How to display values in fullscreen with java

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How to display values in fullscreen with java

I want to start out by saying I am less than an amateur at java. I really want a full screen feature for my car so I don't have to buy extra gauges when I already plunked down a ton of money for stand alone engine management. The programmers of this program aren't really interested in researching how to make the values full screen, but it makes tuning my car extremely difficult due to squinting....

So my question is: what would be the best way to integrate the first 4 values(rpm,etc..) in a full screen mode with a black background, with only white or blue text being displayed.

Here is an image of the program: http://www.ecmtuning.com/images/forums/v3peeks/v3preview-log.png

Here are the binaries:

ecmtuning.com/downloads.php?osCsid=4cdlc9btpt9r7odbfksmi3n9p3

Thanks!

You can look at the following resource about Java fullscreen support http://download-llnw.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/extra/fullscreen/index.html

Eugene Kuleshov 2010-07-30 15:26:59

+2 A:

If you don't have the source code, there's no way to change anything about that program - as far as I can see the downloads page is only offering binaries. Conceivably, if you could find out what communication protocol was being used between the engine management system and the application, you could write your own application to display whatever you wanted in whatever way you wanted, but that would be a very large task.

As a workaround, you could try installing screen zooming software on whatever computer you're using with the system (it may even be part of the operating system under an accessibility guise), then you could zoom in on the numeric value you were interested in.

Scott 2010-07-30 15:29:50

+1 for the OS-based suggestion rather than focusing on Java.

Andrzej Doyle 2010-07-30 15:33:35

I want to throw the suggestion at him, hopfully inspiring him to add it

David 2010-07-30 15:35:56

This is Java we're talking about. It's not quite a binary, it's Java bytecode. You could run it through a decompiler, fix the errors the decompiler makes (and it will have errors, some which may not be solvable by an amateur), make the desired change to the program, and recompile it. Of course, this whole process would definitely violate any license agreement for a closed-source product! Use a decompiler at your own risk.

Brian S 2010-07-30 15:40:07

... and no, I have not used any decompiler on any commercial product myself. Personally, I've only done it with abandonware, and my own project which I've lost the source for. ;)

Brian S 2010-07-30 15:42:22

The protocol for the ecu is machine language I believe.

David 2010-07-30 15:58:21

the os based solution(windows) only provides enough space to look at 1 value.

David 2010-07-30 16:01:15

@Brian S: Wouldn't this technically be illegal if he didn't have rights to the source. Regardless, isn't decompiled code slightly obfuscated (I might be wrong about this one).

Justian Meyer 2010-07-30 16:27:22

@Justin Meyer: It depends on the software. I haven't looked at the application the OP is talking about, but while many applications are sold with a _license_ (in essence, you're renting the app), it's also possible to purchase the software outright (you own its entirety, even if the source isn't immediately available). For an actively maintained closed-source commercial program, the developer would absolutely be unhappy with you decompiling their application, and you'd probably get in trouble if they tried to take action (and now I'm starting to play armchair lawyer, so I'll stop with that)...

Brian S 2010-07-30 16:43:51

...my comment was mostly in response to Scott's claim that "there's no way to change anything". As far as obfuscation goes, not really. Java bytecode keeps a surprisingly large amount of the original source data. Decompilers will not reproduce the original perfectly, and I've seen the decompiler produce non-Java syntax, so you need to know how to fix the bugs. But source can certainly come from bytecode. And even with something obfuscated, you can't rename core Java classes.

Brian S 2010-07-30 16:48:54

Although this would be impossible to create with what you have, try looking at link text's sources. It handles full screen text, images, etc. cleanly and smoothly.

Justian Meyer 2010-07-30 16:25:40

ansaurus

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How to display values in fullscreen with java

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