Embarrassing mind blank

[parkerc]

Hi,

Please could people share how they are presenting and handling errors in their Vera / OpenLuup plugins, I’ve tried to look through various Implementation files, but very few seem to have anything, other than perhaps a luup.task (which for some reason doesn’t work for me) ?

Below is the startup and check/validation functions for a plugin I’m working on..

		function checkIPPowerSetUp(lul_device)
			log("Checking if parent device is configured correctly...")
			ipAddress = luup.devices[lul_device].ip
			-- check if parent device has an ip address assigned 
			if ipAddress == nil or ipAddress == "" then -- if not stop and present error message
				luup.task('ERROR: IP Address is missing',2,'IPPower',-1)
				debug("ERROR: IP Address is missing " ..ipAddress.. " unable to progress")
				return false
			else -- if one is provided, present success message
				luup.task('IP Address for IPPower 9258 present, setup continues',4,'IPPower',-1)
				debug("IPPower StartUp activated - Device #" .. lul_device .. " now creating children")
				createChildIPPowerOutlets(lul_device)
				luup.call_delay("IPPowerPoller", 5)
				return true
			end
		end
			
			
		function IPPowerStartup(lul_device)
			-- set attributes for parent device
  		  	luup.attr_set( "name", "IPPower 9258", lul_device)
			luup.attr_set( "category_num", "3", lul_device)
			luup.attr_set( "subcategory_num", "1", lul_device)
			luup.variable_set("urn:nodecentral-net:serviceId:IPPower1", "Icon", 1, lul_device)
			luup.variable_set("urn:nodecentral-net:serviceId:IPPower1", "PluginVersion", PV, lul_device)
			checkIPPowerSetUp(lul_device)
			log("Start up, Parent device created...")
			end

	</functions>

	<startup>IPPowerStartup</startup>

What’s the best way to present errors to the user, and make iot clear what they need to do ?

[akbooer]

Assuming you’re talking about startup errors, the appropriate way is to use luup.set_failure() and then exit the startup code with a suitable message.

http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/Luup_Lua_extensions#function:_set_failure

In openLuup, the console Startup page displays the message.

[parkerc]

Thanks @akbooer , I’ll look into that Luup.set_failure() option.

When you “say exit the startup code with a suitable message” - do you mean use Luup.task ?

I’ve got that in the current script but I’ve never seen it appear in the UI.? What I would like is for the parent device to say/show that the IP Address is missing etc. ?

[toggledbits]

Your startup function (IPPowerStartup) can (probably should) return three values: a boolean success/failure flag for the startup, a text string error message (or nil if none), and a string containing the name of the plugin.

[a-lurker]

Your function is just a check and should only return the status as suggested above. This code should be done somewhere else - it's not part of a check:

createChildIPPowerOutlets(lul_device)
luup.call_delay("IPPowerPoller", 5)

The function should be declared local. Scope is important.

Also the if statement doesn't need an else section because the if the if statement returns false the function is finished. By definition the rest must be true.

And are you using log or debug. It's good to be consistent, it makes things more readable.

On a different note - I like to learn from others. So on my PC, I have many different plugins, each in their own folder. I use Notepad++ (considered essential equipment here) as it allows me to search all the *.lua files for items of interest. So a search on luup.task shows me many examples, including one that has been used incorrectly.

[parkerc]

@a-lurker said in Luup : Error Handling:.
On a different note - I like to learn from others. So on my PC, I have many different plugins, each in their own folder. I use Notepad++ (considered essential equipment here) as it allows me to search all the *.lua files for items of interest. So a search on luup.task shows me many examples, including one that has been used incorrectly.

I’m exactly the same , I have folders of the stuff, but I’m always amazed at the variation out there. Regarding your question about using log and debug, I have both set up, see below.

local DEBUG_MODE = true 
local function log(text, level)
   luup.log("IPPower 9528: " .. text, (level or 1))
end

local function debug(text)
   if (DEBUG_MODE == true) then
log("debug: " .. text, 50)

OK, so back to my plugin, when it comes to the startup function, it sounds like that should be pretty basic, then ?

@toggledbits - I had looked at some of your start up function too.

