Visual Basic .NET - Humidity Bricklet

This is the description of the Visual Basic .NET API bindings for the Humidity Bricklet. General information and technical specifications for the Humidity 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)

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Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleSimple
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "7bA" ' Change to your UID

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

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

        ' Get current humidity (unit is %RH/10)
        Dim humidity As Integer = hum.GetHumidity()

        System.Console.WriteLine("Humidity: " + (humidity/10.0).ToString() + " %RH")

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

Callback

Download (ExampleCallback.vb)

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Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleCallback
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "7bA" ' Change to your UID

    ' Callback function for humidity callback (parameter has unit %RH/10)
    Sub HumidityCB(ByVal sender As BrickletHumidity, ByVal humidity As Integer)
        System.Console.WriteLine("Humidity: " + (humidity/10.0).ToString() + " %RH")
    End Sub

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

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

        ' Set Period for humidity callback to 1s (1000ms)
        ' Note: The humidity callback is only called every second if the 
        '       humidity has changed since the last call!
        hum.SetHumidityCallbackPeriod(1000)

        ' Register humidity callback to function HumidityCB
        AddHandler hum.Humidity, AddressOf HumidityCB

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

Threshold

Download (ExampleThreshold.vb)

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Imports Tinkerforge

Module ExampleThreshold
    Const HOST As String = "localhost"
    Const PORT As Integer = 4223
    Const UID As String = "7bA" ' Change to your UID

    ' Callback for humidity outside of 30 to 60 %RH
    Sub ReachedCB(ByVal sender As BrickletHumidity, ByVal humidity As Integer)
        If humidity < 30*10 Then
            System.Console.WriteLine("Humidity too low: " + (humidity/10.0).ToString() + " %RH")
        End If

        If humidity > 60*10 Then
            System.Console.WriteLine("Humidity too high: " + (humidity/10.0).ToString() + " %RH")
        End If

        System.Console.WriteLine("Recommended humiditiy for human comfort is 30 to 60 %RH.")
    End Sub

    Sub Main()
        Dim ipcon As New IPConnection() ' Create IP connection
        Dim hum As New BrickletHumidity(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)
        hum.SetDebouncePeriod(10000)

        ' Register threshold reached callback to function ReachedCB
        AddHandler hum.HumidityReached, AddressOf ReachedCB

        ' Configure threshold for "outside of 30 to 60 %RH" (unit is %RH/10)
        hum.SetHumidityCallbackThreshold("o"C, 30*10, 60*10)

        System.Console.WriteLine("Press key to exit")
        System.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 BrickletHumidity(ByVal uid As String, ByVal ipcon As IPConnection)

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

Dim humidity As New BrickletHumidity("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon)

This object can then be used after the IP Connection is connected (see examples above).

Function BrickletHumidity.GetHumidity() As Integer

Returns the humidity of the sensor. The value has a range of 0 to 1000 and is given in %RH/10 (Relative Humidity), i.e. a value of 421 means that a humidity of 42.1 %RH is measured.

If you want to get the humidity periodically, it is recommended to use the callback Humidity and set the period with SetHumidityCallbackPeriod().

Advanced Functions

Function BrickletHumidity.GetAnalogValue() As Integer

Returns the value as read by a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter. The value is between 0 and 4095.

Note

The value returned by GetHumidity() is averaged over several samples to yield less noise, while GetAnalogValue() gives back raw unfiltered analog values. The returned humidity value is calibrated for room temperatures, if you use the sensor in extreme cold or extreme warm environments, you might want to calculate the humidity from the analog value yourself. See the HIH 5030 datasheet.

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

Function BrickletHumidity.GetAPIVersion() As Byte()

Returns the version of the API definition (major, minor, revision) 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 BrickletHumidity.GetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte) As 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 send and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

See SetResponseExpected() for the list of function ID constants available for this function.

Sub BrickletHumidity.SetResponseExpected(ByVal functionId As Byte, ByVal responseExpected As 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 and callbacks it is always disabled.

