Required Software

Typica can benefit from certain supporting software and some hardware requires software for communicating with that hardware.

PostgreSQL

Most of the features of Typica use a PostgreSQL database. This is where the data on all of the batches of coffee you roast will be saved, where inventory data will be saved, and it is the source of all data used in reports. While it is possible to use Typica without PostgreSQL, the usable feature set will be highly limited.

The easiest way to set this up is to install PostgreSQL on the same computer that will be running Typica, however there are some advantages to running the database on a different machine on the network. That requires some additional work to set up PostgreSQL to accept connections from other computers on your network, but this allows multiple computers to run Typica and access the same data.

PostgreSQL can be obtained from www.postgresql.org. There you can download the appropriate binary package for the platform you intend to run the database on. Typica requires version 9.3 or later, however the people behind PostgreSQL have a very good history of making new versions better than the old one so the newest stable release is recommended for new installations. When installing PostgreSQL, please make note of the password that you choose for the postgres user as you will need this information later.

If you do want to set up PostgreSQL for use over a network, you may find this section of the documentation helpful. This blog post may also be useful.

Once you are finished installing and setting up PostgreSQL, you may want to restart your computer and verify that the PostgreSQL starts on boot.

Optional: Setting up a Database and User Role

The PostgreSQL installer will set up a user role called postgres and a database called postgres. The postgres user has full access to all features of the database and Typica does not require that. If you are using PostgreSQL for other purposes you may also want to give Typica its own database to avoid potential conflicts with other applications. Typica will use whatever database and user you specify the first time you start the program. Details on how to do this are in the PostgreSQL documentation.

The following two videos might be helpful. One provides a walkthrough of installing PostgreSQL on either Mac OS X or Windows. The other covers upgrading from an older version of PostgreSQL to a newer one.

Hardware Communications Software

The software that you need to communicate with your data acquisition hardware depends on what hardware you intend to use.

Phidgets 1048

The Phidgets 1048 requires the drivers and libraries download available from the manufacturer. This is tested as working with Typica on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux.

Software for Modbus RTU device support

No additional software is strictly required for devices that communicate using the Modbus RTU protocol. Most of these devices are connected with RS-485, which is not a standard you are likely to find built into your computer so you will most likely need an adapter that allows you to connect the bus to your computer through a USB connection. Your computer should see this adapter as an ordinary serial port, however you may need to install driver software for the adapter you choose. Ensure that the adapter is supported on whatever platform you intend to use.

NI DAQmx Devices - Microsoft Windows Only

Certain hardware from National Instruments requires NI-DAQmx. Typica has been tested with version 9.6.1, however newer hardware revisions of some supported hardware requires a newer version. See Supported Platforms and Hardware for more details.

NI DAQmx Base Devices

Certain hardware from National Instruments requires NI-DAQmx Base. The version you will need depends on the hardware you have. See Supported Platforms and Hardware for more details.

Typica

You will also need to download Typica to be able to use Typica.