For LuaView

        function startLuaView(dev)
            luup.log("LuaView 1.7 starting.")
            local isOpenLuup = luup.openLuup ~= nil
            luup.variable_set( "urn:toggledbits-com:serviceId:LuaView1", "isOpenLuup", isOpenLuup and "1" or "0", dev )
            if luup.attr_get( "device_json", dev ) ~= "D_LuaView1.json" then
                luup.log("LuaView resetting static JSON file, Luup reload necessary...")
                luup.attr_set( "device_json", "D_LuaView1.json", dev )
                luup.reload()
            end
            if luup.variable_get( "urn:toggledbits-com:serviceId:LuaView1", "AceOptions", dev ) == nil then
                luup.variable_set( "urn:toggledbits-com:serviceId:LuaView1", "AceOptions", "", dev )
            end
            luup.register_handler("LuaViewRequestHandler", "LuaView")
            return true, "OK", "LuaView"
        end

And SiteSensor

                  function startupSiteSensor(dev)
			luup.log("SiteSensor Plugin START-UP!")
			SiteSensor = require("L_SiteSensor1")
			siteSensorRunQuery = SiteSensor.runQuery
			siteSensorRequestHandler = SiteSensor.requestHandler
			luup.register_handler("siteSensorRequestHandler", "SiteSensor")
			return SiteSensor.init(dev)
		end

Both were different approaches..

Form mine, is this better then ?

function IPPowerStartup(lul_device)
   -- set attributes for parent device
  luup.attr_set( "name", "IPPower 9258", lul_device)	
  luup.attr_set( "category_num", "3", lul_device)
  luup.attr_set( "subcategory_num", "1", lul_device)
  luup.variable_set("urn:nodecentral-net:serviceId:IPPower1", "Icon", 1, lul_device)
	luup.variable_set("urn:nodecentral-net:serviceId:IPPower1", "PluginVersion", PV, lul_device)
	log("Start up, Parent device created...")
return true, "OK", "IPPower 9258"
end

If that’s Ok for the startup part, where should i store all the other functions/activities , such as check if IP is there, and create all the child devices ?

• checkIPPowerSetUp(lul_device)
• createChildIPPowerOutlets(lul_device)

[parkerc]

If it helps here is the Implementation file…

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<implementation >
  <settings>
        <protocol>raw</protocol>
  </settings>
	<functions>

		local POLLING_INTERVAL = 30
		local OUTLET_START = 61 -- API returns the first socket as P61
		local OUTLET_END = 68 -- depending on your device, it can be a 4 or 8 port, so 64 or 68
		local DEBUG_MODE = true -- turn on debugging
		local PV = "1.1" -- plugin version number
		local ipAddress
		local childDeviceIndex = {}
		
		local function log(text, level)
        	luup.log("IPPower: " .. text, (level or 1))
    	end

		local function debug(text)
         	if (DEBUG_MODE == true) then
              	log("debug: " .. text, 50)
           	end
        end
		
		function IPPowerPoller() -- Call IPPower to return state of each outlet
			local user = "admin"
			local pass = "12345678"
			debug("Polling IPPower Device")
			
			local url = "http://" .. ipAddress .. "/set.cmd?user=".. user .. "+pass=" .. pass .. "+cmd=getpower"
			luup.call_timer("IPPowerPoller", 1, POLLING_INTERVAL, "", "")
			debug("Calling status  " .. url)
			
			local status, data = luup.inet.wget(url)
			if (data) then
				debug("Response received " .. data)
				-- Example response is "P61=0,P62=1,P63=0,P64=0,P65=1,P66=0,P67=0,P68=0"
			else
				log("Empty response returned")
			end
			
			for v = OUTLET_START,OUTLET_END do
				local value = string.match(data, "P"..v.."=(%d)")
				if (value) then 
					luup.variable_set("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1", "Status", value, childDeviceIndex["P"..v])
				else
					log("Empty value returned")
				end
			end
		end
		
		function createChildIPPowerOutlets(lul_device)
			
    		child_devices = luup.chdev.start(lul_device) 
			-- Tells Luup to start enumerating children for this device based on it's dev_id

   		 	for v = OUTLET_START,OUTLET_END do
				luup.chdev.append(lul_device,child_devices, "P" .. v, "Switch" .. v, "urn:schemas-micasaverde-com:device:GenericIO:1", "D_IPPower1.xml", "", "", false)
				debug("Child device created with id = P" .. v, " and description = Switch" .. v)
    		end

   			luup.chdev.sync(lul_device, child_devices)
   			
   			for k, v in pairs(luup.devices) do
	        	if (v.device_num_parent == lul_device) then -- populate child device table
					childDeviceIndex[v.id]=k
        		end
    	    end
		end
		
