Visual Basic .NET - Dust Detector Bricklet

This is the description of the Visual Basic .NET API bindings for the Dust Detector Bricklet. General information and technical specifications for the Dust Detector Bricklet are summarized in its hardware description.

An installation guide for the Visual Basic .NET API bindings is part of their general description.

Examples

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

Simple

Download (ExampleSimple.vb)

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Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleSimple
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Dust Detector Bricklet

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim dd As New BrickletDustDetector(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

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

        ' Get current dust density
        Dim dustDensity As Integer = dd.GetDustDensity()
        Console.WriteLine("Dust Density: " + dustDensity.ToString() + " µg/m³")

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

Callback

Download (ExampleCallback.vb)

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Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleCallback
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Dust Detector Bricklet

    ' Callback subroutine for dust density callback
    Sub DustDensityCB(ByVal sender As BrickletDustDetector, _
                      ByVal dustDensity As Integer)
        Console.WriteLine("Dust Density: " + dustDensity.ToString() + " µg/m³")
    End Sub

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim dd As New BrickletDustDetector(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

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

        ' Register dust density callback to subroutine DustDensityCB
        AddHandler dd.DustDensityCallback, AddressOf DustDensityCB

        ' Set period for dust density callback to 1s (1000ms)
        ' Note: The dust density callback is only called every second
        '       if the dust density has changed since the last call!
        dd.SetDustDensityCallbackPeriod(1000)

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

Threshold

Download (ExampleThreshold.vb)

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Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleThreshold
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Dust Detector Bricklet

    ' Callback subroutine for dust density reached callback
    Sub DustDensityReachedCB(ByVal sender As BrickletDustDetector, _
                             ByVal dustDensity As Integer)
        Console.WriteLine("Dust Density: " + dustDensity.ToString() + " µg/m³")
    End Sub

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim dd As New BrickletDustDetector(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

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

        ' Get threshold callbacks with a debounce time of 10 seconds (10000ms)
        dd.SetDebouncePeriod(10000)

        ' Register dust density reached callback to subroutine DustDensityReachedCB
        AddHandler dd.DustDensityReachedCallback, AddressOf DustDensityReachedCB

        ' Configure threshold for dust density "greater than 10 µg/m³"
        dd.SetDustDensityCallbackThreshold(">"C, 10, 0)

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

API

Since Visual Basic .NET does not support multiple return values directly, we use the ByRef keyword to return multiple values from a function.

All functions and procedures listed below are thread-safe.

Basic Functions

Class BrickletDustDetector(ByVal uid As String, ByVal ipcon As IPConnection)

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

Dim dustDetector As New BrickletDustDetector("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon)

This object can then be used after the IP Connection is connected.

Function BrickletDustDetector.GetDustDensity() As Integer
Returns:
  • dustDensity – Type: Integer, Unit: 1 µg/m³, Range: [0 to 500]

Returns the dust density.

If you want to get the dust density periodically, it is recommended to use the DustDensityCallback callback and set the period with SetDustDensityCallbackPeriod().

Advanced Functions

Sub BrickletDustDetector.SetMovingAverage(ByVal average As Byte)
Parameters:
  • average – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 100], Default: 100

Sets the length of a moving averaging for the dust density.

Setting the length to 0 will turn the averaging completely off. With less averaging, there is more noise on the data.

Function BrickletDustDetector.GetMovingAverage() As Byte
Returns:
  • average – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 100], Default: 100

Returns the length moving average as set by SetMovingAverage().

Sub BrickletDustDetector.GetIdentity(ByRef uid As String, ByRef connectedUid As String, ByRef position As Char, ByRef hardwareVersion() As Byte, ByRef firmwareVersion() As Byte, ByRef deviceIdentifier As Integer)
Output Parameters:
  • uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
  • connectedUid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
  • position – Type: Char, Range: ["a"C to "h"C, "z"C]
  • hardwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3
    • 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
  • firmwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3
    • 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
  • deviceIdentifier – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 216 - 1]

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', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g' or 'h' (Bricklet Port). A Bricklet connected to an Isolator Bricklet is always at position 'z'.

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

Callback Configuration Functions

Sub BrickletDustDetector.SetDustDensityCallbackPeriod(ByVal period As Long)
Parameters:
  • period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0

Sets the period with which the DustDensityCallback callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

The DustDensityCallback callback is only triggered if the dust density has changed since the last triggering.

Function BrickletDustDetector.GetDustDensityCallbackPeriod() As Long
Returns:
  • period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0

Returns the period as set by SetDustDensityCallbackPeriod().

Sub BrickletDustDetector.SetDustDensityCallbackThreshold(ByVal option As Char, ByVal min As Integer, ByVal max As Integer)
Parameters:
  • option – Type: Char, Range: See constants, Default: "x"C
  • min – Type: Integer, Unit: 1 µg/m³, Range: [0 to 216 - 1], Default: 0
  • max – Type: Integer, Unit: 1 µg/m³, Range: [0 to 216 - 1], Default: 0

Sets the thresholds for the DustDensityReachedCallback callback.

