RE: Re: Changes to Protocol Docs - a Summary

["John B" <home-automation@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> There's a need here for the version information to be in the
> xml file -
>
> Developers will create new functionality in existing apps. If
> the xml files describes the triggers and commands available
> for each version of the app, it eases the process.

I like the idea of the XML file storing the latest version number, but
I'm not so sure on whether the XML file should contain information for
each version of the app.

It's great for apps like xPLHal to be able to say:
"You are using v1.2 of this app, and v1.3 is now available" and
then
take you to that app's web site, but when you start needing to support
multiple concurrent versions of the app, things get tricky.

Personally I would rather go with an extension as follows:

<device id="johnb-cm12"
version="1.4.3748.31248"
url="http://www.xpl.myby.co.uk/info/xplcm12/";>
...
</device>

That way the XML file only needs to contain the most recent information
about the device, and apps like xPLHal don't have to figure out which
version of a device they're talking to when referencing the XML file.

At the end of the day, we want users to update to the latest version of
whatever apps they're using, and supporting older versions in the XML
file just gives them another reason not to upgrade.

Regards,

John