SPARK_WLAN_Loop() not documented

Firmware
1

It seems some of my code might work better if I occasionally do something like this:

while(!Serial.available()) SPARK_WLAN_Loop();

Whereas SPARK_WLAN_Loop() is called several times in example code in the programming docs, it is not itself documented there.

There is a family of such functions known only to the inner circle which are not documented, despite their use sometimes being mandatory. This continues lack of documentation remains a significant problem.

So, what does this function do, and what are the other functions calls I need to know about?

2

@psb777, I believe this function has been replaced with Spark.process() which is documented here.

Before being snarky, read and try to act more cordially.

2 Likes
3

Thanks for the information not shared in the docs. I guess whoever it was who documented Spark.process() forgot to say in the docs what it replaced, either that or to fix the example code. Poor documentation! How dare I be irritated by that? I have now fixed the docs based on your info.

What other undocumented functions are there? Or is that too rude a question to contemplate?

4

@psb777 Hi Paul, I can understand the frustration of incomplete or out-of-date documentation. That being said, I think the Spark team does a pretty great job keeping things updated and walking the line of verboseness and clarity. I’ve also found them very responsive on this forum when questions arise.

Also remember this is a new and fast moving project. Improvements are happening on a daily basis. If you’re not interested in doing a little hunting around or working around some rough edges, you might want to hold off on jumping in. I’d expect things to stabilize as the project matures.

If you’re interested in diving more into the undocumented internals, I believe all the code is open source. (I imagine that one reason that loop method wasn’t documented was because it was expected to change and they didn’t want anyone relying on it.)

Anyways, let’s extend a little patience to each other on here. No need for hostility, this is fun stuff!

2 Likes
5

I have carefully re-read what I wrote. It wasn’t sprinkled with smileys but it was neither “snarky” nor “hostile”. I wish a little more of the help provided here found its way into the docs. That it does not is at times frustrating. Expressing that frustration is sometimes apt. Being over-sensitive is sometimes not. OK, queue up everyone to criticise…

6

@psb777 No hard feelings here. And you can count me in the group that appreciates well-crafted documentation.

1 Like
7

It seems that SPARK_WLAN_Loop() is not equivalent to Spark.process(). We await clarification and then, one hopes, @peekay123 , documentation: https://github.com/spark/docs/pull/242#issuecomment-62187526

8

Although now it seems a decision has now been taken (same link) to make Spark.process() call SPARK_WLAN_Loop(). The latter and similar internal functions are to remain undocumented and, I guess, deprecated - not intended for use by developers of Spark applications.

That, of course, is fine and what I would expect as long as the advertised functionality of the Spark Core is available without recourse to those hidden functions. E.g. Can Spark.process() be called while +not+ connected to the Cloud, and in both AUTOMATIC and MANUAL modes?