Perl - API Bindings¶

Requirements¶

• Perl 5.14 or newer with thread support, Digest::HMAC_SHA1 module and Thread::Queue module 3.02 or newer

Installation¶

There are three ways to install the Perl bindings: from our APT repository for Debian based Linux distributions or from CPAN or from source. But the bindings can also be used without installing them first.

sudo apt install libtinkerforge-perl

cpanm Tinkerforge

perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install

Testing an Example¶

To test a Perl 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 test the configuration example for the Stepper Brick. For this copy the example_configuration.pl file from the examples/brick/stepper/ folder into a new folder:

example_project/
 -> example_configuration.pl

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:

use constant HOST => 'localhost';
use constant PORT => 4223;
use constant UID => 'XXYYZZ'; # Change XXYYZZ to the UID of your Stepper Brick

If you did install the bindings then you're now ready to test this example:

perl example_configuration.pl

If you did not install the bindings then you can also use the source of the bindings directly. Just copy the Tinkerforge/ folder from the source/lib/ folder to your example_project/ folder:

example_project/
 -> Tinkerforge/
 -> example_configuration.pl

Then the following line has to be added to the beginning of the example to make Perl find the Tinkerforge/ folder:

use lib './';

Now you're ready to test this example:

perl example_configuration.pl

Known Problems¶

There are known deadlock problems on Windows with Strawberry Perl and Active State Perl. The recommended workaround is to use Cygwin Perl that doesn't suffer from this problem. See this PerlMonks thread for some details.

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.