Software / API Bindings / Visual Basic .NET / API Reference and Examples / Bricklets (Discontinued) / Ambient Light Bricklet

Visual Basic .NET - Ambient Light Bricklet¶

This is the description of the Visual Basic .NET API bindings for the Ambient Light Bricklet. General information and technical specifications for the Ambient Light Bricklet are summarized in its hardware description.

An installation guide for the Visual Basic .NET API bindings is part of their general description.

Examples¶

The example code below is Public Domain (CC0 1.0).

Simple¶

Download (ExampleSimple.vb)

Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleSimple
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Ambient Light Bricklet

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim al As New BrickletAmbientLight(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

        ipcon.Connect(HOST, PORT) ' Connect to brickd
        ' Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        ' Get current illuminance
        Dim illuminance As Integer = al.GetIlluminance()
        Console.WriteLine("Illuminance: " + (illuminance/10.0).ToString() + " lx")

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

Callback¶

Download (ExampleCallback.vb)

Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleCallback
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Ambient Light Bricklet

    ' Callback subroutine for illuminance callback
    Sub IlluminanceCB(ByVal sender As BrickletAmbientLight, _
                      ByVal illuminance As Integer)
        Console.WriteLine("Illuminance: " + (illuminance/10.0).ToString() + " lx")
    End Sub

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim al As New BrickletAmbientLight(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

        ipcon.Connect(HOST, PORT) ' Connect to brickd
        ' Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        ' Register illuminance callback to subroutine IlluminanceCB
        AddHandler al.IlluminanceCallback, AddressOf IlluminanceCB

        ' Set period for illuminance callback to 1s (1000ms)
        ' Note: The illuminance callback is only called every second
        '       if the illuminance has changed since the last call!
        al.SetIlluminanceCallbackPeriod(1000)

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

Threshold¶

Download (ExampleThreshold.vb)

Imports System
Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleThreshold
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "XYZ" ' Change XYZ to the UID of your Ambient Light Bricklet

    ' Callback subroutine for illuminance reached callback
    Sub IlluminanceReachedCB(ByVal sender As BrickletAmbientLight, _
                             ByVal illuminance As Integer)
        Console.WriteLine("Illuminance: " + (illuminance/10.0).ToString() + " lx")
        Console.WriteLine("Too bright, close the curtains!")
    End Sub

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim al As New BrickletAmbientLight(UID, ipcon) ' Create device object

        ipcon.Connect(HOST, PORT) ' Connect to brickd
        ' Don't use device before ipcon is connected

        ' Get threshold callbacks with a debounce time of 10 seconds (10000ms)
        al.SetDebouncePeriod(10000)

        ' Register illuminance reached callback to subroutine IlluminanceReachedCB
        AddHandler al.IlluminanceReachedCallback, AddressOf IlluminanceReachedCB

        ' Configure threshold for illuminance "greater than 200 lx"
        al.SetIlluminanceCallbackThreshold(">"C, 200*10, 0)

        Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
        ipcon.Disconnect()
    End Sub
End Module

API¶

Since Visual Basic .NET does not support multiple return values directly, we use the ByRef keyword to return multiple values from a function.

All functions and procedures listed below are thread-safe.

Basic Functions¶

Class BrickletAmbientLight(ByVal uid As String, ByVal ipcon As IPConnection)¶

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

Dim ambientLight As New BrickletAmbientLight("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon)

This object can then be used after the IP Connection is connected.

Function BrickletAmbientLight.GetIlluminance() As Integer¶

Returns:	illuminance – Type: Integer, Unit: 1/10 lx, Range: [0 to 9000]

Returns the illuminance of the ambient light sensor.

If you want to get the illuminance periodically, it is recommended to use the IlluminanceCallback callback and set the period with SetIlluminanceCallbackPeriod().

Advanced Functions¶

Function BrickletAmbientLight.GetAnalogValue() As Integer¶

Returns:	value – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹² - 1]

Returns the value as read by a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter.

Note

The value returned by GetIlluminance() is averaged over several samples to yield less noise, while GetAnalogValue() gives back raw unfiltered analog values. The only reason to use GetAnalogValue() is, if you need the full resolution of the analog-to-digital converter.

Also, the analog-to-digital converter covers three different ranges that are set dynamically depending on the light intensity. It is impossible to distinguish between these ranges with the analog value.

If you want the analog value periodically, it is recommended to use the AnalogValueCallback callback and set the period with SetAnalogValueCallbackPeriod().