The following options are possible:

Option Description
'x' Callback is turned off
'o' Callback is triggered when the dust density value is outside the min and max values
'i' Callback is triggered when the dust density value is inside the min and max values
'<' Callback is triggered when the dust density value is smaller than the min value (max is ignored)
'>' Callback is triggered when the dust density value is greater than the min value (max is ignored)

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C
Sub BrickletDustDetector.GetDustDensityCallbackThreshold(ByRef option As Char, ByRef min As Integer, ByRef max As Integer)
Output Parameters:
  • option – Type: Char, Range: See constants, Default: "x"C
  • min – Type: Integer, Unit: 1 µg/m³, Range: [0 to 216 - 1], Default: 0
  • max – Type: Integer, Unit: 1 µg/m³, Range: [0 to 216 - 1], Default: 0

Returns the threshold as set by SetDustDensityCallbackThreshold().

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
  • BrickletDustDetector.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C
Sub BrickletDustDetector.SetDebouncePeriod(ByVal debounce As Long)
Parameters:
  • debounce – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 100

Sets the period with which the threshold callback

is triggered, if the threshold

keeps being reached.

Function BrickletDustDetector.GetDebouncePeriod() As Long
Returns:
  • debounce – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 100

Returns the debounce period as set by SetDebouncePeriod().

Callbacks

Callbacks can be registered to receive time critical or recurring data from the device. The registration is done by assigning a procedure to an callback property of the device object:

Sub MyCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletDustDetector, ByVal value As Short)
    Console.WriteLine("Value: {0}", value)
End Sub

AddHandler dustDetector.ExampleCallback, AddressOf MyCallback

The available callback property and their type of parameters are described below.

Note

Using callbacks 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.

Event BrickletDustDetector.DustDensityCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletDustDetector, ByVal dustDensity As Integer)
Callback Parameters:
  • sender – Type: BrickletDustDetector
  • dustDensity – Type: Integer, Unit: 1 µg/m³, Range: [0 to 500]

This callback is triggered periodically with the period that is set by SetDustDensityCallbackPeriod(). The parameter is the dust density of the sensor.

Der DustDensityCallback callback is only triggered if the dust density value has changed since the last triggering.

Event BrickletDustDetector.DustDensityReachedCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletDustDetector, ByVal dustDensity As Integer)
Callback Parameters:
  • sender – Type: BrickletDustDetector
  • dustDensity – Type: Integer, Unit: 1 µg/m³, Range: [0 to 500]

This callback is triggered when the threshold as set by SetDustDensityCallbackThreshold() is reached. The parameter is the dust density of the sensor.

If the threshold keeps being reached, the callback is triggered periodically with the period as set by SetDebouncePeriod().

Virtual Functions

Virtual functions don't communicate with the device itself, but operate only on the API bindings device object. They can be called without the corresponding IP Connection object being connected.

Function BrickletDustDetector.GetAPIVersion() As Byte()
Output Parameters:
  • apiVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3
    • 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

Returns the version of the API definition 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.

Function BrickletDustDetector.GetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte) As Boolean
Parameters:
  • functionId – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Returns:
  • responseExpected – Type: Boolean

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 callback 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 sent and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

  • BrickletDustDetector.FUNCTION_SET_DUST_DENSITY_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 2
  • BrickletDustDetector.FUNCTION_SET_DUST_DENSITY_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 4
  • BrickletDustDetector.FUNCTION_SET_DEBOUNCE_PERIOD = 6
  • BrickletDustDetector.FUNCTION_SET_MOVING_AVERAGE = 10
Sub BrickletDustDetector.SetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte, ByVal responseExpected As Boolean)
Parameters:
  • functionId – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
  • responseExpected – Type: Boolean

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 callback configuration functions (default value: true). For getter functions it is always 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 sent and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

  • BrickletDustDetector.FUNCTION_SET_DUST_DENSITY_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 2
  • BrickletDustDetector.FUNCTION_SET_DUST_DENSITY_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 4
  • BrickletDustDetector.FUNCTION_SET_DEBOUNCE_PERIOD = 6
  • BrickletDustDetector.FUNCTION_SET_MOVING_AVERAGE = 10
Sub BrickletDustDetector.SetResponseExpectedAll(ByVal responseExpected As Boolean)
Parameters:
  • responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Changes the response expected flag for all setter and callback configuration functions of this device at once.

Constants

Const BrickletDustDetector.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER

This constant is used to identify a Dust Detector Bricklet.

The GetIdentity() function and the IPConnection.EnumerateCallback callback of the IP Connection have a deviceIdentifier parameter to specify the Brick's or Bricklet's type.

Const BrickletDustDetector.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME

This constant represents the human readable name of a Dust Detector Bricklet.