Ruby - Line Bricklet

This is the description of the Ruby API bindings for the Line Bricklet. General information and technical specifications for the Line Bricklet are summarized in its hardware description.

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

Examples

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

Simple

Download (example_simple.rb)

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#!/usr/bin/env ruby
# -*- ruby encoding: utf-8 -*-

require 'tinkerforge/ip_connection'
require 'tinkerforge/bricklet_line'

include Tinkerforge

HOST = 'localhost'
PORT = 4223
UID = 'XYZ' # Change XYZ to the UID of your Line Bricklet

ipcon = IPConnection.new # Create IP connection
l = BrickletLine.new UID, ipcon # Create device object

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

# Get current reflectivity
reflectivity = l.get_reflectivity
puts "Reflectivity: #{reflectivity}"

puts 'Press key to exit'
$stdin.gets
ipcon.disconnect

Callback

Download (example_callback.rb)

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#!/usr/bin/env ruby
# -*- ruby encoding: utf-8 -*-

require 'tinkerforge/ip_connection'
require 'tinkerforge/bricklet_line'

include Tinkerforge

HOST = 'localhost'
PORT = 4223
UID = 'XYZ' # Change XYZ to the UID of your Line Bricklet

ipcon = IPConnection.new # Create IP connection
l = BrickletLine.new UID, ipcon # Create device object

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

# Register reflectivity callback
l.register_callback(BrickletLine::CALLBACK_REFLECTIVITY) do |reflectivity|
  puts "Reflectivity: #{reflectivity}"
end

# Set period for reflectivity callback to 1s (1000ms)
# Note: The reflectivity callback is only called every second
#       if the reflectivity has changed since the last call!
l.set_reflectivity_callback_period 1000

puts 'Press key to exit'
$stdin.gets
ipcon.disconnect

Threshold

Download (example_threshold.rb)

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#!/usr/bin/env ruby
# -*- ruby encoding: utf-8 -*-

require 'tinkerforge/ip_connection'
require 'tinkerforge/bricklet_line'

include Tinkerforge

HOST = 'localhost'
PORT = 4223
UID = 'XYZ' # Change XYZ to the UID of your Line Bricklet

ipcon = IPConnection.new # Create IP connection
l = BrickletLine.new 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 1 second (1000ms)
l.set_debounce_period 1000

# Register reflectivity reached callback
l.register_callback(BrickletLine::CALLBACK_REFLECTIVITY_REACHED) do |reflectivity|
  puts "Reflectivity: #{reflectivity}"
end

# Configure threshold for reflectivity "greater than 2000"
l.set_reflectivity_callback_threshold '>', 2000, 0

puts 'Press key to exit'
$stdin.gets
ipcon.disconnect

API

All functions listed below are thread-safe.

Basic Functions

BrickletLine::new(uid, ipcon) → line
Parameters:
  • uid – Type: str
  • ipcon – Type: IPConnection
Returns:
  • line – Type: BrickletLine

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

line = BrickletLine.new 'YOUR_DEVICE_UID', ipcon

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

BrickletLine#get_reflectivity → int
Returns:
  • reflectivity – Type: int, Range: [0 to 212 - 1]

Returns the currently measured reflectivity. The reflectivity is a value between 0 (not reflective) and 4095 (very reflective).

Usually black has a low reflectivity while white has a high reflectivity.

If you want to get the reflectivity periodically, it is recommended to use the ::CALLBACK_REFLECTIVITY callback and set the period with #set_reflectivity_callback_period.

Advanced Functions

BrickletLine#get_identity → [str, str, chr, [int, ...], [int, ...], int]
Return Array:
  • 0: uid – Type: str, Length: up to 8
  • 1: connected_uid – Type: str, Length: up to 8
  • 2: position – Type: chr, Range: ['a' to 'h', 'z']
  • 3: hardware_version – Type: [int, ...], Length: 3
    • 0: major – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 1: minor – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 2: revision – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
  • 4: firmware_version – Type: [int, ...], Length: 3
    • 0: major – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 1: minor – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 2: revision – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
  • 5: device_identifier – Type: int, 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

BrickletLine#register_callback(callback_id) { |param [, ...]| block } → nil
Parameters:
  • callback_id – Type: int

Registers the given block with the given callback_id.

The available callback IDs with corresponding function signatures are listed below.

