Sending commands to module?

dmurray14

Guess who's back? The netlinx idiot with another stupid question!

I am making a module, and I'd like to be able to send "commands" to the module from the mainline. What's the best way to go about this? Would I make a virtual device, put it in the signature, then just use a data event on that?

Thanks!

Dan

DHawthorne

Yes, create a virtual device to act as an interface, then pass it to the module as a parameter. Inside the module, use the COMMAND handler on the DATA_EVENT for the virtual to parse your commands, and use SEND_COMMAND from the main program to deploy them. For feedback, use SEND_STRING to the virtual in the module, and parse it with the STRING handler in your main program on the DATA_EVENT for the virtual. The COMMAND and STRING handlers really work exactly the same; by convention, COMMAND is used to talk to a module, and STRING for feedback. If you wanted to, you could reverse them, but it would confuse the heck out of anyone trying to figure the code out later (including you ). Just make good and sure you don't use the same handler for BOTH directions of communications ... they are bi-directional and you would wind up in some kind of loop at worst, and double processing everything at best.