Java - API Bindings¶

Requirements¶

• Java JDK 8 or newer

Installation¶

If and how the Java bindings have to be installed depends heavily on how you are going to use them. If you are just calling the Java compiler from the command line then you can just put the Tinkerforge.jar file into the same folder as the Java code of your program and include it in the class path.

How the bindings can be used in a certain IDE depends on the specific IDE and will be explained in the documentation of the IDE.

sudo apt install libtinkerforge-java

/usr/share/java/tinkerforge.jar

<project>
  ...
  <dependencies>
    ...
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.tinkerforge</groupId>
      <artifactId>tinkerforge</artifactId>
      <version>X.Y.Z</version>
    </dependency>
    ...
  </dependencies>
  ...
</project>

Testing an Example¶

To test a Java example Brick Daemon and Brick Viewer have to be installed first. Brick Daemon acts as a proxy between the USB interface of the Bricks and the API bindings. Brick Viewer connects to Brick Daemon and helps to figure out basic information about the connected Bricks and Bricklets.

As an example let's compile the configuration example for the Stepper Brick. Copy the Tinkerforge.jar file and the ExampleConfiguration.java file from examples/Brick/Stepper/ into a new folder:

example_project/
 -> Tinkerforge.jar
 -> ExampleConfiguration.java

In the example HOST and PORT specify at which network address the Stepper Brick can be found. If it is connected locally to USB then localhost and 4223 is correct. The UID value has to be changed to the UID of the connected Stepper Brick, which you can figure out using Brick Viewer:

private static final String HOST = "localhost";
private static final int PORT = 4223;
private static final String UID = "XXYYZZ"; // Change XXYYZZ to the UID of your Stepper Brick

Now we can execute the Java compiler in the example_project/ folder like this on Windows (replace ; in class path with : on Linux and macOS):

javac -cp Tinkerforge.jar;. ExampleConfiguration.java

and run it with the following parameters on Windows (replace ; in class path with : on Linux and macOS again):

java -cp Tinkerforge.jar;. ExampleConfiguration

Alternatively you can use the Java library and example in an Java IDE of your choice such as Eclipse or NetBeans.

API Reference and Examples¶

Links to the API reference for the IP Connection, Bricks and Bricklets as well as the examples from the ZIP file of the bindings are listed in the following table. Further project descriptions can be found in the Kits section.