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Usage

object:Cf (Client Function)

  • CF (Client-function) object is a special purpose RPC | request-response implementation to build command and control applications. CF object exposes properties, functions and events for command and control server applications to send messages to devices and application using dataBridges library in **trust-safe manner **, build smart update configuration system and implement **trust-safe ** actions for remote and automated management.

CF REDUCES HUGE ENGINEERING TIME EFFORT REQUIRED TO DESIGN, BUILD AND MAINTAIN A ROBUST COMMAND-CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE.

  • A client function(s) is a callback function exposed by the client library as a RPC (remote procedure call).
  • Server application (using dataBridges server library), can execute the CF function remotely.

Concepts

  • CF (client-function) simplifies the command and control type application design and maintenance.
  • iOT and large distributed system requires a standard, secured and compliant method to send reliable request-response communication to the managed devices from authenticated and authorized Command-and-Control server applications. dataBridges CF allows you to expose device functions and capabilities in a easy, secured manner allowing only authoirized dataBridges server applications to communicate with the devices, remote applications.
  • Only server application using dataBridges server library + application key secret can execute CF functions exposed by remote devices.
    • The server application is called CALLER (the one executing cf.call() function)
    • The server application needs to know the sessionID of the device to which it needs to communicate.
    • The device application exposing command functions is called CALLEE. Only authenticated and authorized server application will be allowed to communicate with the device application for device / application management.

Execute Client Functions

call()

dbridgeObject call() function allows you to execute client function(s) exposed by applications using dataBridges server/client library. Note - cf.call() is available only with server library and not with client library.

  • sessionid where the function to be executed.
  • clientFunction name.
  • passing function parameter as parameter
  • while setting an time to live (TTL) for the response

The cf call() functions supports multipart response (where the cf function can send back multiple responses to a single cf function call) along with exception routine.

dbridge.cf.call(sessionId, functionName, parameter, ttlms, (response) => {
    console.log('multipart response',response)
}).then((response) => {
    console.log('end response', response)
}).catch((err) => {
    console.log('exception',err.source, err.code, err.message);
});
def progress(response):
    print("multipart: " , response)

def onResult(response):
    print("response: ", response)

def onError(error):
    print(error.code, error.source, error.message)

try:
    p =  await dbridge.cf.call(sessionId, functionName ,  parameter , 10000, progress)
    p.then(onResult).catch(onError)
except dBError as e:
    print(e.code, e.source, e.message)
using RSG;

Action<object> iprogress;
IPromise<object> p = dbridge.cf.call(sessionId, functionName, parameter, ttlms, iprogress = (response) => {
    Console.WriteLine("multipart response {0}",response)
});
p.Then((response) => {
    Console.WriteLine("end response {0}", response)
}).Catch((err) => {
    Console.WriteLine("exception {0}", err);
});
Parameter Expected Value Description
sessionId sessionid (string) sessionid where the function to be executed.
functionName functionname (string) cf Function name.
parameter functionparameters (string) if multiple parameters to be passed, This can be done by putting it into array or json and stringify the object.
ttlms 1000 (integer) Time to live in millisecond, timeout value before the library throws error timeout.
Return Values Description
string Multipart or final response. in case of error, dberror object is returned.
Exceptions:
Source Code Description
DBLIB_CF_CALL NETWORK_DISCONNECTED Connection to dataBridges network is not active.
DBLIB_CF_CALL RESPONSE_TIMEOUT Response not received from dataBridges network within defined ttlms. This may be due to dataBridges network or late response from cfClient
DBLIB_CF_CALL ID_GENERATION_FAILED Internal Library error.
DBCFCALLEE_CF_CALL ERR_error_code Exception received from cfClient function execution. This is sent directly from cfClient function.
DBNET_CF_CALL CLR_QX_38361 Cannot process the call() because the cfClient (in this case CALLEE) has exceeded outstanding pending cf call() queue limit.
DBNET_CF_CALL CLR_QX_39179 Cannot process the call() because the cfClient (in this case CALLEE) has exceeded outstanding pending cf call() queue limit.
DBNET_CF_CALL CLE_NR_10464 cfClient disconnected from dataBridges network. Try again.
DBNET_CF_CALL CLE_NR_10558 cfClient disconnected from dataBridges network. Try again.
DBNET_CF_CALL RE_26886 cfClient disconnected from dataBridges network. Try again.
DBNET_CF_CALL RE_27968 cfClient disconnected from dataBridges network. Try again.
DBNET_CF_CALL RE_28402 cfClient disconnected from dataBridges network. Try again.

Properties

Server library can also expose client functions.

The following is the list of cf properties. These properties has to be set before dbridge.connect()

Property Description
enable (boolean) (default:false) If application wants to enable clientFunction functionality, this needs to be true else false.
functions (function) A client function is a callback function exposed by the library as a RPC (remote procedure call).

enable:

You need to enable cf in the connection property.

dbridge.cf.enable = true;
dbridge.cf.enable = True
dbridge.cf.enable = true;

functions:

Application can expose callback function(s) as Client function (special case RPC | Request-Response). Server application using dataBridges server library can remotely execute the client functions. Each function needs to be registered with the library as a client function (CF), using dbridge.cf.regfn()where you can link the functionName to ClientFunctionName.

  • The client application that exposes the client function is called a CALLEE.
  • The server application that executes the client function is called a CALLER.

Functions can be defined either inside the property callback function or anywhere in the scope of application. Below code exhibits both ways of exposing the function.

