Software / API Bindings / C# / API Reference and Examples / Bricks / HAT Brick

C# - HAT Brick¶

This is the description of the C# API bindings for the HAT Brick. General information and technical specifications for the HAT Brick are summarized in its hardware description.

An installation guide for the C# API bindings is part of their general description.

Examples¶

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

Sleep¶

Download (ExampleSleep.cs)

using System;
using Tinkerforge;

class Example
{
    private static string HOST = "localhost";
    private static int PORT = 4223;
    private static string UID = "XXYYZZ"; // Change XXYYZZ to the UID of your HAT Brick

    static void Main()
    {
        IPConnection ipcon = new IPConnection(); // Create IP connection
        BrickHAT hat = new BrickHAT(UID, ipcon); // Create device object

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

        // Turn Raspberry Pi and Bricklets off in 2 seconds for 30 minutes with sleep indicator enabled
        hat.SetSleepMode(2, 1800, true, true, true);

        Console.WriteLine("Press enter to exit");
        Console.ReadLine();
        ipcon.Disconnect();
    }
}

Print Voltages¶

Download (ExamplePrintVoltages.cs)

using System;
using Tinkerforge;

class Example
{
    private static string HOST = "localhost";
    private static int PORT = 4223;
    private static string UID = "XXYYZZ"; // Change XXYYZZ to the UID of your HAT Brick

    static void Main()
    {
        IPConnection ipcon = new IPConnection(); // Create IP connection
        BrickHAT hat = new BrickHAT(UID, ipcon); // Create device object

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

        // Get current get voltages
        int voltageUSB, voltageDC;
        hat.GetVoltages(out voltageUSB, out voltageDC);

        Console.WriteLine("Voltage USB: " + voltageUSB/1000.0 + " V");
        Console.WriteLine("Voltage DC: " + voltageDC/1000.0 + " V");

        Console.WriteLine("Press enter to exit");
        Console.ReadLine();
        ipcon.Disconnect();
    }
}

API¶

Generally, every method of the C# bindings that returns a value can throw a Tinkerforge.TimeoutException. This exception gets thrown if the device did not respond. If a cable based connection is used, it is unlikely that this exception gets thrown (assuming nobody plugs the device out). However, if a wireless connection is used, timeouts will occur if the distance to the device gets too big.

Since C# does not support multiple return values directly, we use the out keyword to return multiple values from a method.

The namespace for all Brick/Bricklet bindings and the IPConnection is Tinkerforge.*.

All methods listed below are thread-safe.

Basic Functions¶

class BrickHAT(string uid, IPConnection ipcon)¶

Parameters:	uid – Type: string ipcon – Type: IPConnection
Returns:	hat – Type: BrickHAT

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

BrickHAT hat = new BrickHAT("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon);

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

void BrickHAT.SetSleepMode(long powerOffDelay, long powerOffDuration, bool raspberryPiOff, bool brickletsOff, bool enableSleepIndicator)¶

Parameters:	powerOffDelay – Type: long, Unit: 1 s, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] powerOffDuration – Type: long, Unit: 1 s, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] raspberryPiOff – Type: bool brickletsOff – Type: bool enableSleepIndicator – Type: bool

Sets the sleep mode.

Note

Calling this function will cut the Raspberry Pi's power after Power Off Delay seconds. You have to shut down the operating system yourself, e.g. by calling 'sudo shutdown -h now'.

Parameters:

Power Off Delay: Time before the RPi/Bricklets are powered off.
Power Off Duration: Duration that the RPi/Bricklets stay powered off.
Raspberry Pi Off: RPi is powered off if set to true.
Bricklets Off: Bricklets are powered off if set to true.
Enable Sleep Indicator: If set to true, the status LED will blink in a 1s interval during the whole power off duration. This will draw additional 0.3mA.

Example: To turn RPi and Bricklets off in 5 seconds for 10 minutes with sleep indicator enabled, call (5, 60*10, true, true, true).

This function can also be used to implement a watchdog. To do this you can write a program that calls this function once per second in a loop with (10, 2, true, false, false). If the RPi crashes or gets stuck the HAT will reset the RPi after 10 seconds.

void BrickHAT.GetSleepMode(out long powerOffDelay, out long powerOffDuration, out bool raspberryPiOff, out bool brickletsOff, out bool enableSleepIndicator)¶

Output Parameters:	powerOffDelay – Type: long, Unit: 1 s, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] powerOffDuration – Type: long, Unit: 1 s, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] raspberryPiOff – Type: bool brickletsOff – Type: bool enableSleepIndicator – Type: bool

Returns the sleep mode settings as set by SetSleepMode().

void BrickHAT.SetBrickletPower(bool brickletPower)¶

Parameters:	brickletPower – Type: bool, Default: true

Set to true/false to turn the power supply of the connected Bricklets on/off.

bool BrickHAT.GetBrickletPower()¶

Returns:	brickletPower – Type: bool, Default: true

Returns the power status of the connected Bricklets as set by SetBrickletPower().

void BrickHAT.GetVoltages(out int voltageUSB, out int voltageDC)¶

Output Parameters:	voltageUSB – Type: int, Unit: 1 mV, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1] voltageDC – Type: int, Unit: 1 mV, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

Returns the USB supply voltage and the DC input supply voltage.