		function checkIPPowerSetUp(lul_device)
			log("Checking if parent device is configured correctly...")
			ipAddress = luup.devices[lul_device].ip
			-- check if parent device has an ip address assigned 
			if ipAddress == nil or ipAddress == "" then -- if not stop and present error message
				luup.task('ERROR: IP Address is missing',2,'IPPower',-1)
				debug("ERROR: IP Address is missing " ..ipAddress.. " unable to progress")
				return false
			else -- if one is provided, present success message
				luup.task('IP Address for IPPower 9258 present, setup continues',4,'IPPower',-1)
				debug("IPPower StartUp activated - Device #" .. lul_device .. " now creating children")
				createChildIPPowerOutlets(lul_device)
				luup.call_delay("IPPowerPoller", 5)
				return true
			end
		end
			
			
		function IPPowerStartup(lul_device)
			-- set attributes for parent device
  		  	luup.attr_set( "name", "IPPower 9258", lul_device)
			luup.attr_set( "category_num", "3", lul_device)
			luup.attr_set( "subcategory_num", "1", lul_device)
			luup.variable_set("urn:nodecentral-net:serviceId:IPPower1", "Icon", 1, lul_device)
			luup.variable_set("urn:nodecentral-net:serviceId:IPPower1", "PluginVersion", PV, lul_device)
			checkIPPowerSetUp(lul_device)
			log("Start up, Parent device created...")
			end

	</functions>

	<startup>IPPowerStartup</startup>

	<actionList>
		<action>
			<serviceId>urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1</serviceId>
			<name>SetTarget</name>
			<job>
				local url = "http://" .. ipAddress .. "/set.cmd?user=admin+pass=12345678+cmd=setpower+" .. luup.devices[lul_device].id .. "=" .. lul_settings.newTargetValue
				luup.log("Sending command " .. url)
				local status, data = luup.inet.wget(url)
				if (data) then
					debug("Received response " .. data)
				else
					log("Received empty response")
				end
				local value = string.match(data, luup.devices[lul_device].id.."=(%d)") 
				if (value) then 
					luup.variable_set("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1", "Status", value, lul_device)
				else
					log("Value is empty")
				end
			</job>
			</action>
		</actionList>
</implementation>

[toggledbits]

@parkerc LuaView is an odd case, because it requires no significant Lua implementation so I just left it all in the XML. SiteSensor and most others are better examples of my style. I prefer having as much of the implementation in a Lua module as possible, because I find XML horrid to use for wrapping code. But, that does require understanding of and attention to scope.

[a-lurker]

I avoid putting Lua code into the implementation file as absolutely much as possible because of the code wrapping fiasco it entails. I try to keep the majority of it in a single separate file. So:

This code is not required unless you are using serial streams of some description. Replace it with the code further below. It loads up the Lua code in the file.

  <settings>
        <protocol>raw</protocol>
  </settings>

with

<files>L_IPPowerPoller1.lua</files>

The leading 'L_' and the tailing '1' are convention and are probably defined in some standard somewhere.

[parkerc]

Thanks @a-lurker and @toggledbits

@a-lurker - looking back I might have got the Raw reference from your Broadlink plugin implementation file..

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<implementation>
    <specVersion>
        <major>1</major>
        <minor>0</minor>
    </specVersion>
    <files>L_BroadLink_Mk2_1.lua</files>

    <settings>
        <protocol>raw</protocol>
    </settings>

    <startup>luaStartUp</startup>

With this set up, i like the idea of calling a lua file, but quick question on the above where is the luastartUp function that’s being called ?

It also looks like I may have two route to load the module/lua file, either specifically using <files>L_IPPowerPoller1.lua</files> or within the defined initialise or startup function

function IPPowerstartup(dev)
    luup.log("IPPower Plugin START-UP!")
    IPPower = require("L_IPPower1")
end

Ok, found another Implementation example from Rene, which calls a lua module/file and i can see the start up function is in that file now..

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!-- 
	I_TeslaCar1.xml; Vera/openLuup "TeslaCar" Plug-in 
	Written by Rene Boer
	V1.15 13 August 2020
-->
<implementation>
	<settings>
		<protocol>crlf</protocol>
	</settings>
	<files>L_TeslaCar1.lua</files>  
	<startup>TeslaCarModule_Initialize</startup>
	<actionList>

[parkerc]

As this thread has moved beyond Error Handling, I’ve start a focussed new thread to show my journey with this plugin - > https://smarthome.community/topic/779/add-on-aviosys-ippower-9258

[parkerc]

Never thought I’d utter these words; but I’ve been a bit prolific of late building plugins !! (9 in the last month or so )

ok, so they may not be the most elegant in design, but they all seem to work, which is the main thing

Working on number 10, I’ve returned to the error handling topic, as I’m curious about the pros/cons of luup.set_failure() vs luup.device_message()

luup.set_failure seems so impersonal and rigid (creating multi-variables) compared the device_messages - what is the value of set_failure over say a ‘job error’ red device message ?

What are peoples thoughts ?