Software / API Bindings / Java / API Reference and Examples / Bricklets / Ambient Light Bricklet 3.0

Java - Ambient Light Bricklet 3.0¶

This is the description of the Java API bindings for the Ambient Light Bricklet 3.0. General information and technical specifications for the Ambient Light Bricklet 3.0 are summarized in its hardware description.

An installation guide for the Java API bindings is part of their general description.

Examples¶

The example code below is Public Domain (CC0 1.0).

Simple¶

Download (ExampleSimple.java)

import com.tinkerforge.IPConnection;
import com.tinkerforge.BrickletAmbientLightV3;

public class ExampleSimple {
    private static final String HOST = "localhost";
    private static final int PORT = 4223;

    // Change XYZ to the UID of your Ambient Light Bricklet 3.0
    private static final String UID = "XYZ";

    // Note: To make the example code cleaner we do not handle exceptions. Exceptions
    //       you might normally want to catch are described in the documentation
    public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception {
        IPConnection ipcon = new IPConnection(); // Create IP connection
        BrickletAmbientLightV3 al = new BrickletAmbientLightV3(UID, ipcon); // Create device object

        ipcon.connect(HOST, PORT); // Connect to brickd
        // Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        // Get current Illuminance
        long illuminance = al.getIlluminance(); // Can throw com.tinkerforge.TimeoutException
        System.out.println("Illuminance: " + illuminance/100.0 + " lx");

        System.out.println("Press key to exit"); System.in.read();
        ipcon.disconnect();
    }
}

Callback¶

Download (ExampleCallback.java)

import com.tinkerforge.IPConnection;
import com.tinkerforge.BrickletAmbientLightV3;

public class ExampleCallback {
    private static final String HOST = "localhost";
    private static final int PORT = 4223;

    // Change XYZ to the UID of your Ambient Light Bricklet 3.0
    private static final String UID = "XYZ";

    // Note: To make the example code cleaner we do not handle exceptions. Exceptions
    //       you might normally want to catch are described in the documentation
    public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception {
        IPConnection ipcon = new IPConnection(); // Create IP connection
        BrickletAmbientLightV3 al = new BrickletAmbientLightV3(UID, ipcon); // Create device object

        ipcon.connect(HOST, PORT); // Connect to brickd
        // Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        // Add illuminance listener
        al.addIlluminanceListener(new BrickletAmbientLightV3.IlluminanceListener() {
            public void illuminance(long illuminance) {
                System.out.println("Illuminance: " + illuminance/100.0 + " lx");
            }
        });

        // Set period for illuminance callback to 1s (1000ms) without a threshold
        al.setIlluminanceCallbackConfiguration(1000, false, 'x', 0, 0);

        System.out.println("Press key to exit"); System.in.read();
        ipcon.disconnect();
    }
}

Threshold¶

Download (ExampleThreshold.java)

import com.tinkerforge.IPConnection;
import com.tinkerforge.BrickletAmbientLightV3;

public class ExampleThreshold {
    private static final String HOST = "localhost";
    private static final int PORT = 4223;

    // Change XYZ to the UID of your Ambient Light Bricklet 3.0
    private static final String UID = "XYZ";

    // Note: To make the example code cleaner we do not handle exceptions. Exceptions
    //       you might normally want to catch are described in the documentation
    public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception {
        IPConnection ipcon = new IPConnection(); // Create IP connection
        BrickletAmbientLightV3 al = new BrickletAmbientLightV3(UID, ipcon); // Create device object

        ipcon.connect(HOST, PORT); // Connect to brickd
        // Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        // Add illuminance listener
        al.addIlluminanceListener(new BrickletAmbientLightV3.IlluminanceListener() {
            public void illuminance(long illuminance) {
                System.out.println("Illuminance: " + illuminance/100.0 + " lx");
                System.out.println("Too bright, close the curtains!");
            }
        });

        // Configure threshold for illuminance "greater than 500 lx"
        // with a debounce period of 1s (1000ms)
        al.setIlluminanceCallbackConfiguration(1000, false, '>', 500*100, 0);

        System.out.println("Press key to exit"); System.in.read();
        ipcon.disconnect();
    }
}

API¶

Generally, every method of the Java bindings that returns a value can throw a TimeoutException. This exception gets thrown if the device did not respond. If a cable based connection is used, it is unlikely that this exception gets thrown (assuming nobody unplugs the device). However, if a wireless connection is used, timeouts will occur if the distance to the device gets too big.

