Controller binding configuration

By default the controller searches for a config filename with the same ‘middlename’ as the daemon process. As an example if your process name is afb-daemon then middle name is ‘daemon’. In addition, if your process name is afb-daemon-audio the middle name is also ‘daemon’. Moreover the prefix is chosen when you call the CtlConfigSearch function, see below:

CtlConfigSearch(AFB_ApiT apiHandle, const char *dirList, const char *prefix)

# Middlename is taken from process middlename.
(prefix-)middlename*.json

You may overload the config search path with environment variables

  • CONTROL_CONFIG_PATH: change default search path for configuration. You may provide multiple directories separated by ‘:’.
  • CONTROL_LUA_PATH: same as CONTROL_CONFIG_PATH but for Lua script files.

Example: to load a config named ‘(prefix-)myconfig-test.json’ do

afb-daemon --name myconfig --verbose ...'

The configuration is loaded dynamically during startup time. The controller scans CONTROL_CONFIG_PATH for a file corresponding to the pattern “(prefix-)bindermiddlename*.json”. The first file found in the path is loaded, any other file corresponding to the same path is ignored and only generates a warning.

Each block in the configuration file is defined with

  • uid: mandatory, it is used either for debugging or as input for the action (eg: signal name, control name, …)
  • info: optional, it is used for documentation purpose only

Note: by default the controller config search path is defined at compilation time, but the path might be overloaded with the CONTROL_CONFIG_PATH environment variable.

Config is organized in sections

  • metadata: describes the configuration
  • plugins or resources: defines the set of functions provided by the plugins allowing to load additional resources (compiled C or lua)
  • onload: a collection of actions meant to be executed at startup time
  • control: sets the controls with a collection of actions, in dynamic api it could also specify the verbs of the api
  • event: a collection of actions meant to be executed when receiving a given signal
  • personal sections: personal section

Callbacks to parse sections are documented in Declare your controller config section in your binding section. You can use the callback defined in controller or define your own callback.

Metadata

As today metadata is only used for documentation purpose.

  • uid: mandatory
  • version: mandatory
  • api: mandatory
  • info: optional
  • require: optional
  • author: optional
  • date: optional

OnLoad section

Onload section defines startup time configuration. Onload may provide multiple initialization profiles, each with a different uid.

You can define the following keys or arrays of the following keys:

  • uid: mandatory.
  • info: optional
  • action: mandatory
  • args: optional

Control section

Control section defines a list of controls that are accessible.

You can define the following keys or arrays of the following keys, moreover this section could be verb api:

  • uid: mandatory
  • info: optional
  • action: the list of actions is mandatory

Event section

Event section defines a list of actions to be executed on event reception. Event can do anything a controller can (change state, send back signal, …) eg: if a controller subscribes to vehicle speed, then speed-event may adjust master-volume to speed.

You can define the following keys or arrays of the following keys, moreover you can define an event from an another API with the following syntax “API/event”.

  • uid: mandatory
  • info: optional
  • action: the list of actions is mandatory

Plugin section

Plugin section defines plugins used with this controller. A plugin is a C/C++ program meant to execute some tasks after an event or on demand. This easily extends intrinsic binding logic for ad-hoc needs.

You can define the following keys or arrays of the following keys:

  • uid: mandatory
  • info: optional
  • spath: optional, semicolon separated paths where to find the plugin. This could be a compiled shared library or LUA scripts. Could be specified using CONTROL_PLUGIN_PATH environment variable also.
  • libs: mandatory, Plugin file or LUA scripts to load
  • lua: optional, C functions that could be called from a LUA script

Personal sections

  • uid: mandatory
  • info: optional
  • action: mandatory
  • any keys wanted: optional

You can define your own sections and add your own callbacks into the CtlSectionT structure, see Declare your controller config section in your binding section.

Actions Categories

Controller supports three categories of actions. Each action returns a status where 0=success and 1=failure.

  • AppFw API provides a generic model to request other bindings. Requested bindings can be local (eg: ALSA/UCM) or external (eg: vehicle signaling).
    • "action": "api://API_NAME#verb_name"
  • C-API, when defined in the onload section, the plugin may provide C native API with CTLP-CAPI(apiname, uid, args, query, context). Plugin may also create Lua command with CTLP-LUA2C(LuaFuncName, uid, args, query, context). Where args+query are JSON-C object and context is the returned value from CTLP_ONLOAD function. Any missing value is set to NULL.
    • "action": "plugin://plugin_name#function_name"
  • Lua-API, when compiled with Lua option, the controller supports action defined directly in Lua script. During “onload” phase, the controller searches in CONTROL_LUA_PATH file with pattern “(prefix-)bindermiddlename*.lua”. Any file corresponding to this pattern is automatically loaded. Any function defined in those Lua scripts can be called through a controller action. Lua functions receive three parameters (uid, args, query).
    • "action": "lua://plugin_name#function_name"

You also can add the privileges property that handles AGL permission needed to be able to call this action.

Note: Lua added functions are systematically prefixed. AGL standard AppFw functions are prefixed with AGL: (eg: AFB:notice(), AFB:success(), …). User Lua functions added through the plugin and CTLP_LUA2C are prefixed with the plugin uid or the one you defined in your config (eg: MyPlug:HelloWorld1).

Available Application Framework Commands

Each Lua AppFw commands should be prefixed by AFB:

  • AFB:notice ("format", arg1,... argn) directly printed LUA tables as json string with ‘%s’. AFB:error, AFB:warning, AFB:info, AFB:debug work on the same model. Printed messages are limited to 512 characters.

