In the flourishing field of DIY light microscopy, a decision of choosing the programming language to control the microscope is critically important. Modern microscopes are becoming increasingly intelligent. They orchestrate multiple devices (lasers, cameras, shutters, pockel cells) with ever increasing temporal precision, collect data semi-automatically following user-defined scenarios, adjust focus and illumination to follow the motion (or development) of a living organism. So, the programming language must seamlessly communicate with hardware, allow devices be easily added or removed, have rich libraries for device drivers and image processing, and allow coding of good-looking and smooth GUIs for end users. This is a long list of requirements! So, what are the options for DIY microscope programming? There are currently two large schools of microscope programming - Labviewers and Micromanagers . (update: Matlab for microscope control also has a strong community, comparable t...
I have no commercial interest in any private company mentioned here, all opinions are my personal.