Beside the TimeoutException there is also a NotConnectedException that is thrown if a method needs to communicate with the device while the IP Connection is not connected.

Since Java does not support multiple return values and return by reference is not possible for primitive types, we use small classes that only consist of member variables. The member variables of the returned objects are described in the corresponding method descriptions.

The package for all Brick/Bricklet bindings and the IP Connection is com.tinkerforge.*

All methods listed below are thread-safe.

Basic Functions¶

public class BrickletAmbientLightV3(String uid, IPConnection ipcon)¶

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

BrickletAmbientLightV3 ambientLightV3 = new BrickletAmbientLightV3("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon);

This object can then be used after the IP Connection is connected (see examples above).

public long getIlluminance()¶

Returns the illuminance of the ambient light sensor. The measurement range goes up to about 100000lux, but above 64000lux the precision starts to drop. The illuminance is given in lux/100, i.e. a value of 450000 means that an illuminance of 4500lux is measured.

An illuminance of 0lux indicates that the sensor is saturated and the configuration should be modified, see setConfiguration().

If you want to get the value periodically, it is recommended to use the IlluminanceListener listener. You can set the listener configuration with setIlluminanceCallbackConfiguration().

public void setConfiguration(int illuminanceRange, int integrationTime)¶

Sets the configuration. It is possible to configure an illuminance range between 0-600lux and 0-64000lux and an integration time between 50ms and 400ms.

The unlimited illuminance range allows to measure up to about 100000lux, but above 64000lux the precision starts to drop.

A smaller illuminance range increases the resolution of the data. A longer integration time will result in less noise on the data.

If the actual measure illuminance is out-of-range then the current illuminance range maximum +0.01lux is reported by getIlluminance() and the IlluminanceListener listener. For example, 800001 for the 0-8000lux range.

With a long integration time the sensor might be saturated before the measured value reaches the maximum of the selected illuminance range. In this case 0lux is reported by getIlluminance() and the IlluminanceListener listener.

If the measurement is out-of-range or the sensor is saturated then you should configure the next higher illuminance range. If the highest range is already in use, then start to reduce the integration time.

The default values are 0-8000lux illuminance range and 150ms integration time.

The following constants are available for this function:

BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_UNLIMITED = 6
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_64000LUX = 0
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_32000LUX = 1
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_16000LUX = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_8000LUX = 3
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_1300LUX = 4
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_600LUX = 5
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_50MS = 0
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_100MS = 1
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_150MS = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_200MS = 3
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_250MS = 4
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_300MS = 5
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_350MS = 6
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_400MS = 7

public BrickletAmbientLightV3.Configuration getConfiguration()¶

Returns the configuration as set by setConfiguration().

The following constants are available for this function:

BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_UNLIMITED = 6
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_64000LUX = 0
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_32000LUX = 1
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_16000LUX = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_8000LUX = 3
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_1300LUX = 4
BrickletAmbientLightV3.ILLUMINANCE_RANGE_600LUX = 5
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_50MS = 0
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_100MS = 1
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_150MS = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_200MS = 3
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_250MS = 4
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_300MS = 5
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_350MS = 6
BrickletAmbientLightV3.INTEGRATION_TIME_400MS = 7

The returned object has the public member variables int illuminanceRange and int integrationTime.

Advanced Functions¶

public int[] getAPIVersion()¶: Returns the version of the API definition (major, minor, revision) implemented by this API bindings. This is neither the release version of this API bindings nor does it tell you anything about the represented Brick or Bricklet.

public boolean getResponseExpected(int functionId)¶

Returns the response expected flag for the function specified by the function ID parameter. It is true if the function is expected to send a response, false otherwise.