There are three possible combinations:

Only USB connected: The USB supply voltage will be fed back to the DC input connector. You will read the USB voltage and a slightly lower voltage on the DC input.
Only DC input connected: The DC voltage will not be fed back to the USB connector. You will read the DC input voltage and the USB voltage will be 0.
USB and DC input connected: You will read both voltages. In this case the USB supply will be without load, but it will work as backup if you disconnect the DC input (or if the DC input voltage falls below the USB voltage).

Advanced Functions¶

void BrickHAT.SetRTCDriver(byte rtcDriver)¶

Parameters:	rtcDriver – Type: byte, Range: See constants

Configures the RTC driver that is given to the Raspberry Pi to be used. Currently there are two different RTCs used:

Hardware version <= 1.5: PCF8523
Hardware version 1.6: DS1338

The correct driver will be set during factory flashing by Tinkerforge.

The following constants are available for this function:

For rtcDriver:

BrickHAT.RTC_DRIVER_PCF8523 = 0
BrickHAT.RTC_DRIVER_DS1338 = 1

New in version 2.0.3 (Firmware).

byte BrickHAT.GetRTCDriver()¶

Returns:	rtcDriver – Type: byte, Range: See constants

Returns the RTC driver as set by SetRTCDriver().

The following constants are available for this function:

For rtcDriver:

BrickHAT.RTC_DRIVER_PCF8523 = 0
BrickHAT.RTC_DRIVER_DS1338 = 1

New in version 2.0.3 (Firmware).

void BrickHAT.GetSPITFPErrorCount(out long errorCountAckChecksum, out long errorCountMessageChecksum, out long errorCountFrame, out long errorCountOverflow)¶

Output Parameters:	errorCountAckChecksum – Type: long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] errorCountMessageChecksum – Type: long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] errorCountFrame – Type: long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] errorCountOverflow – Type: long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Returns the error count for the communication between Brick and Bricklet.

The errors are divided into

ACK checksum errors,
message checksum errors,
framing errors and
overflow errors.

The errors counts are for errors that occur on the Bricklet side. All Bricks have a similar function that returns the errors on the Brick side.

void BrickHAT.SetStatusLEDConfig(byte config)¶

Parameters:	config – Type: byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Sets the status LED configuration. By default the LED shows communication traffic between Brick and Bricklet, it flickers once for every 10 received data packets.

You can also turn the LED permanently on/off or show a heartbeat.

If the Bricklet is in bootloader mode, the LED is will show heartbeat by default.

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

BrickHAT.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickHAT.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickHAT.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickHAT.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3

byte BrickHAT.GetStatusLEDConfig()¶

Returns:	config – Type: byte, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Returns the configuration as set by SetStatusLEDConfig()

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

BrickHAT.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickHAT.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickHAT.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickHAT.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3

short BrickHAT.GetChipTemperature()¶

Returns:	temperature – Type: short, Unit: 1 °C, Range: [-2¹⁵ to 2¹⁵ - 1]

Returns the temperature as measured inside the microcontroller. The value returned is not the ambient temperature!

The temperature is only proportional to the real temperature and it has bad accuracy. Practically it is only useful as an indicator for temperature changes.

void BrickHAT.Reset()¶

Calling this function will reset the Bricklet. All configurations will be lost.

After a reset you have to create new device objects, calling functions on the existing ones will result in undefined behavior!

void BrickHAT.GetIdentity(out string uid, out string connectedUid, out char position, out byte[] hardwareVersion, out byte[] firmwareVersion, out int deviceIdentifier)¶

Output Parameters:

Output Parameters:	uid – Type: string, Length: up to 8 connectedUid – Type: string, Length: up to 8 position – Type: char, Range: ['i'] hardwareVersion – Type: byte[], 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[], 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: int, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

uid – Type: string, Length: up to 8
connectedUid – Type: string, Length: up to 8
position – Type: char, Range: ['i']
hardwareVersion – Type: byte[], 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[], 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: int, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

Returns the UID, the UID where the HAT is connected to (typically '0' as the HAT is the root device in the topology), the position, the hardware and firmware version as well as the device identifier.

The HAT (Zero) Brick is always at position 'i'.

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

Callback Configuration Functions¶

void BrickHAT.SetVoltagesCallbackConfiguration(long period, bool valueHasToChange)¶

Parameters:	period – Type: long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 0 valueHasToChange – Type: bool, Default: false

The period is the period with which the VoltagesCallback callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

If the value has to change-parameter is set to true, the callback is only triggered after the value has changed. If the value didn't change within the period, the callback is triggered immediately on change.

