Re: Multiple Message Bodies

[Gerry Duprey <gerry@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy,

>>Can xPL messages have multiple bodies in them? I couldn't find
>>anything in the docs that states one way or another.

That is one of the big differences between xPL and xAP (xAP does allow
them).  I'm surprised if it's not in the docs, but if it isn't, yeah, it
should be there (of course, the part that lays out with a message looks
like
really doesn't have anything suggesting multiple-bodies are even possible,
so while implicit, it's not obscurely so).

>   x10.basic
>   {
>   command=on
>   device=b2
>   command=off
>   }
>
> I suspect some implementations might treat this as 'command=off' even
> though 'command=on' field is in the correct position.

They are currently and really must be possible, though not all situations
would need/want it.  Currently, this info (repeats or not) is not captured
in the schema (right now, schema documents are somewhat loosely defined
without a super-strict consistency of what should or should not be in
them).
As we work toward a machine-readable schema, it will be able to be clearly
specified.

There is already a good model for this in the xPL device configuration
stuff.  When a configurable is defined, you can include a maximum number of
"instances" of config values with the same name.  So if you had

reconf=password

in the configurable list, it explicitly states there can be only one
instance of a password (and the reconf indicates that the single instance
is
mandatory).  On the other hand

option=serialpport[16]

clearly states you have have upto 16 instances/repeats of the serialport
configurable (presumably with different values) and the option= means you
can have 0-16 (a reconf=serialport[16] would mean you can have 1-16 as the
reconf sets the item as required).

Gerry
--
Gerry Duprey
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
http://www.cdp1802.org