Winford Engineering offers application programming services geared toward small to mid-sized projects. If you need a custom program for a particular task but lack the time or experience to get the job done, give us a call. We can assist you in a variety of areas ranging from text processing to test equipment automation. So, don't hesitate to contact us, even if you just want to discuss the feasibility of your ideas. Consultation is free.

Typical Applications

Test Equipment Automation (IEEE 488, etc) Data Acquisition Remote Building Monitoring/Control Hardware Device Control Network Applications Microsoft Access Applications Microsoft Excel Applications Text Processing Cross-Platorm Operation Utilities

Much of the drudgery and monotony of repeated measurements can be eliminated by using a PC to automate test equipment. Standard interfaces such as IEEE 488 and RS-232 have been included on many test instruments, yielding a simple means of controlling the device and reading measurement data. Meaningful data can be captured, processed, and displayed at the push of a button, reducing measurement time down to seconds. We implemented such a system for one of our customers, who wanted to measure certain characteristics of their parts while operating over a frequency range. The result was a reliable, automated system which gathered and stored the data for post-processing.

With everyone on the go these days, it is sometimes necessary to check in on a house or building while you are on the road. Perhaps you need to monitor building temperature, or maybe you desire to actually control some remote equipment. Inexpensive internet access and cheap computers have made this capability very affordable. One project that we were involved in was a remote monitoring and control system for a woodworking shop. The final result allowed building temperature to be monitored and several devices to be controlled, all from a simple secure web page. This project involved the integration of hardware design, application programming, and web development.

Nearly every business has data of some sort which must be stored and retrieved as needed. Databases are a powerful tool in data organization and retrieval; their ability to search vast volumes of data and quickly present the results is unrivaled by conventional filing systems. All this power is of little use if you don't have the time or the skills to create a system that meets your needs. There are a number of choices available, each with its own advantages. Some jobs are best suited for a web-based database system, perhaps operating on an office intranet. Other jobs might be better suited to a Microsoft Access database. Either way, Winford Engineering can help. We have experience implementing both types of systems. One such project was an inventory / orders tracking database done in Microsoft Access. This system is used to enter orders and customer information, print invoices and shipping labels, and track inventory.

Microsoft Excel is a very powerful tool for just about anything involving math. Many people use it for financial tasks, but some do not realize that its real power becomes evident when it is used for things such as data analysis and engineering design. One of its most powerful features is that it is fully programmable using the Visual Basic for Applications programming language. The combination of custom programming and Excel's incredible data processing and display capabilities yields a tool which can solve a lot of problems in any business. At Winford Engineering, we have extensive experience with writing custom programs (macros) for Excel 97 and beyond. Let us help you with your next project.

Capabilities
We are experienced in several application programming languages on both Linux and Windows:

Visual Basic C++ C Perl Python

Our Services
The programmers at Winford Engineering have been involved in a wide variety of programming tasks. If you have some programming needs that you would like to discuss, don't hesitate to contact us. We would welcome the opportunity to see if we could be of service to you.