Boolean variables missing - Android

kenmacd · March 25, 2019, 4:25pm

Through the android app I can see all my Double and Integervariables, but I do not see the boolean ones. They show up fine on the web console. Is this a known issue?

ScruffR · March 25, 2019, 5:57pm

There is no special treatment for bool. They will be treated as int.

BTW, as per the docs for Particle.variable() the only supported types are int, double and String/char[]/char*

Can you show the code that exposes the respective variables?

kenmacd · March 25, 2019, 6:52pm

     Particle.variable(String::format("%s_heat", name.c_str()).c_str(), &m_heating, BOOLEAN);

(m_heating is a class member. I’m not sure it has to use the old syntax, but the new one didn’t work the first time I tried it)

In the android app it’s completely missing. In the web console is shows up and works fine:

boot

ScruffR · March 26, 2019, 4:29am

I guess it may be that the mobile app adheres to the documented behaviour (where BOOLEAN is a not explicitly supported datatype) more closely than the console.

I’m surprised that you can even pass BOOLEAN as datatype for the old syntax - it’s cretainly not expected to work.

@rickkas7, any idea why the discrepancy?

rickkas7 · March 26, 2019, 11:38am

It appears to be a combination of a few factors. BOOLEAN has been a data type for quite some time, but it has never been documented.

github.com

particle-iot/device-os/blob/develop/communication/src/variables.h#L72


ProtocolError handle_variable_request(char* variable_key, Message& message, MessageChannel& channel, token_t token, message_id_t message_id,
    SparkReturnType::Enum (*variable_type)(const char *variable_key),
    const void *(*get_variable)(const char *variable_key))
{
    uint8_t* queue = message.buf();
    message.set_id(message_id);
    // get variable value according to type using the descriptor
    SparkReturnType::Enum var_type = variable_type(variable_key);
    size_t response = 0;


    if(SparkReturnType::BOOLEAN == var_type)
    {
        const bool *bool_val = (const bool *)get_variable(variable_key);
        response = Messages::variable_value(queue, message_id, token, *bool_val);
    }
    else if(SparkReturnType::INT == var_type)
    {
        const int *int_val = (const int *)get_variable(variable_key);
        response = Messages::variable_value(queue, message_id, token, *int_val);
    }
    else if(SparkReturnType::STRING == var_type)

Since it was never documented, the Android SDK does not support it.

The easiest workaround for now is to cast as an int.

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Boolean variables missing - Android

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