Multiple Connections and multiple UI for them

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Ok so I've been busy on this problem, I'm receiving lets say multiple packets from the serial port, each with unique identifiers. What I want to do is have each ID open up in a diff window concurrently processing data along with all user interactions available, like button clicks and stuff.

I'm being quite picky here, if there is no solution I could do the boring thing and sort the different ID's and then open up multiple threads to do the work in the background, and then after the work is done display it.

So far I've read about MDI's, but not sure how that helps me. Opening up a new form for every new identifier perhaps? Not sure if I read wrong, but in a forum they said that the base form, from where the Second form is created waits until the Second form is done. Is this correct.

Any suggestions will be greately appreciated.

Thanks

Posted 20-Apr-11 3:57am

codenameyash

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codenameyash · Answer 1 · 2011-04-20T04:03:00

Solution 1

Just found this Multiple SDI applications, http://en.csharp-online.net/Application_Architecture_in_Windows_Forms_2.0%E2%80%94Multiple-SDI_Applications[^], is this good or bad??

Posted 20-Apr-11 4:03am

codenameyash

BobJanova · Answer 2 · 2011-04-20T04:04:00

Solution 2

Your UI should all be in one thread (weird things happen if that's not the case). It's trivial to create multiple forms, though you might want to reconsider that for usability reasons (for example making a tabbed interface or using MDI).

There is only one serial port, right? I don't understand why you want a thread for each ID. Instead, have one thread which is listening and dispatches messages to the appropriate message handler, which can then do whatever with it and update its UI.

Posted 20-Apr-11 4:04am

BobJanova

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codenameyash 20-Apr-11 10:09am

one thread good idea I like

codenameyash 20-Apr-11 10:12am

Oh one other thing there can be many connections incoming, upper limit has not been defined yet, anyway besides the point, you mention message handler and its UI, how does one create that, would that be another form with UI or something else?

BobJanova 20-Apr-11 11:26am

The UI for a message handler in your proposal would be a form. I would suggest making it a TabPage or similar instead. But it is a control which is created at the same time as the message handler, on the main UI thread, and which is bound (either with real data binding or code) to the message handler.

The message handler is simply the class which is actually in charge of doing things with the messages, which is vague because we don't know what your program is actually doing. It can spawn threads to do heavy processing, or better run tasks through a ThreadPool (or Task stuff in .Net 4.0), and when the UI needs updating it should make that happen (by use of Invoke if necessary).

Nish Nishant · Answer 3 · 2011-04-20T04:06:00

For having multiple dialogs active at the same time, you would need to create and open them modelessly. And once you do that each of them should use a background thread to do further processing.

You could consider using the Task Parallel library too but it may be kinda tricky in your specific scenario. Still doable I'd think. But I'd personally just go with the simple thread solution.