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.GetIdentity(ByRef uid As String, ByRef connectedUid As String, ByRef position As Char, ByRef hardwareVersion() As Byte, ByRef firmwareVersion() As Byte, ByRef deviceIdentifier As Integer)¶

Output Parameters:

Output Parameters:	uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8 connectedUid – Type: String, Length: up to 8 position – Type: Char, Range: ["a"C to "h"C, "z"C] hardwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] firmwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] deviceIdentifier – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
connectedUid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
position – Type: Char, Range: ["a"C to "h"C, "z"C]
hardwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3

0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

firmwareVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3

0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]
2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

deviceIdentifier – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

Returns the UID, the UID where the Bricklet is connected to, the position, the hardware and firmware version as well as the device identifier.

The position can be 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g' or 'h' (Bricklet Port). A Bricklet connected to an Isolator Bricklet is always at position 'z'.

The device identifier numbers can be found here. There is also a constant for the device identifier of this Bricklet.

Callback Configuration Functions¶

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.SetIlluminanceCallbackPeriod(ByVal period As Long)¶

Parameters:	period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 0

Sets the period with which the IlluminanceCallback callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

The IlluminanceCallback callback is only triggered if the illuminance has changed since the last triggering.

Function BrickletAmbientLight.GetIlluminanceCallbackPeriod() As Long¶

Returns:	period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 0

Returns the period as set by SetIlluminanceCallbackPeriod().

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.SetAnalogValueCallbackPeriod(ByVal period As Long)¶

Parameters:	period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 0

Sets the period with which the AnalogValueCallback callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

The AnalogValueCallback callback is only triggered if the analog value has changed since the last triggering.

Function BrickletAmbientLight.GetAnalogValueCallbackPeriod() As Long¶

Returns:	period – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 0

Returns the period as set by SetAnalogValueCallbackPeriod().

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.SetIlluminanceCallbackThreshold(ByVal option As Char, ByVal min As Integer, ByVal max As Integer)¶

Parameters:	option – Type: Char, Range: See constants, Default: "x"C min – Type: Integer, Unit: 1/10 lx, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0 max – Type: Integer, Unit: 1/10 lx, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0

Sets the thresholds for the IlluminanceReachedCallback callback.

The following options are possible:

Option	Description
'x'	Callback is turned off
'o'	Callback is triggered when the illuminance is outside the min and max values
'i'	Callback is triggered when the illuminance is inside the min and max values
'<'	Callback is triggered when the illuminance is smaller than the min value (max is ignored)
'>'	Callback is triggered when the illuminance is greater than the min value (max is ignored)

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.GetIlluminanceCallbackThreshold(ByRef option As Char, ByRef min As Integer, ByRef max As Integer)¶

Output Parameters:	option – Type: Char, Range: See constants, Default: "x"C min – Type: Integer, Unit: 1/10 lx, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0 max – Type: Integer, Unit: 1/10 lx, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0

Returns the threshold as set by SetIlluminanceCallbackThreshold().

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.SetAnalogValueCallbackThreshold(ByVal option As Char, ByVal min As Integer, ByVal max As Integer)¶

Parameters:	option – Type: Char, Range: See constants, Default: "x"C min – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0 max – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0

Sets the thresholds for the AnalogValueReachedCallback callback.

The following options are possible:

Option	Description
'x'	Callback is turned off
'o'	Callback is triggered when the analog value is outside the min and max values
'i'	Callback is triggered when the analog value is inside the min and max values
'<'	Callback is triggered when the analog value is smaller than the min value (max is ignored)
'>'	Callback is triggered when the analog value is greater than the min value (max is ignored)

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.GetAnalogValueCallbackThreshold(ByRef option As Char, ByRef min As Integer, ByRef max As Integer)¶

Output Parameters:	option – Type: Char, Range: See constants, Default: "x"C min – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0 max – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0

Returns the threshold as set by SetAnalogValueCallbackThreshold().

The following constants are available for this function:

For option:

BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
BrickletAmbientLight.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.SetDebouncePeriod(ByVal debounce As Long)¶

Parameters:	debounce – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 100

Sets the period with which the threshold callbacks

IlluminanceReachedCallback,
AnalogValueReachedCallback

are triggered, if the thresholds

SetIlluminanceCallbackThreshold(),
SetAnalogValueCallbackThreshold()

keep being reached.

Function BrickletAmbientLight.GetDebouncePeriod() As Long¶

Returns:	debounce – Type: Long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 100

Returns the debounce period as set by SetDebouncePeriod().

Callbacks¶

Callbacks can be registered to receive time critical or recurring data from the device. The registration is done by assigning a procedure to an callback property of the device object:

Sub MyCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletAmbientLight, ByVal value As Short)
    Console.WriteLine("Value: {0}", value)
End Sub

AddHandler ambientLight.ExampleCallback, AddressOf MyCallback

The available callback property and their type of parameters are described below.

