Re: xPLLib v3.0 Public Beta

[Tom Van den Panhuyzen <tomvdp@xxxxxxxxx>]

>
> For example, I have computers around the house that only have an xPL
desktop
> OSD app, and Winamp with it's xPL plug-in, so there are no xPL
services
> running on the machine.  In those cases, an xPL Hub service seems the
most
> reliable way to go.
>

Okay... interesting :-)
So, definitely:
- need for an independent hub
- no need to start a hub for every app that uses xpl lib.

Got that! :-)

> > I suggest the following amendment:
> > - give the developer the possibility to prohibit their app to be
hub
> > - advice developers to do so in case their app is not a service
>
> Can I suggest the opposite :-)
> I think xPLLib should not act as a hub unless the developer instructs
it to
> do so.
>
> Apps like xPLHal can then decide whether to use the xPLLib hub based
on the
> user's configuration (configurable via the xPLHal Manager).

But do you want it to be configurable by the end-user or by the developer ?


> The end result is a common hub implementation (through xpllib) for any
.NET
> app that wants to include the ability to act as a hub, and we can even
use
> the same xPLLib library within the stand-alone .NET hub service.

Yes, of course.  We should avoid to have 2 different implementations
for the same thing.


> The important thing (to me) is that the user retains control over
which app
> they want to act as their hub.
> I know that on my xPLHal computer, it is xPLHal that is acting as the
hub
> (because I made sure the box was ticked in the Manager that said
"Enable xPL
> hub").

Okay... but then let me add an option like "choose any service"
:-)
Let the computer help you to decide which service is best suited to be
hub.  E.g. on my pc I have a 4 xpl services.  Of those 4 "xpl
logger"
(something I wrote to log xpl msgs) is always the first to come up.
So it also acts as hub.  If I had chosen explicitly to use another
service to be hub, the whole xpl system might be unreliable for up to
half an hour (depending on heartbeat rates).

Making it configurable could follow this logic:
the xpl app starts
-> it knows its vendor+device id
-> check settings (call it "HubDevice": something in the
registry,
next to BroadcastAddress, etc)
-> if HubDevice = vendor+device OR HubDevice="any" then start
hub else no hub


> I do think that a stand-alone hub service written entirely in pure C++
(i.e.
> no need for .NET or any ActiveX DLLs) would be very useful as a
building
> block for an xPL installation, and should be more efficient than
anything
> that uses .NET or ActiveX.... are you offering Mal ;-)

Are there efficiency problems with the hub ?  Compared to the speed
with which x10 messages are sent/received it is lightning fast :-)

Regards,
Tom