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Third party's driver


keumisa

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I am a potential customer willing to pay for C4 system.

I have never seen the real C4 product only with pictures or something.

Now, I have a kind of basic question about third party's driver.

here is the question.

Where I have to put the .c4i file(driver) after I create third party's driver using DriverWorks?

Controller or something?

thanks for your answer.

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It gets put into a directory on the computer that is running ComposerPro. ComposerPro loads it into it's driver list, and then you can add the driver to a project that does indeed run on the controller.

RyanE

Once the driver is added to the project, the driver is actually stored on the controller, right? Otherwise how does it work if you have to switch dealers for some reason?

That is, if the first dealer customizes a driver and then you switch dealers, would the second dealer be able to edit the customized driver because it lives on the controller (without getting the copy from the original dealer)? Or do I have to be sure my dealer gives me a copy of anything he has customized so that I can pass it along to any new dealer if necessary?

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Once the driver is added to the project, the driver is actually stored on the controller, right? Otherwise how does it work if you have to switch dealers for some reason?

That is, if the first dealer customizes a driver and then you switch dealers, would the second dealer be able to edit the customized driver because it lives on the controller (without getting the copy from the original dealer)? Or do I have to be sure my dealer gives me a copy of anything he has customized so that I can pass it along to any new dealer if necessary?

Depends on the driver. It is possible to encrypt a driver so you would not have access to the source. If the driver is unencrypted the new dealer will be able to export it and edit it.

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It gets put into a directory on the computer that is running ComposerPro. ComposerPro loads it into it's driver list' date=' and then you can add the driver to a project that does indeed run on the controller.

RyanE[/quote']

Once the driver is added to the project, the driver is actually stored on the controller, right? Otherwise how does it work if you have to switch dealers for some reason?

That is, if the first dealer customizes a driver and then you switch dealers, would the second dealer be able to edit the customized driver because it lives on the controller (without getting the copy from the original dealer)? Or do I have to be sure my dealer gives me a copy of anything he has customized so that I can pass it along to any new dealer if necessary?

Depends on the driver. It is possible to encrypt a driver so you would not have access to the source.

You mean so the second dealer couldn't modify it? I just wanted to be sure that customized drivers don't "live" only on the ComposerPro computer of the dealer who installed them but are actually uploaded to, and then stored on, the controller and thus are generally available to other dealers. I'm sure that's true, but wanted to clarify what Ryan said. (I realize encrypted drivers are a different animal)

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Sure. On the controller, drivers are stored in the /etc/c4i directory.

They live as separate files, but are also exported as part of the project file that a dealer (or you with ComposerHE) can save out as a backup.

Alan is right, if a driver is encrypted (DriverWorks drivers can be encrypted, simple IR drivers can not), you can still get to the driver, but you can't edit it's Lua source code.

RyanE

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Thanks for replies.

these are definitely helpful for me :D

And now, I have one more question to understand this sequence well.

How can I get the point of 'Project' running on the controller?

Is this a kind of 'OS' for Controller hardware like 'window' OS for computer?

I LOVE C4 :cool:

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How can I get the point of 'Project' running on controller?

Is this a kind of 'OS' for Controller hardware like 'window' OS for computer?

Oooh....let me, as a layman, take a stab at that as a way to test my own understanding. Then the experts can correct me.

The "project" is the definition of your system: the collection of locations and their devices defined in your system, along with any drivers they require, default settings and the specified connections between everything, plus all of your programming (events, conditions and actions, plus related things like variables and agents). "Connections" includes obvious things like what output of what device connects to what input of what other device, plus presumably some less obvious things. Everything in the project is managed by the controller serving as the "director".

Close?

I think the analogy is that the "project" is like a database (almost literally so) that defines everything in your system and this database is used/managed by the Director "application" running on the controller underneath the OS, which is Linux.

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Pretty darn good.

Linux is the *system* OS, Director runs on top of it, and is the 'OS of the Home '.

Director manages the project, which is a collection of floors, rooms, drivers, relationships between drivers and devices (bindings), and programming.

Navigator is also an application, which runs on controllers and on touchscreens, which presents the UI (User Interface) of the Control4 system. It builds the UI from the project, which it gets from Director.