  • AFB:service ('API', 'VERB', {query}, "Lua_Callback_Name", {context}) is an asynchronous call to another binding. When empty, query/context should be set to ‘{}’ and not to ‘nil’. When ‘nil’, Lua does not send ‘NULL’ value but removes arguments to calling stack. WARNING:”Callback” is the name of the callback as a string and not a pointer to the callback. (If someone as a solution to fix this, please let me known). Callback is call as LUA “function Alsa_Get_Hal_CB (error, result, context)” where:
    • error is a Boolean
    • result is the full answer from AppFw (do not forget to extract the response)
    • context is a copy of the Lua table pass as an argument (warning it’s a copy not a pointer to original table)

  • error,result=AFB:servsync('API', 'VERB', {query}) is saved as previous but for synchronous call. Note that Lua accepts multiple returns. AFB:servsync returns both the error message and the response as a Lua table. Like for AFB:service, the user should not forget to extract response from result.

  • AFB:success(request, response) is the success request. request is the opaque handle passes when Lua is called from (api=”control”, verb=”docall”). Response is a Lua table that will be returned to the client.

  • AFB:fail(request, response) is the same as for success. Note that LUA generates automatically the error code from Lua function name. The response is transformed into a json string before being returned to the client.

  • EventHandle=AFB:evtmake("MyEventName") creates an event and returns the handle as an opaque handle. Note that due to a limitation of json_object, this opaque handle cannot be passed as an argument in a callback context.

  • AFB:subscribe(request, MyEventHandle) subscribes a given client to a previously created event.

  • AFB:evtpush (MyEventHandle, MyEventData) pushes an event to every subscribed client. MyEventData is a Lua table that will be sent as a json object to the corresponding clients.

  • timerHandle=AFB:timerset (MyTimer, "Timer_Test_CB", context) initialises a timer from MyTimer Lua table. This table should contains 3 elements: MyTimer={[l”abel”]=”MyTimerName”, [“delay”]=timeoutInMs, [“count”]=nBOfCycles}. Note that if count==0 then timer is cycled infinitely. Context is a standard Lua table. This function returns an opaque handle to be used to further control the timer.

  • AFB:timerclear(timerHandle) kills an existing timer. Returns an error when timer does not exit.

  • MyTimer=AFB:timerget(timerHandle) returns uid, delay and count of an active timer. Returns an error when timerHandle does not point on an active timer.

  • AFB:GetEventLoop() retrieves the common systemd’s event loop of AFB.

  • AFB:RootDirGetFD() gets the root directory file descriptor. This file descriptor can be used with functions ‘openat’, ‘fstatat’, …

Note: Except for functions call during binding initialisation period. Lua calls are protected and should returned clean messages even when they are improperly used. If you find bug please report.

Adding Lua command from User Plugin

User Plugin is optional and may provide either native C-action accessible directly from controller actions as defined in JSON config file, or alternatively may provide a set of Lua commands usable inside any script (onload, control,event). A simple plugin that provides both notice C API and Lua commands is provided as example (see ctl-plugin-sample.c). Technically a plugin is a simple sharelibrary and any code fitting in sharelib might be used as a plugin. Developer should nevertheless not forget that except when no-concurrency flag was at binding construction time, any binding should to be thread safe.

A plugin must be declared with CTLP_REGISTER("MyCtlSamplePlugin"). This entry point defines a special structure that is checked at plugin load time by the controller. Then you have an optional init routine declare with CTLP_ONLOAD(plugin, handle). The init routine may create a plugin context that is later presented to every plugin API, this for both LUA and native C ones. Then each:

  • C API declare with CTLP_CAPI(MyCFunction, source, argsJ, queryJ) {your code}. Where:
    • MyFunction is your function
    • source is the structure config
    • argsJ a json_object containing the argument attaches to this control in JSON config file
    • queryJ a json_object
  • Lua API declare with CTLP_LUA2C(MyLuaCFunction, source, argsJ, responseJ) {your code}. Where
    • MyLuaCFunction is both the name of your C function and Lua command
    • source is the structure config
    • argsJ the arguments passed this time from Lua script and not from Json config file.
    • responseJ if success the argument is passed into the request.

Warning: Lua samples use with controller enforce strict mode. As a result every variable should be declared either as local or as global. Unfortunately “luac” is not smart enough to handle strict mode at build time and errors only appear at run time. Because of this strict mode every global variables (which include functions) should be prefixed by ‘_’. Note that LUA requires an initialisation value for every variables and declaring something like “local myvar” will not allocate “myvar”.

Debugging Facilities

Controller Lua scripts are checked for syntax from CMAKE template with Luac. When needed to go further, a developer API should be allowed to execute directly Lua commands within the controller context from Rest/Ws (api=control, verb=lua_doscript). DoScript API takes two other optional arguments func=xxxx where xxxx is the function to execute within Lua script and args, a JSON object to provide input parameters. When funcname is not given by default, the controller tries to execute middle filename doscript-xxxx-????.lua.

When executed from the controller, Lua script may use any AppFw Apis as well as any L2C user defines commands in plugin.

Running as Standalone Controller

The controller is a standard binding. It can be started with the following command:

afb-daemon --name=yourname --port=1234 --workdir=. --roothttp=./htdocs --tracereq=common --token= --verbose --binding=pathtoyourbinding.so --monitoring

Afb-Daemon only loads controller bindings without searching for the other binding. In this case, the controller binding will search for a configuration file name ‘(prefix-)bindermiddlename*.json’. This model can be used to implement for testing purpose or simply to act as the glue between a UI and other binder/services.