If it is set to false, the callback is continuously triggered with the period, independent of the value.

New in version 2.0.1 (Firmware).

void BrickHAT.GetVoltagesCallbackConfiguration(out long period, out bool valueHasToChange)¶

Output Parameters:	period – Type: long, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1], Default: 0 valueHasToChange – Type: bool, Default: false

Returns the callback configuration as set by SetVoltagesCallbackConfiguration().

New in version 2.0.1 (Firmware).

Callbacks¶

Callbacks can be registered to receive time critical or recurring data from the device. The registration is done by appending your callback handler to the corresponding event:

void MyCallback(BrickHAT sender, int value)
{
    System.Console.WriteLine("Value: " + value);
}

hat.ExampleCallback += MyCallback;

The available events 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 BrickHAT.VoltagesCallback(BrickHAT sender, int voltageUSB, int voltageDC)¶

Callback Parameters:	sender – Type: BrickHAT voltageUSB – Type: int, Unit: 1 mV, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1] voltageDC – Type: int, Unit: 1 mV, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

This callback is triggered periodically according to the configuration set by SetVoltagesCallbackConfiguration().

The parameters are the same as GetVoltages().

New in version 2.0.1 (Firmware).

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.

byte[] BrickHAT.GetAPIVersion()¶

Output Parameters:	apiVersion – Type: byte[], 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.

bool BrickHAT.GetResponseExpected(byte functionId)¶

Parameters:	functionId – Type: byte, Range: See constants
Returns:	responseExpected – Type: bool

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:

BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_SLEEP_MODE = 1
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_BRICKLET_POWER = 3
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_VOLTAGES_CALLBACK_CONFIGURATION = 6
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_RTC_DRIVER = 9
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248

void BrickHAT.SetResponseExpected(byte functionId, bool responseExpected)¶

Parameters:	functionId – Type: byte, Range: See constants responseExpected – Type: bool

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:

BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_SLEEP_MODE = 1
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_BRICKLET_POWER = 3
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_VOLTAGES_CALLBACK_CONFIGURATION = 6
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_RTC_DRIVER = 9
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
BrickHAT.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248

void BrickHAT.SetResponseExpectedAll(bool responseExpected)¶

Parameters:	responseExpected – Type: bool

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

Internal Functions¶

Internal functions are used for maintenance tasks such as flashing a new firmware of changing the UID of a Bricklet. These task should be performed using Brick Viewer instead of using the internal functions directly.

byte BrickHAT.SetBootloaderMode(byte mode)¶

Parameters:	mode – Type: byte, Range: See constants
Returns:	status – Type: byte, Range: See constants

Sets the bootloader mode and returns the status after the requested mode change was instigated.

You can change from bootloader mode to firmware mode and vice versa. A change from bootloader mode to firmware mode will only take place if the entry function, device identifier and CRC are present and correct.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

The following constants are available for this function:

For mode:

BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4

For status:

BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_OK = 0
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_INVALID_MODE = 1
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_NO_CHANGE = 2
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_ENTRY_FUNCTION_NOT_PRESENT = 3
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_DEVICE_IDENTIFIER_INCORRECT = 4
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_CRC_MISMATCH = 5

byte BrickHAT.GetBootloaderMode()¶

Returns:	mode – Type: byte, Range: See constants

Returns the current bootloader mode, see SetBootloaderMode().

The following constants are available for this function:

For mode:

BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
BrickHAT.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4

void BrickHAT.SetWriteFirmwarePointer(long pointer)¶

Parameters:	pointer – Type: long, Unit: 1 B, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Sets the firmware pointer for WriteFirmware(). The pointer has to be increased by chunks of size 64. The data is written to flash every 4 chunks (which equals to one page of size 256).

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

byte BrickHAT.WriteFirmware(byte[] data)¶

Parameters:	data – Type: byte[], Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255]
Returns:	status – Type: byte, Range: [0 to 255]

Writes 64 Bytes of firmware at the position as written by SetWriteFirmwarePointer() before. The firmware is written to flash every 4 chunks.

You can only write firmware in bootloader mode.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

void BrickHAT.WriteUID(long uid)¶

Parameters:	uid – Type: long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Writes a new UID into flash. If you want to set a new UID you have to decode the Base58 encoded UID string into an integer first.

We recommend that you use Brick Viewer to change the UID.

long BrickHAT.ReadUID()¶

Returns:	uid – Type: long, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Returns the current UID as an integer. Encode as Base58 to get the usual string version.

Constants¶

int BrickHAT.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER¶

This constant is used to identify a HAT Brick.

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.

string BrickHAT.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME¶: This constant represents the human readable name of a HAT Brick.