RyanE

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wow, it is pretty cooooool and fascinates me ;)

ok, here is my last question.

What kind of CE(Consumer Electronic) can be added to C4 system?

Anything is possible? like an air conditioner, robot cleaner or something?

there is no restriction to added 3rd party's product?

Thanks :lol:

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Pretty much anything that can be controlled via IR, Serial, or IP can be controlled with a Control4 system.

There aren't UI pages to control every possible thing, but with 2.0, Control apps could be written that run on the touchpanels, and would then use a driver to control the devices.

Pretty much any AV gear will have a driver already, but dealers and partners can write their own drivers.

RyanE

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Now, I don't want to be a just consumer of C4 system but a kind of dealer.

If I can get a sample driver file, it could empowered me to expand C4 system.

Could you someone attach any sample driver to this bulletin board?

Nevertheless it could be not possible, I would never mind :D

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Now, I don't want to be a just consumer of C4 system but a kind of dealer.

Unfortunately, it's not very easy (if even possible) to be a 'kind of dealer'.

Control4 only sells through it's actual dealer channel, and becoming a dealer requires pre-qualification (by Control4 area reps/etc.) and a sizeable initial order.

Control4 also doesn't typically release ComposerPro to end users.

Your best bet *may* be to partner up with a dealer who is interested in development resources.

RyanE

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You could download any of the dozens that are here in the "File Library" (found at the bottom of the main page).

http://www.c4forums.com/uploads.php

I have reviewed 'c4i file' in the File Library

For example..

.

.

.

<ircodes>

<ircode verified="False" controlrating="0">

<id>1000</id>

<name>GOTO</name>

<transmit>PULSE</transmit>

<repeatcount>1</repeatcount>

<delayafter>0</delayafter>

<pattern>0000 006D 0022 0002 0157 00AC 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0040 0015 0015 0015 0040 0015 0689 0157 0056 0015 0E94

</pattern>

<altpattern />

</ircode>

.

.

.

But I was curious about something.

It seems that above code is not come from 'Lua code' which is for third party to create their driver, right?

Is it an interpreted script by the Lua interpreter exists on the C4 controller?

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There are different types of drivers.

That one is what we call a 'Driver Wizard' driver, which is a one-way serial or IR driver (in your case, an IR driver).

DriverWorks drivers are the ones that have Lua scripting inside of them.

RyanE

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There are different types of drivers.

That one is what we call a 'Driver Wizard' driver, which is a one-way serial or IR driver (in your case, an IR driver).

DriverWorks drivers are the ones that have Lua scripting inside of them.

RyanE

Always Thanks :)

And then you mean that multi-way serial or IP drivers need to be created by DriverWorks?

and one more,

After creating drivers, maybe I think dealers also have to create 'UI' for User Interface(Touch Screen or etc..) to control their products.

Is it also 3rd party's job with supporting their drivers?

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Not so much *by* DriverWorks, but yes, *in* DriverWorks.

Driver Wizard is literally that, a Wizard, that walks you through learning IR codes, and otherwise creating a driver.

DriverWorks is a Driver environment, but it is pretty bare-bones. You bring your own editor, your brain, the SDK and the Lua language, and bang out a driver.

RyanE

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To answer the other part of your question, if the device created is a standard type that Control4 has a proxy for, then no, the dealers don't have to create any UI.

It's already done for things like security panels, AV devices (DVD/VCR/Satellite/TV/Projector/AV Switch/Amplifier/etc.).

RyanE

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To answer the other part of your question, if the device created is a standard type that Control4 has a proxy for, then no, the dealers don't have to create any UI.

It's already done for things like security panels, AV devices (DVD/VCR/Satellite/TV/Projector/AV Switch/Amplifier/etc.).

RyanE

Then, Adding the 'unusual' device like an robot cleaner or something which is 'not' a standard type that C4 has a proxy for to C4 system is not easy? since it's not already done for things ?

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Yes, but some people 'cheat', and if you need transport controls and some extra buttons you call it a 'DVD', and use those Left/Right/Up/Down/Select keys.

A little odd to have to select a 'Roomba' DVD, but the UI would work fine that way. Also, you could then use the Control4 remote to send those keys.

We had a Brazilian dealer do just that with a remote-controlled car. He could control it with his SR-250.

RyanE

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