
• Animation Previewer:
  • Changed name of the animation editor to animation previewer.
  • Fixed speed slider.
• Canvas:
  • Canvases no longer modify Pixels directly. Instead, the Section checks the Canvas during get_pixel_color().
• Colors:
  • Renamed "Alpha Blending" mix mode to "Alpha"
  • Colors::MixMode takes alpha as unsigned char instead of float.
• Other
  • GUI opens maximized by default.

Removed

• Canvas:
  • Removed background and foreground color options.
• Colors:
  • Removed "Normal" mixing mode.

Known Issues

• Fatal exception when closing the Animation Previewer without quitting the program.

[v0.6] - 2017-09-17

Added

• Animations:
  • New Animations interface.
  • Added Radial, Mandelbrot, Plasma, and Lightning animations.
  • Added customizable options to Sparkle, Plasma, and Lightning animations.
• Animation Editor:
  • Added support for Animation-specific controls.
  • Added preview to custom color controls.
  • Added a default Overlay.
  • Added Orientation support.
• Show:
  • Added RunFunctionEvent, which uses std::functional to trigger custom function calls at runtime.

Changed

• Animations:
  • Moved animation logic from Sections into separate Animations classes.
• Animation Editor:
  • Replaced custom color dials with sliders.
  • Fixed broken Overlay behavior.
  • Fixed several bugs when switching Sections.
  • Set default ColorAnimation to SOLID.
  • Set default Overlay MixMode to NONE.
  • Improved SimpleDrawingArea dynamic scaling.
• Canvas:
  • Canvas contents now scroll independently of Animations.
  • Dynamic allocation of pattern arrays on Canvas initialization.
  • Dynamic resizing of Canvases when Section sizes change.
  • Canvas methods now take x and y coordinates as ints.
• General:
  • Optimized data types across core classes.
• Section:
  • Swapped set_one() parameters.
  • Added dynamic Pixel allocation on Section initialization.
  • Added dynamic Overlay allocation.
• Show:
  • Moved Shows under Maestros.

Removed

• Animations:
  • Removed Pong, Next, and None animations.
• Animation Editor:
  • Temporarily removed ability to dynamically add and remove Sections and Overlays.
• Canvas:
  • Removed num_chars parameter from draw_text().

Known Issues

• Fatal exception when closing the Animation Previewer without quitting the program.

[v0.5] - 2017-09-02

Added

• New Canvas class for drawing text and shapes over Sections (replaces Section::Pattern).
• New Point class for storing x and y coordinates. Replaces Section::Layout.
• Added Canvas demo to GUI application.
• Added Overlay support to GUI application.

Changed

• Revamped GUI to allow switching between the main animation screen and various demo animations.
• Reorganized file and code structure.
• Layouts use the new Point class and are referred to as "dimensions".

Removed

• Removed Section::Pattern. Replaced by the Canvas class.
• Removed Section::Layout. Replaced by the Point class.
• Removed Section::ColorAnimations::Pattern. Patterns are now stored in a Canvas.
• Removed several unused variables and functions.

[v0.4.1] - 2017-08-16

Added

• Added several Color, Section, and Utility unit tests.

Changed

• Changed the name of "Transitions" to "Events".
• Changed Section::Overlay to pointers.

Removed

• Removed unused Colors::HSVtoRGB function.

[v0.4] - 2017-08-15

Added

• Added working Arduino sketches for use in PlatformIO.
• Added random color generator to Colors.
• Added multiplication and division operators to Colors::RGB.

Changed

• Restructured layout of source files (easier to manage in QT Creator).
• Rebuilt Show class (again) using custom Transitions instead of functional.h. See the src/show folder for current available Transitions.
• Removed stdlib dependency from Colors.h. The library is now completely self-contained.
• Changed Sections to store Patterns as pointers.
• Initialized pointer variables used in if statements (e.g. Show::maestro_) to nullptr.

[v0.3.1] - 2017-08-09

Added

• Added Show support to PixelMaestro_QT
• Added Show demo to PixelMaestro_QT

[v0.3] - 2017-07-19

Added

• Added QT-based GUI with controls for user input.
• Added initial support for extended animation options. At the moment, it only allows you to set the threshold of lit LEDS in the Sparkle animation.
• Added Colors::MixMode::NONE. This is currently used to disable an Overlay and/or flag it as uninitialized.
• Added NEXT ColorAnimation as a shortcut for incrementing the currently active animation.

Removed

• Removed GTK-based GUI

Known Issues

• GUI does not support Overlays or multiple Sections.

[v0.2] - 2017-05-01

Added

• Added Changelog file.
• Added documentation for all classes.
• Added simple GTK-based GUI (with demos) for testing animations.
• Added (some) unit tests using Catch.
• Added demo Arduino sketch with PlatformIO project config and instructions.

Changed

• Rebuilt Show class.
• Fixed Doxygen formatting errors with some classes.
• Many code cleanup changes.

[v0.1] - 2017-04-13

• Initial public release.