RE: ! Pling data type - Are you 'to spec' ???

["Edward Pearson" <edward.mailgroup@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I understand that the spec allows schema designers to choose binary format
for appropriate fields but you seem to be suggesting ("in BSC is it
allowable, indeed
you must be able, to send State!4F4646 as well as State=OFF") that
there is
equivalence between the formats and that all applications should expect any
field to be in either format and to be able to deal with both formats
dynamically. That's way off my interpretation of the spec, will break
everything and is very hard to implement in things like Perl that work
mostly on pattern matching. Please clarify!

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From: xAP_developer@xxxxxxx [mailto:xAP_developer@xxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Kevin Hawkins
Sent: 21 April 2005 15:37
To: xAP_developer@xxxxxxx
Subject: [xAP_developer] ! Pling data type - Are you 'to spec' ???


The xAP spec prohibits codes outside normal ASCII printable characters
being used as parameter values and offers the use of the pling (!)
instead to handle the full range of 8 bit values

value=A
value!41

being equivalent.     Now I know very little has been implemented using
pling but all is about to change with the release of xAP Netiom (early
May) which necessarily has to use pling to handle transparent
send/receive data over its serial port.  Phaedrus are also using the xAP
HomeSeer plugin to achieve plug and play via BSC.  Now I know Stuart has
made the necessary changes in xFX and James has been a beta tester for
the xAP Netiom so I'm hoping we've covered the main angles here.

BTW In Netiom currently you can configure it to use either and if using
= it will strip any data from the data stream that is outside the
permissable range.

So just a 'heads up' to everyone else really to ensure that your code
does conform to the xAP spec and handle ! correctly.  ( Not sue if mine
does or doesn't - will have to play - does the OCX handle it
transparently Patrick ? )

One interesting thing  in the above examples.... should a script engine
handle the values as the same and would it be permissable for example to
resend something received as =A  as !41 transparently or should a value
stay within the expected =/!  encoding.  What I'm really asking  is
should a xAP compliant listener transparently handle either coding on
any parameter.     Leading on from that in BSC is it allowable (indeed
you must be able) to send

State!4F4646  as well as State=OFF

if so I've a lot of work to do :-(

Kevin (hoping its permissable that the schema defines the type as ASCII
only - not binary)





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