Re: xPL announcement/description protocol -- was xPLDiag

["Mal Lansell" <mal@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The diagnosis program has the same concern - at least it does in my
plan which involves displaying information about the complete
network of devices.

BTW, the maximum heartbeat interval should be 9 minutes, not 30, but
that's doesn't make any difference to the basic point.

It's all very well trying to stick to the simple old ways, but if
it's holding back making the system more user friendly, then we're
just shooting ourselves in the foot by not biting the bullet and
improving the way these things work.

Glossy front ends and simple diagnostic tools are what you need to
attract a larger less code-headed user base.

Mal



--- In ukha_xpl@xxxxxxx, Gerry Duprey <gerry@c...> wrote:
> Howdy,
>
> > Firstly an app doesn't (shouldn't) take up to 5 minutes to start
working
> > without a hub. An app is supposed to bind it's hub port
regardless and start
> > using it immediately, even if there's no hub
>
> Hmm, perhaps I need to restate my case.
>
> If I'm writing an xPL front end that can control an arbitrary
network of xPL
> devices, that front end will not be able to offer those devices
for control
> until it has heard from them.  In most cases, when the xPL network
has been
> up and running for a while, the first time this front end will
hear from
> them will be their first heartbeat -- that could be from 1 minute
to 30
> minutes after the front end program starts up.
>
> So, in short, things like a front end will "start up"
immediately,
but they
> may not be of full use until they've discovered/heard from all the
devices
> on the network and without some way for the front end program to
ask all
> devices to identify themselves, that discovery period can be a
long one.
>
> There may be other programs that work similarly, but a front end,
I hope,
> crystallizes my concern about device discovery.
>
> Gerry
> --
> Gerry Duprey
> Ann Arbor, MI 48103
> http://www.cdp1802.org