Software / API Bindings / Java / API Reference and Examples / Bricklets (Discontinued) / Remote Switch Bricklet

Java - Remote Switch Bricklet¶

This is the description of the Java API bindings for the Remote Switch Bricklet. General information and technical specifications for the Remote Switch Bricklet 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).

Switch Socket¶

Download (ExampleSwitchSocket.java)

import com.tinkerforge.IPConnection;
import com.tinkerforge.BrickletRemoteSwitch;

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

    // Change XYZ to the UID of your Remote Switch Bricklet
    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
        BrickletRemoteSwitch rs = new BrickletRemoteSwitch(UID, ipcon); // Create device object

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

        // Switch on a type A socket with house code 17 and receiver code 1.
        // House code 17 is 10001 in binary (least-significant bit first)
        // and means that the DIP switches 1 and 5 are on and 2-4 are off.
        // Receiver code 1 is 10000 in binary (least-significant bit first)
        // and means that the DIP switch A is on and B-E are off.
        rs.switchSocketA((short)17, (short)1, BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCH_TO_ON);

        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¶

class BrickletRemoteSwitch(String uid, IPConnection ipcon)¶

Parameters:	uid – Type: String ipcon – Type: IPConnection
Returns:	remoteSwitch – Type: BrickletRemoteSwitch

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

BrickletRemoteSwitch remoteSwitch = new BrickletRemoteSwitch("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon);

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

void BrickletRemoteSwitch.switchSocket(short houseCode, short receiverCode, short switchTo)¶

Parameters:	houseCode – Type: short, Range: [0 to 31] receiverCode – Type: short, Range: [0 to 31] switchTo – Type: short, Range: See constants

This function is deprecated, use switchSocketA() instead.

The following constants are available for this function:

For switchTo:

BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCH_TO_OFF = 0
BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCH_TO_ON = 1

short BrickletRemoteSwitch.getSwitchingState()¶

Returns:	state – Type: short, Range: See constants

Returns the current switching state. If the current state is busy, the Bricklet is currently sending a code to switch a socket. It will not accept any requests to switch sockets until the state changes to ready.

How long the switching takes is dependent on the number of repeats, see setRepeats().

The following constants are available for this function:

For state:

BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCHING_STATE_READY = 0
BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCHING_STATE_BUSY = 1

void BrickletRemoteSwitch.switchSocketA(short houseCode, short receiverCode, short switchTo)¶

Parameters:	houseCode – Type: short, Range: [0 to 31] receiverCode – Type: short, Range: [0 to 31] switchTo – Type: short, Range: See constants

To switch a type A socket you have to give the house code, receiver code and the state (on or off) you want to switch to.

A detailed description on how you can figure out the house and receiver code can be found here.

The following constants are available for this function:

For switchTo:

BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCH_TO_OFF = 0
BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCH_TO_ON = 1

New in version 2.0.1 (Plugin).

void BrickletRemoteSwitch.switchSocketB(long address, short unit, short switchTo)¶

Parameters:	address – Type: long, Range: [0 to 2²⁶ - 1] unit – Type: short, Range: [0 to 15, 255] switchTo – Type: short, Range: See constants

To switch a type B socket you have to give the address, unit and the state (on or off) you want to switch to.

To switch all devices with the same address use 255 for the unit.

A detailed description on how you can teach a socket the address and unit can be found here.

The following constants are available for this function:

For switchTo:

BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCH_TO_OFF = 0
BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCH_TO_ON = 1

New in version 2.0.1 (Plugin).

void BrickletRemoteSwitch.dimSocketB(long address, short unit, short dimValue)¶

Parameters:	address – Type: long, Range: [0 to 2²⁶ - 1] unit – Type: short, Range: [0 to 15, 255] dimValue – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255]

To control a type B dimmer you have to give the address, unit and the dim value you want to set the dimmer to.

A detailed description on how you can teach a dimmer the address and unit can be found here.

New in version 2.0.1 (Plugin).

void BrickletRemoteSwitch.switchSocketC(char systemCode, short deviceCode, short switchTo)¶

Parameters:	systemCode – Type: char, Range: ['A' to 'P'] deviceCode – Type: short, Range: [1 to 16] switchTo – Type: short, Range: See constants

To switch a type C socket you have to give the system code, device code and the state (on or off) you want to switch to.

A detailed description on how you can figure out the system and device code can be found here.

The following constants are available for this function:

For switchTo:

BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCH_TO_OFF = 0
BrickletRemoteSwitch.SWITCH_TO_ON = 1

New in version 2.0.1 (Plugin).

Advanced Functions¶

void BrickletRemoteSwitch.setRepeats(short repeats)¶

Parameters:	repeats – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255], Default: 5

Sets the number of times the code is sent when one of the switch socket functions is called. The repeats basically correspond to the amount of time that a button of the remote is pressed.

Some dimmers are controlled by the length of a button pressed, this can be simulated by increasing the repeats.

short BrickletRemoteSwitch.getRepeats()¶

Returns:	repeats – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255], Default: 5

Returns the number of repeats as set by setRepeats().

BrickletRemoteSwitch.Identity BrickletRemoteSwitch.getIdentity()¶

Return Object:

Return Object:	uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8 connectedUid – Type: String, Length: up to 8 position – Type: char, Range: ['a' to 'h', 'z'] hardwareVersion – Type: short[], Length: 3 0: major – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255] firmwareVersion – Type: short[], Length: 3 0: major – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255] deviceIdentifier – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
connectedUid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
position – Type: char, Range: ['a' to 'h', 'z']
hardwareVersion – Type: short[], Length: 3

0: major – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255]
1: minor – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255]
2: revision – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255]

firmwareVersion – Type: short[], Length: 3

0: major – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255]
1: minor – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255]
2: revision – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255]

deviceIdentifier – 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.

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 BrickletRemoteSwitch.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.

class BrickletRemoteSwitch.SwitchingDoneListener()¶

This listener can be added with the addSwitchingDoneListener() function. An added listener can be removed with the removeSwitchingDoneListener() function.

void switchingDone(): This listener is triggered whenever the switching state changes from busy to ready, see getSwitchingState().

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.

short[] BrickletRemoteSwitch.getAPIVersion()¶

Return Object:	apiVersion – Type: short[], Length: 3 0: major – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: short, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: short, 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.

boolean BrickletRemoteSwitch.getResponseExpected(byte functionId)¶

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

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SWITCH_SOCKET = 1
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SET_REPEATS = 4
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SWITCH_SOCKET_A = 6
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SWITCH_SOCKET_B = 7
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_DIM_SOCKET_B = 8
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SWITCH_SOCKET_C = 9

void BrickletRemoteSwitch.setResponseExpected(byte functionId, boolean responseExpected)¶

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 listener configuration functions (default value: true). For getter functions it is always enabled.

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SWITCH_SOCKET = 1
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SET_REPEATS = 4
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SWITCH_SOCKET_A = 6
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SWITCH_SOCKET_B = 7
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_DIM_SOCKET_B = 8
BrickletRemoteSwitch.FUNCTION_SWITCH_SOCKET_C = 9

void BrickletRemoteSwitch.setResponseExpectedAll(boolean responseExpected)¶

Parameters:	responseExpected – Type: boolean

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

Constants¶

int BrickletRemoteSwitch.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER¶

This constant is used to identify a Remote Switch Bricklet.

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

String BrickletRemoteSwitch.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME¶: This constant represents the human readable name of a Remote Switch Bricklet.