Get started with Meadow.Windows

Meadow.Windows offers an environment for developing Meadow code that can run on Windows, and with an extra add-on can even access general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins. Developing with Meadow.Windows requires setting up your development machine with some prerequisites. Then, after connecting any external components, you can deploy and run your Meadow application.

Running Meadow applications on Windows can provide a very convenient development loop for prototyping and testing your Meadow applications, quickly iterating and seeing the result of code changes, potentially using the same components you would use on a Meadow Feather or Core-Compute module by way of an FTDI breakout board such as FT232H that provide GPIO, SPI, and I2C. (In this early stage, Meadow.Windows does not yet support I2C.)

You can also quickly prototype graphics using an emulated IDisplay object that renders to a standard window on your Windows machine before deploying them to component displays. Additionally, running Meadow applications on more extensive hardware can also provide capabilities for intensive workloads requiring much more processing power.

Prerequisites

Before you can get started with Meadow.Windows, make sure your development machine is set up for Meadow development.

If you don't already have it, you may want to install the .NET 7.0 SDK. You can find the latest version of the .NET SDK for Windows from the .NET downloads. (Currently, all Meadow.Windows samples are targeting .NET 7.0, though they also support targeting .NET 6.0.)

Using GPIO and SPI

With an additional accessory, you can add GPIO and SPI capabilities to your Windows device. You can use an FTDI breakout board such as FT232H to provide GPIO and SPI capabilities. (The FT232H also supports I2C, but in this early stage, Meadow.Windows does not yet support it.)

Create your first Meadow.Windows app

Create a new dotnet app on your development machine and navigate to that new project.
```
dotnet new console --output MeadowWindowsSampleApp
cd MeadowWindowsSampleApp
```
This will ensure the Meadow app has the project settings that will work within Meadow.Windows.
Add the Meadow.Windows NuGet reference to your project.
```
dotnet add package Meadow.Windows
```

Replace the contents of the Program.cs file in your project with the following.

using Meadow;
using Meadow.Devices;

public class MeadowApp : App<Windows>
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        await MeadowOS.Start(args);
    }

    public override Task Initialize()
    {
        Resolver.Log.Info("Initialize...");

        return base.Initialize();
    }

    public override Task Run()
    {
        Resolver.Log.Info("Run...");

        Resolver.Log.Info("Hello, Meadow.Windows!");

        return base.Run();
    }
}

This is a simple Meadow.Windows app that will output some messages to the console at various stages of the Meadow app.

Build the app for your development machine using either Visual Studio or the dotnet tool.
```
dotnet build
```
Run the app.
```
dotnet run
```
At the end of the Meadow app launch output, you should see the following output from your app.
```
Initialize...
Run...
Hello, Meadow.Windows!
```

You have a Meadow.Windows app running on your Windows development machine. You can continue to develop and test your Meadow app on your development machine. When you are ready, you can deploy your Meadow app to other Windows device like any other .NET app.

Adapt a Meadow app for Meadow.Windows

You can also modify an existing Meadow app to run on Meadow.Windows by adjusting the App type and adding the following static Main method to your MeadowApp class.

For example, here are the changes to make the MeadowApp class work on Meadow.Windows, configured for Windows.

Configure the project type to be an executable by changing the project output type to a .NET 7 executable in the project file.

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
    <PropertyGroup>
        <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
        <TargetFramework>net7.0</TargetFramework>
        <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
        <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    </PropertyGroup>

    ...
</Project>

Within the Meadow app's class file, change the App type to align with your target Meadow.Windows device: App<Windows>.
```
public class MeadowApp : App<Windows>
{
    ...
}
```
Within the MeadowApp class, or whatever your app's class name is, add a new Main method to give the app a target to launch when the app is run.
```
public static async Task Main(string[] args)
{
    await MeadowOS.Start(args);
}
```

Your Meadow app should now be able to run on Meadow.Windows, calling into the usual Initialize and Run methods of your app.

Next steps

Now that you have your Meadow.Windows device set up and your first Meadow app running on it, you can start working with the Meadow.Foundation libraries to add functionality to your Meadow app. Check out the other Meadow.Windows samples in the Meadow.Desktop.Samples.

Prerequisites​

Using GPIO and SPI​

Create your first Meadow.Windows app​

Adapt a Meadow app for Meadow.Windows​

Next steps​

Prerequisites

Using GPIO and SPI

Create your first Meadow.Windows app

Adapt a Meadow app for Meadow.Windows

Next steps