For getter functions this is enabled by default and cannot be disabled, because those functions will always send a response. For listener configuration functions it is enabled by default too, but can be disabled by setResponseExpected(). For setter functions it is disabled by default and can be enabled.

Enabling the response expected flag for a setter function allows to detect timeouts and other error conditions calls of this setter as well. The device will then send a response for this purpose. If this flag is disabled for a setter function then no response is send and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

See setResponseExpected() for the list of function ID constants available for this function.

public void setResponseExpected(int functionId, boolean responseExpected)¶

Changes the response expected flag of the function specified by the function ID parameter. This flag can only be changed for setter (default value: false) and listener configuration functions (default value: true). For getter functions it is always enabled.

The following function ID constants are available for this function:

BrickletAmbientLightV3.FUNCTION_SET_ILLUMINANCE_CALLBACK_CONFIGURATION = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.FUNCTION_SET_CONFIGURATION = 5
BrickletAmbientLightV3.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
BrickletAmbientLightV3.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
BrickletAmbientLightV3.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
BrickletAmbientLightV3.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248

public void setResponseExpectedAll(boolean responseExpected)¶: Changes the response expected flag for all setter and listener configuration functions of this device at once.

public BrickletAmbientLightV3.SPITFPErrorCount getSPITFPErrorCount()¶

Returns the error count for the communication between Brick and Bricklet.

The errors are divided into

ACK checksum errors,
message checksum errors,
framing errors and
overflow errors.

The errors counts are for errors that occur on the Bricklet side. All Bricks have a similar function that returns the errors on the Brick side.

The returned object has the public member variables long errorCountAckChecksum, long errorCountMessageChecksum, long errorCountFrame and long errorCountOverflow.

public int setBootloaderMode(int mode)¶

Sets the bootloader mode and returns the status after the requested mode change was instigated.

You can change from bootloader mode to firmware mode and vice versa. A change from bootloader mode to firmware mode will only take place if the entry function, device identifier and CRC are present and correct.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

The following constants are available for this function:

BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_OK = 0
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_INVALID_MODE = 1
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_NO_CHANGE = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_ENTRY_FUNCTION_NOT_PRESENT = 3
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_DEVICE_IDENTIFIER_INCORRECT = 4
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_CRC_MISMATCH = 5

public int getBootloaderMode()¶

Returns the current bootloader mode, see setBootloaderMode().

The following constants are available for this function:

BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
BrickletAmbientLightV3.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4

public void setWriteFirmwarePointer(long pointer)¶

Sets the firmware pointer for writeFirmware(). The pointer has to be increased by chunks of size 64. The data is written to flash every 4 chunks (which equals to one page of size 256).

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

public int writeFirmware(int[] data)¶

Writes 64 Bytes of firmware at the position as written by setWriteFirmwarePointer() before. The firmware is written to flash every 4 chunks.

You can only write firmware in bootloader mode.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

public void setStatusLEDConfig(int config)¶

Sets the status LED configuration. By default the LED shows communication traffic between Brick and Bricklet, it flickers once for every 10 received data packets.

You can also turn the LED permanently on/off or show a heartbeat.

If the Bricklet is in bootloader mode, the LED is will show heartbeat by default.

The following constants are available for this function:

BrickletAmbientLightV3.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickletAmbientLightV3.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickletAmbientLightV3.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3

public int getStatusLEDConfig()¶

Returns the configuration as set by setStatusLEDConfig()

The following constants are available for this function:

BrickletAmbientLightV3.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickletAmbientLightV3.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickletAmbientLightV3.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickletAmbientLightV3.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3

public int getChipTemperature()¶

Returns the temperature in °C as measured inside the microcontroller. The value returned is not the ambient temperature!