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 send and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

The following function ID constants are available for this function:

  • BrickletHumidity.FUNCTION_SET_HUMIDITY_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 3
  • BrickletHumidity.FUNCTION_SET_ANALOG_VALUE_CALLBACK_PERIOD = 5
  • BrickletHumidity.FUNCTION_SET_HUMIDITY_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 7
  • BrickletHumidity.FUNCTION_SET_ANALOG_VALUE_CALLBACK_THRESHOLD = 9
  • BrickletHumidity.FUNCTION_SET_DEBOUNCE_PERIOD = 11
Sub BrickletHumidity.SetResponseExpectedAll(ByVal responseExpected As Boolean)

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

Sub BrickletHumidity.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)

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' or 'd'.

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

Callback Configuration Functions

Sub BrickletHumidity.SetHumidityCallbackPeriod(ByVal period As Long)

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

Humidity is only triggered if the humidity has changed since the last triggering.

The default value is 0.

Function BrickletHumidity.GetHumidityCallbackPeriod() As Long

Returns the period as set by SetHumidityCallbackPeriod().

Sub BrickletHumidity.SetAnalogValueCallbackPeriod(ByVal period As Long)

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

AnalogValue is only triggered if the analog value has changed since the last triggering.

The default value is 0.

Function BrickletHumidity.GetAnalogValueCallbackPeriod() As Long

Returns the period as set by SetAnalogValueCallbackPeriod().

Sub BrickletHumidity.SetHumidityCallbackThreshold(ByVal option As Char, ByVal min As Short, ByVal max As Short)

Sets the thresholds for the HumidityReached callback.

The following options are possible:

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

The default value is ('x', 0, 0).

The following constants are available for this function:

  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C
Sub BrickletHumidity.GetHumidityCallbackThreshold(ByRef option As Char, ByRef min As Short, ByRef max As Short)

Returns the threshold as set by SetHumidityCallbackThreshold().

The following constants are available for this function:

  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C
Sub BrickletHumidity.SetAnalogValueCallbackThreshold(ByVal option As Char, ByVal min As Integer, ByVal max As Integer)

Sets the thresholds for the AnalogValueReached 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 default value is ('x', 0, 0).

The following constants are available for this function:

  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C
Sub BrickletHumidity.GetAnalogValueCallbackThreshold(ByRef option As Char, ByRef min As Integer, ByRef max As Integer)

Returns the threshold as set by SetAnalogValueCallbackThreshold().

The following constants are available for this function:

  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OFF = "x"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_OUTSIDE = "o"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_INSIDE = "i"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_SMALLER = "<"C
  • BrickletHumidity.THRESHOLD_OPTION_GREATER = ">"C
Sub BrickletHumidity.SetDebouncePeriod(ByVal debounce As Long)

Sets the period in ms with which the threshold callbacks

are triggered, if the thresholds

keep being reached.

The default value is 100.

Function BrickletHumidity.GetDebouncePeriod() As Long

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

AddHandler humidity.Example, AddressOf Callback

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 BrickletHumidity.Humidity(ByVal sender As BrickletHumidity, ByVal humidity As Integer)

This callback is triggered periodically with the period that is set by SetHumidityCallbackPeriod(). The parameter is the humidity of the sensor.

Humidity is only triggered if the humidity has changed since the last triggering.

Event BrickletHumidity.AnalogValue(ByVal sender As BrickletHumidity, ByVal value As Integer)

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

AnalogValue is only triggered if the humidity has changed since the last triggering.

Event BrickletHumidity.HumidityReached(ByVal sender As BrickletHumidity, ByVal humidity As Integer)

This callback is triggered when the threshold as set by SetHumidityCallbackThreshold() is reached. The parameter is the humidity of the sensor.

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

Event BrickletHumidity.AnalogValueReached(ByVal sender As BrickletHumidity, ByVal value As Integer)

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

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

Constants

Const BrickletHumidity.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER

This constant is used to identify a Humidity Bricklet.

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

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