Note

Using callbacks for recurring events is always preferred compared to using getters. It will use less USB bandwidth and the latency will be a lot better, since there is no round trip time.

Event BrickletAmbientLight.IlluminanceCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletAmbientLight, ByVal illuminance As Integer)¶

Callback Parameters:	sender – Type: BrickletAmbientLight illuminance – Type: Integer, Unit: 1/10 lx, Range: [0 to 9000]

This callback is triggered periodically with the period that is set by SetIlluminanceCallbackPeriod(). The parameter is the illuminance of the ambient light sensor.

The IlluminanceCallback callback is only triggered if the illuminance has changed since the last triggering.

Event BrickletAmbientLight.AnalogValueCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletAmbientLight, ByVal value As Integer)¶

Callback Parameters:	sender – Type: BrickletAmbientLight value – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹² - 1]

This callback is triggered periodically with the period that is set by SetAnalogValueCallbackPeriod(). The parameter is the analog value of the ambient light sensor.

The AnalogValueCallback callback is only triggered if the analog value has changed since the last triggering.

Event BrickletAmbientLight.IlluminanceReachedCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletAmbientLight, ByVal illuminance As Integer)¶

Callback Parameters:	sender – Type: BrickletAmbientLight illuminance – Type: Integer, Unit: 1/10 lx, Range: [0 to 9000]

This callback is triggered when the threshold as set by SetIlluminanceCallbackThreshold() is reached. The parameter is the illuminance of the ambient light sensor.

If the threshold keeps being reached, the callback is triggered periodically with the period as set by SetDebouncePeriod().

Event BrickletAmbientLight.AnalogValueReachedCallback(ByVal sender As BrickletAmbientLight, ByVal value As Integer)¶

Callback Parameters:	sender – Type: BrickletAmbientLight value – Type: Integer, Range: [0 to 2¹² - 1]

This callback is triggered when the threshold as set by SetAnalogValueCallbackThreshold() is reached. The parameter is the analog value of the ambient light sensor.

If the threshold keeps being reached, the callback is triggered periodically with the period as set by SetDebouncePeriod().

Virtual Functions¶

Virtual functions don't communicate with the device itself, but operate only on the API bindings device object. They can be called without the corresponding IP Connection object being connected.

Function BrickletAmbientLight.GetAPIVersion() As Byte()¶

Output Parameters:	apiVersion – Type: Byte Array, Length: 3 0: major – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: Byte, Range: [0 to 255]

Returns the version of the API definition implemented by this API bindings. This is neither the release version of this API bindings nor does it tell you anything about the represented Brick or Bricklet.

Function BrickletAmbientLight.GetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte) As Boolean¶

Parameters:	functionId – Type: Byte, Range: See constants
Returns:	responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Returns the response expected flag for the function specified by the function ID parameter. It is true if the function is expected to send a response, false otherwise.

For getter functions this is enabled by default and cannot be disabled, because those functions will always send a response. For callback configuration functions it is enabled by default too, but can be disabled by SetResponseExpected(). For setter functions it is disabled by default and can be enabled.

Enabling the response expected flag for a setter function allows to detect timeouts and other error conditions calls of this setter as well. The device will then send a response for this purpose. If this flag is disabled for a setter function then no response is sent and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_ILLUMINANCE_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 3
BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_ANALOG_VALUE_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 5
BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_ILLUMINANCE_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 7
BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_ANALOG_VALUE_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 9
BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_DEBOUNCE_PERIOD = 11

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.SetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte, ByVal responseExpected As Boolean)¶

Parameters:	functionId – Type: Byte, Range: See constants responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Changes the response expected flag of the function specified by the function ID parameter. This flag can only be changed for setter (default value: false) and callback configuration functions (default value: true). For getter functions it is always enabled.

The following constants are available for this function:

For functionId:

BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_ILLUMINANCE_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 3
BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_ANALOG_VALUE_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 5
BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_ILLUMINANCE_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 7
BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_ANALOG_VALUE_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 9
BrickletAmbientLight.FUNCTION_SET_DEBOUNCE_PERIOD = 11

Sub BrickletAmbientLight.SetResponseExpectedAll(ByVal responseExpected As Boolean)¶

Parameters:	responseExpected – Type: Boolean

Changes the response expected flag for all setter and callback configuration functions of this device at once.

Constants¶

Const BrickletAmbientLight.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER¶

This constant is used to identify a Ambient Light Bricklet.

The GetIdentity() function and the IPConnection.EnumerateCallback callback of the IP Connection have a deviceIdentifier parameter to specify the Brick's or Bricklet's type.

Const BrickletAmbientLight.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME¶: This constant represents the human readable name of a Ambient Light Bricklet.