The temperature is only proportional to the real temperature and it has bad accuracy. Practically it is only useful as an indicator for temperature changes.

public void reset()¶

Calling this function will reset the Bricklet. All configurations will be lost.

After a reset you have to create new device objects, calling functions on the existing ones will result in undefined behavior!

public void writeUID(long uid)¶

Writes a new UID into flash. If you want to set a new UID you have to decode the Base58 encoded UID string into an integer first.

We recommend that you use Brick Viewer to change the UID.

public long readUID()¶: Returns the current UID as an integer. Encode as Base58 to get the usual string version.

public BrickletAmbientLightV3.Identity getIdentity()¶

Returns the UID, the UID where the Bricklet is connected to, the position, the hardware and firmware version as well as the device identifier.

The position can be 'a', 'b', 'c' or 'd'.

The device identifier numbers can be found here. There is also a constant for the device identifier of this Bricklet.

The returned object has the public member variables String uid, String connectedUid, char position, int[] hardwareVersion, int[] firmwareVersion and int deviceIdentifier.

Listener Configuration Functions¶

public void setIlluminanceCallbackConfiguration(long period, boolean valueHasToChange, char option, long min, long max)¶

The period in ms is the period with which the IlluminanceListener listener is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the listener off.

If the value has to change-parameter is set to true, the listener is only triggered after the value has changed. If the value didn't change within the period, the listener is triggered immediately on change.

If it is set to false, the listener is continuously triggered with the period, independent of the value.

It is furthermore possible to constrain the listener with thresholds.

The option-parameter together with min/max sets a threshold for the IlluminanceListener listener.

The following options are possible:

Option	Description
'x'	Threshold is turned off
'o'	Threshold is triggered when the value is outside the min and max values
'i'	Threshold is triggered when the value is inside or equal to the min and max values
'<'	Threshold is triggered when the value is smaller than the min value (max is ignored)
'>'	Threshold is triggered when the value is greater than the min value (max is ignored)

If the option is set to 'x' (threshold turned off) the listener is triggered with the fixed period.

The default value is (0, false, 'x', 0, 0).

The following constants are available for this function:

BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = 'x'
BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = 'o'
BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = 'i'
BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = '<'
BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = '>'

public BrickletAmbientLightV3.IlluminanceCallbackConfiguration getIlluminanceCallbackConfiguration()¶

Returns the listener configuration as set by setIlluminanceCallbackConfiguration().

The following constants are available for this function:

BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = 'x'
BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = 'o'
BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = 'i'
BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = '<'
BrickletAmbientLightV3.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = '>'

The returned object has the public member variables long period, boolean valueHasToChange, char option, long min and long max.

Listeners¶

Listeners can be registered to receive time critical or recurring data from the device. The registration is done with "add*Listener" functions of the device object.

The parameter is a listener class object, for example:

device.addExampleListener(new BrickletAmbientLightV3.ExampleListener() {
    public void property(int value) {
        System.out.println("Value: " + value);
    }
});

The available listener classes with inherent methods to be overwritten are described below. It is possible to add several listeners and to remove them with the corresponding "remove*Listener" function.

Note

Using listeners for recurring events is always preferred compared to using getters. It will use less USB bandwidth and the latency will be a lot better, since there is no round trip time.

public class BrickletAmbientLightV3.IlluminanceListener()¶

This listener can be added with the addIlluminanceListener() function. An added listener can be removed with the removeIlluminanceListener() function.

public void illuminance(long illuminance)

This listener is triggered periodically according to the configuration set by setIlluminanceCallbackConfiguration().

The parameter is the same as getIlluminance().

Constants¶

public static final int BrickletAmbientLightV3.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER¶

This constant is used to identify a Ambient Light Bricklet 3.0.

The getIdentity() function and the EnumerateListener listener of the IP Connection have a deviceIdentifier parameter to specify the Brick's or Bricklet's type.

public static final String BrickletAmbientLightV3.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME¶: This constant represents the human readable name of a Ambient Light Bricklet 3.0.