JP1 Remotes

3FG · Expert Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 3367

Hi barf,
I guess I was way too terse. I like the IrpMaster program, and as I said, I use it. Also, I think there are some real possiblities to make use of the parser in additional applications. Furthermore, I agree that some extensions to the existing IRP specification would be useful, and I suppose the least controversial of these would be permitting multi-letter mixed-case variable names.

I was instead responding to why I included IRP files for the protocols recently added to DecodeIR. Put simply it's because MakeHex and the accomanying GUI is much easier to use, IMO, than IrpMaster in a command line version. The primary users of MakeHex, and potential users of IrpMaster hang out at RemoteCentral. I can't in good faith implicitly recommend that they switch to a CLI-based solution which has "complicated command lines". And I'm certainly not going to suggest that they load cygwin! (FWIW, I'm used to DOS/OS2/Windows CLIs, and cygwin--which I have, and am obliged to use for MinGW-- is not "much better" for me. I'm accustomed to something else.)

Regarding my "bold statement", it isn't bold at all. I'm not sure what "hierarchical repetitions" are, but perhaps this refers to the Variations described in Section 12 of the IRP spec. I've tried to make new additions to DecodeIR.html be in correct and complete IRP form, and I attempted to use IrpMaster as a check for a legal expression. Consider Zaptor, as described in DecodeIR.html 2.43:

Barf · Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:39 pm Post subject:

Hi Graham,

Barf · Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:44 pm Post subject:

Hi Vicky,

Barf · Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 3:25 pm Post subject:

Hi 3FG,

mathdon · Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:13 pm Post subject:

3FG · Expert Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 3367

Barf,
Yes, I wrote the IRP incorrectly. The reason I didn't submit a bug report is that I didn't think it was a bug. Variations are not mentioned in the documentation (not that it needs to be), and I didn't pick up your intent to implement all of IRP minus the hierarchical repetitions. The document describes hierarchical reps in the context of button down, button held, and button released, which is the situation the variations in my faulty IRP are trying to express. So I believed that hierarchical reps (which aren't mentioned in the IRP spec) referred to variations, and thus believed that variations weren't implemented.

However, my error illustrates the point I have been trying to make: the combination of writing IRP notation for input into IrpMaster is too difficult for me. I believe that it will be too difficult for many others.

I'll continute to use IrpMaster, because it has real value for me.

vickyg2003 · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 10:50 am Post subject:

Barf · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 1:44 pm Post subject:

vickyg2003 · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:47 pm Post subject:

Barf · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:00 pm Post subject:

I just uploaded a new version. Only user visible feature is that Graham Dixon's automatic protocol analyzer, originally a part of his ExchangeIR library, (see this) and included in the latest versions of IrScope, is supported through use of the --analyze flag, just as the --decodeir flag. There are some more API-functions that I needed myself, in particular for IrMaster (Yes, the name of that program differs from the present one by only one letter! Wink

)

I have changed the location of the sources, from tools/programs to misc/Program sources since I suspect that is Rob's intention. Souce download.

Keep IrpMaster-ing and IRP mastering! Wink

bevhoward · Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 248

I am very interested in this tool.

In the simplest form, I would like the ability to have a simple html file running on a "personal web server" computer close enough to the media equipment so that when a link in the html file was clicked, that link would call something such as your tool to issue a specific command from the computer's ir dongle.

On the server, the link should be able to call the api along with an argument to generate a specific ir command.

With this capability any device with a simple web browser connected to the personal server would be able to issue ir commands needing no local software to do so.

fwiw, I have thirty years experience with FoxPro and it would be (relatively) simple for me to write a windows application that would generate html files containing small screen layouts with command links drawing from IR commands stored in local files. It would also be possible to allow the users to choose their specific devices and generate html pages tailored for their devices.

More importantly, once the templates are generated, anyone with basic html editing capabilities could further customize the html pages to meet their own needs.

Please contact me if this approach is at all interesting to you.

Beverly Howard
Bev@BevHoward.com

Barf · Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 4:12 pm Post subject:

Hi Bev,

there are some approaches to controlling IR-equipment through a web browser already: There is Openremote which contains a web-services based server (tomcat e.g.) which can send IR commands using e.g. GlobalCache (although the configuration is awkward). The user sends commands either through a web interface or a ipad/ipod/android/you-name-it-interface. Then there is Eventghost, a general purpose home/windows-automation tool, being able to send IR commands through e.g. GlobalCache or USB-UIRT, and containing a web-server for accepting user commands. Girder is essentially a commercial counterpart to Eventghost. And then there is or course LIRC. In the first three cases, the programs, or their configurations, contains the rendered IR signals, most often in Pronto format. Most things you suggested should be possible to do with one of these tools. It is is or course not as elegant as being able to render them just-in-time from e.g. a protocol-name/devicenumber/commandnumber-description. The commands are entered either pre-rendered from some source, or, anacronistically, recorded ("learned") from existing remotes. From a practical point of view, this "beaty spot" should probably not be exaggerated, at least not as long as the signals are "clean". (LIRC has its own format, often considered to be unusable, see this however.)

I intend to integrate IrpMaster into OpenRemote as soon as I get some free time. Also the next version of IrpMaster/IrMaster will support LIRC directly; both sending commands to a (patched) LIRC server (on the TCP port) and generating configuration files for LIRC from an interval of command numbers. (It is in principle finished, I have just not had the time to release it yet.)

BTW, you may like to check out my other IR-related open.source project, Harctoolbox.

bevhoward · Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 248

Thanks for all of the links and information... a bit overwhelming since the last few times I made similar requests, I found little to nothing.

I will look at all of these and expect I will be back for more info and discussions.

Thanks again... and, please stay tuned.

Beverly Howard

bevhoward · Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 248

While I have not waded through all of the links you gave me, I have read enough to learn a lot.

All of the options, except Barf's, have their own baggage load and design approaches that add complexity that I think can be avoided.

In looking at your app, I wondered if you knew about
http://www.byremote.com.au/HIP/Default.htm

I have tinkered with this software a few years back, but, my primary concern with it was that there was no way (at least apparent to me) to import and easily handle a number of remotes and all of their commands.

This software does allow capturing, viewing, saving and rebroadcasting ir commands but I never got to drilling down enough to find out how to implement it's commands from another program.

I have to also admit I am intimidated by JAR files... I tried, unsuccessfully, to learn Java a little over a decade and have had mixed success with the JAR utility available here.

At the moment, my main goal is to try and learn how to issue command lines to your software from a local IIS (formally personal web server) page. If I am not too dumb and too old to do that, I think 90% of the quest will have been met.

Thanks again. Any tips (not already in this thread) on a dummy downloading your JAR files and executing them? Looks like I have Java 6 update 7 on the XPPro machine I will be experimenting on.

Thanks in advance,
Beverly

Barf · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 3:20 pm Post subject:

I have not looked into the HIP-Tool; however I read the web page. I get the impression that Eventghost can do everything that tool can do, and more. Most importantly, Eventghost is -- as opposed to the HIP -- free software (with source code), technically GPL.