Re: xAP over ethernet - here's how to write an input plugin.

["PatrickLidstone" <patrickl@xxxxxxx>]

Success!
I have a xAP compliant(*) message broadcast from a trivial VB app on 
desktop PC, routed through a hub to a rabbit with VFD. The VFD 
displays the message.

(*)I suggest a couple of minor tweaks to the current incarnation of 
the protocol

1) Use tags for the header items as well, to allow for future 
extensions
2) Use "equals" instead of 0x0a as the name-value separator for
ascii 
values because it's a hell of a lot easier to read when debugging.
3) Prefix "policy" headers with the letters xAP
4) No keyname is case sensitive
5) Use "!" as separator for name-values where value is binary.
Subsequent two bytes (HHLL) determine remaining packet length prior 
to next key-value pair


ie.
- Get the content your want to transmit :-)

- Build the message as follows:

- Datasource
- ASCII 10
- Instance (should be user-configurable in the plugin setup)
- ASCII 10
- Keyname (plugin-specific)
- ASCII 10
- Keyvalue (plugin-specific)
- ASCII 10
(you can then repeat Key/Value pairs, but they MUST be paired)

The keyname "NetworkID" is reserved

- Open a TCP session

- Open a socket to 255.255.255.255 on port 1739

- Send the message on it


---- BECOMES -----


- Get the content your want to transmit :-)

- Build the message as follows:

xAP-source=<Datasource value><0x0A>
xAP-instance=<Instance value><0x0A>
Keyname=<Keyvalue> <Ox0A>
Keyname=<Keyvalue> <0x0A>
(you can then repeat Key/Value pairs, but they MUST be paired)

e.g.
xAP-source=Outlook<0x0A>
xAP-instance=Mark<0x0a>
unread=19<0x0a>
last subject=101 useful things to do with string<0x0a>

- Open a TCP session

- Open a socket to <broadcast address> (which almost certainly won't
be 255.255.255.255 in VB!) on port <port>

- Send the message on it

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