Latest revision as of 16:27, 29 December 2017

The central xPL device can be compared to a central station. It monitors all xPL messages and can trigger other messages based on a set of rules stored in an XML file.

Before all, make sure you have installed an xPL hub.

Install xPL central device

Install XML::Simple:

sudo apt install libxml-simple-perl

Alternatively, you can do it the CPAN way:

su
perl -MFile::Find=find -MFile::Spec::Functions -Tlw -e 'find { wanted => sub { print canonpath $_ if /\.pm\z/ }, no_chdir => 1 }, @INC' 2> /dev/null | grep -i 'xml.*simple'
perl -MCPAN -e "install 'XML::Simple'"
exit

If XML::SAX::Expat doesn't install properly and blocks the installation of XML::Simple, which was the case on my Ubuntu BeagleBone, try:

su
apt-get install libxml-sax-expat-incremental-perl
ln -s /usr/share/perl5/XML/SAX/ParserDetails.ini /usr/local/share/perl/5.14.2/XML/SAX/ParserDetails.ini
perl -MCPAN -e "install 'XML::Simple'"
exit

Download the xPL central device script.

Move the script to xPL scripts directory:

SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR=/home/control/Documents/Controls
mv xpl-central.pl $SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR
chown control:users $SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR/*.pl
chmod 775 $SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR/*.pl

Configure xPL central device

Edit /home/control/Documents/Controls/centralActions.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<!--
  possible rules:
    messageType_source_target_class_name1_value1_name2_value2="messageType target class name1=value1 name2=value2"
    messageType_source_target_class_name1_value1_name2_value2="messageType target class name1=value1 name2=value2|messageType target class name1=value1 name2=value2"
    messageType_source_target_class_name1_value1_name2_value2="messageType target class name1=value1 name2=value2|sleep 100 ms|messageType target class name1=value1 name2=value2"
-->
<actions>
  <pingPong
    xpl-cmnd_any_any_pingPong.basic_message_ping="xpl-trig * pingPong.basic message=pong"
  />
   <eib
    xpl-trig_any_any_eib.basic_group_01.01.001_data_0x00="xpl-cmnd dspc-state.home state.basic command=update room=study level=lights object=ceiling value=off"
    xpl-trig_any_any_eib.basic_group_01.01.001_data_0x01="xpl-cmnd dspc-state.home state.basic command=update room=study level=lights object=ceiling value=on"
    xpl-trig_any_any_eib.basic_group_01.01.002_data_0x00="xpl-cmnd dspc-state.home state.basic command=update room=study level=lights object=stand value=off"
    xpl-trig_any_any_eib.basic_group_01.01.002_data_0x01="xpl-cmnd dspc-state.home state.basic command=update room=study level=lights object=stand value=on"
    xpl-cmnd_any_any_state.basic_command_set_room_study_level_lights_object_ceiling_value_off="xpl-cmnd dspc-eib.home eib.basic group=1/1/1 data=0x00"
    xpl-cmnd_any_any_state.basic_command_set_room_study_level_lights_object_ceiling_value_on="xpl-cmnd dspc-eib.home eib.basic group=1/1/1 data=0x01"
    xpl-cmnd_any_any_state.basic_command_set_room_study_level_lights_object_stand_value_off="xpl-cmnd dspc-eib.home eib.basic group=1/1/2 data=0x00"
    xpl-cmnd_any_any_state.basic_command_set_room_study_level_lights_object_stand_value_on="xpl-cmnd dspc-eib.home eib.basic group=1/1/2 data=0x01"
  />
</actions>

The comments in the beginning of the file show the structure of the rules. Each line defines a pattern which, compared to an incoming xPL message, can trigger one or more other messages. The format of these rules has been defined in order to allow to write one per line. If a parameter of a message to be sent contains a space character, that character has to be replaced by an underscore.

The rules are grouped in parts such as pingPong and eib in the preceeding example. This has no effect in the interpretation of the commands: it's only purpose is to structure the XML file and to allow commenting out parts of the configuration items or adding comments in the file.

The configuration file is read anew each time a new xPL message arrives. This allows to edit and update the rules without having to stop and restart the xPL central device.

Test xPL central device

Test it on a BeagleBone:

su control
SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR=/home/control/Documents/Controls
$SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR/xpl-central.pl -h
$SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR/xpl-central.pl -v -n home

Open a 2nd terminal window (on any machine with xPL installed) and monitor the xPL protocol:

SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR=/home/control/Documents/Controls
$SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR/xpl-monitor.pl -vf

Open another terminal and send a message to be processed by the central device:

su control
SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR=/home/control/Documents/Controls
$SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR/xpl-send.pl -v -c pingPong.basic message=ping

The monitor should display the ping message, directly followed by a pong message emitted by the xPL central device.

Launch the xPL central device at startup

The xPL central device is to be launched after the xPL hub.

Debian with SystemD

On Debian with systemd (such as Raspbian or Ubuntu), the scripts can be defined as services.

Edit /lib/systemd/system/xpl-central.service:

[Unit]
Description=xPL central
After=xpl-hub.service

[Service]
Type=simple
User=control
Group=users
ExecStart=/home/control/Documents/Controls/xpl-central.pl -n home
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Activate the service:

su
systemctl enable xpl-central.service
service xpl-central start

Reboot and check:

ps aux | grep -v grep | grep -i xpl
ps ax | grep -i xpl | grep -v grep | sed 's/.*\/Controls\///'
systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running | grep xpl
service xpl-central status

Ubuntu with Upstart

On Ubuntu, the xPL central device starts-up once xpl-hub_started has been emitted.

Edit /etc/init/xpl-central.conf:

################################################################################
# xPL central message parser
#
description "xPL central message parser"
version     "1.0"
author      "Francois Corthay"

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Configuration variables
#
env SCRIPTS_DIR='/home/control/Documents/Controls'
env SCRIPT_NAME='xpl-central.pl'
env PARAMETERS='-n home'

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Start and stop conditions
#
start on xpl-hub_started
stop on shutdown
respawn
setuid control
setgid users

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Start daemon
#
exec $SCRIPTS_DIR/$SCRIPT_NAME $PARAMETERS

Start the device and test it:

su root
service xpl-central start
service xpl-central status
initctl list | grep xpl

SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR=/home/control/Documents/Controls
$SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR/xpl-send.pl -v -c pingPong.basic message=ping

Mac OS

On Mac OS, the xPL central device starts-up later than the hub.

Edit /Library/LaunchDaemons/xpl-central.plist:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>xPL central message parser</string>
    <key>OnDemand</key>
    <false/>
    <key>UserName</key>
    <string>control</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
      <string>/Users/control/Documents/Controls/xpl-central.pl</string>
      <string>-n</string>
      <string>lounge</string>
      <string>-w</string>
      <string>25</string>
      <string>-a</string>
      <string>/Users/control/Documents/Controls/centralActions.xml</string>
    </array>
  </dict>
</plist>

Start the device and test it:

su root
launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/xpl-central.plist

SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR=/Users/control/Documents/Controls
$SCRIPTS_BASE_DIR/xpl-send.pl -v -c pingPong.basic message=ping