BrickletLine#set_reflectivity_callback_period(period) → nil
Parameters:
  • period – Type: int, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0

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

The ::CALLBACK_REFLECTIVITY callback is only triggered if the reflectivity has changed since the last triggering.

BrickletLine#get_reflectivity_callback_period → int
Returns:
  • period – Type: int, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0

Returns the period as set by #set_reflectivity_callback_period.

BrickletLine#set_reflectivity_callback_threshold(option, min, max) → nil
Parameters:
  • option – Type: chr, Range: See constants, Default: 'x'
  • min – Type: int, Range: [0 to 216 - 1], Default: 0
  • max – Type: int, Range: [0 to 216 - 1], Default: 0

Sets the thresholds for the ::CALLBACK_REFLECTIVITY_REACHED callback.

The following options are possible:

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

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = 'x'
  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = 'o'
  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = 'i'
  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = '<'
  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = '>'
BrickletLine#get_reflectivity_callback_threshold → [chr, int, int]
Return Array:
  • 0: option – Type: chr, Range: See constants, Default: 'x'
  • 1: min – Type: int, Range: [0 to 216 - 1], Default: 0
  • 2: max – Type: int, Range: [0 to 216 - 1], Default: 0

Returns the threshold as set by #set_reflectivity_callback_threshold.

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = 'x'
  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = 'o'
  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = 'i'
  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = '<'
  • BrickletLine::THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = '>'
BrickletLine#set_debounce_period(debounce) → nil
Parameters:
  • debounce – Type: int, 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.

BrickletLine#get_debounce_period → int
Returns:
  • debounce – Type: int, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 100

Returns the debounce period as set by #set_debounce_period.

Callbacks

Callbacks can be registered to receive time critical or recurring data from the device. The registration is done with the #register_callback function of the device object. The first parameter is the callback ID and the second parameter is a block:

line.register_callback BrickletLine::CALLBACK_EXAMPLE, do |param|
  puts "#{param}"
end

The available constants with inherent number and 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.

BrickletLine::CALLBACK_REFLECTIVITY
Callback Parameters:
  • reflectivity – Type: int, Range: [0 to 212 - 1]

This callback is triggered periodically with the period that is set by #set_reflectivity_callback_period. The parameter is the reflectivity of the sensor.

The ::CALLBACK_REFLECTIVITY callback is only triggered if the reflectivity has changed since the last triggering.

BrickletLine::CALLBACK_REFLECTIVITY_REACHED
Callback Parameters:
  • reflectivity – Type: int, Range: [0 to 212 - 1]

This callback is triggered when the threshold as set by #set_reflectivity_callback_threshold is reached. The parameter is the reflectivity of the sensor.

If the threshold keeps being reached, the callback is triggered periodically with the period as set by #set_debounce_period.

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.

BrickletLine#get_api_version → [int, ...]
Return Array:
  • 0: api_version – Type: [int, ...], Length: 3
    • 0: major – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 1: minor – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 2: revision – Type: int, 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.

BrickletLine#get_response_expected(function_id) → bool
Parameters:
  • function_id – Type: int, Range: See constants
Returns:
  • response_expected – Type: bool

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 #set_response_expected. 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 function_id:

  • BrickletLine::FUNCTION_SET_REFLECTIVITY_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 2
  • BrickletLine::FUNCTION_SET_REFLECTIVITY_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 4
  • BrickletLine::FUNCTION_SET_DEBOUNCE_PERIOD = 6
BrickletLine#set_response_expected(function_id, response_expected) → nil
Parameters:
  • function_id – Type: int, Range: See constants
  • response_expected – Type: bool

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 function_id:

  • BrickletLine::FUNCTION_SET_REFLECTIVITY_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 2
  • BrickletLine::FUNCTION_SET_REFLECTIVITY_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 4
  • BrickletLine::FUNCTION_SET_DEBOUNCE_PERIOD = 6
BrickletLine#set_response_expected_all(response_expected) → nil
Parameters:
  • response_expected – Type: bool

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

Constants

BrickletLine::DEVICE_IDENTIFIER

This constant is used to identify a Line Bricklet.

The #get_identity() function and the IPConnection::CALLBACK_ENUMERATE callback of the IP Connection have a device_identifier parameter to specify the Brick's or Bricklet's type.

BrickletLine::DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME

This constant represents the human readable name of a Line Bricklet.