// function is exposed outside the property callback function, but in the scope of application.
function cfFunOutside (payload, response) {
    try {
      let upTime = {"uptime": "13:34:30 up 8 days,  3:10,  1 user,  load average: 0.03, 0.11, 0.21"};
        response.tracker = true;
        response.next('retrieving system uptime');
        response.end(JSON.stringify(upTime));
        response.exception('INVALID_PARAM', 'Wrong parameter'); 
    } catch(err) {
        console.log(err.source, err.code, err.message);
    }
}

dbridge.cf.functions = function () {
    // function is exposed inside the property callback function.
    function cfFunInside (payload, response) {
        try {
            let uName = {"uname": "Linux analysis 2.6.32-696.30.1.el6.x86_64 #1 SMP Tue May 22 03:28:18 UTC 2018 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux"};
            response.tracker = true;
            response.next('retrieving uName');
            response.end(JSON.stringify(uName));
            response.exception('INVALID_PARAM', 'Wrong parameter'); 
        } catch(err) {
            console.log(err.source, err.code, err.message);
        }
    }
    // binding of functions to be exposed by clientfunctions
    try {
        dbridge.cf.regfn("sysUpTime", cfFunOutside);
        dbridge.cf.regfn("uName", cfFunInside);
    } catch(err) {
        console.log(err.source, err.code, err.message);
    }
}

// unbinding of function exposed by clientfunctions
dbridge.cf.unregfn("sysUpTime", cfFunOutside);
# function is exposed outside the property callback function, but in the scope of application.
async def cfFunOutside(inparameter, response):
  try:
    response.tracker = True
    upTime = {"uptime": "13:34:30 up 8 days,  3:10,  1 user,  load average: 0.03, 0.11, 0.21"};

    response.next('retrieving system uptime')
    response.end(json,dumps(upTime))
    response.exception('INVALID_PARAM', 'Wrong parameter') 
except dBError as e:
  print(e.code, e.source, e.message) 

async def cfFunctionBinder():
    async def cfFunInside(inparameter, response):
    // function is exposed inside the property callback function.
        response.tracker = True
        try:
          response.tracker = True
          uName = {"uname": "Linux analysis 2.6.32-696.30.1.el6.x86_64 #1 SMP Tue May 22 03:28:18 UTC 2018 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux"};
          response.next('retrieving uName')
          response.end(json.dumps(uName))
          response.exception('INVALID_PARAM', 'Wrong parameter') 
        except dBError as e:
          print(e.code, e.source, e.message) 

   try:
      dbridge.cf.regfn("uName", cfFunInside)
      dbridge.cf.regfn("sysUpTime", cfFunOutside)
   except dBError as e:
      print(e.code, e.source, e.message) 

dbridge.cf..functions = cfFunctionBinder
# unbinding of function exposed by rpc functions
dbridge.cf..unregfn("sysUpTime", cfFunOutside)
// function is exposed outside the property callback function, but in the scope of application.
using dBridges.responseHandler;

async void cfFunOutside(object inparam, object response)
{
    try {
        CResponseHandler responsehandler = response as CResponseHandler;
        responsehandler.tracker = true;
        Dictionary<string , string> uName = new Dictionary<string , string>() {"uname", "Linux analysis 2.6.32-696.30.1.el6.x86_64 #1 SMP Tue May 22 03:28:18 UTC 2018 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux"};

        responsehandler.next('retrieving uName');
        responsehandler.end(new JavaScriptSerializer().Serialize(uName));
        responsehandler.exception('INVALID_PARAM', 'Wrong parameter'); 
    } catch (dBError err) {
        Console.WriteLine("{0} ,  {1} , {2}" , err.source, err.code, err.message);
    }
}

async void cfFunctionBinder(object sender)
{
    try{
        dBridges.clientFunctions.cfclient cfclient = sender as dBridges.clientFunctions.cfclient;
        // function is exposed outside the property callback function, but in the scope of application.
        Action<object , object> ifunctionoutside = cfFunOutside;
        cfclient.regfn("sysUpTime", ifunctionoutside);

        // function is exposed inside the property callback function.
        Action<object , object> ifunctioninside;
        cfclient.regfn("uName", ifunctioninside = (object inparam, object response) =>{
            try {
                CResponseHandler responsehandler = response as CResponseHandler;
                responsehandler.tracker = true;
                Dictionary<string , string> uName = new Dictionary<string , string>() {"uname", "Linux analysis 2.6.32-696.30.1.el6.x86_64 #1 SMP Tue May 22 03:28:18 UTC 2018 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux"};

                responsehandler.next('retrieving uName');
                responsehandler.end(new JavaScriptSerializer().Serialize(uName));
                responsehandler.exception('INVALID_PARAM', 'Wrong parameter'); 
            } catch (dBError err) {
                Console.WriteLine("{0} ,  {1} , {2}" , err.source, err.code, err.message);
            }       
        });

    } catch (dBError err) {
        Console.WriteLine("{0} ,  {1} , {2}" , err.source, err.code, err.message);
    }

}

Action<object> icfFunctions = cfFunctionBinder;
dbridge.cf.functions = icfFunctions;
// unbinding of function exposed by clientfunctions
dbridge.cf.unregfn("sysUpTime", cfFunOutside);

Below are parameters of the callback function which is exposed to clientfunctions.

Parameter Description
payload (string) The inParameter for the clientFunction.
response (object) The library creates a response object unique for each client function call. The Response object has properties and function to return execution results of the function back to caller.
response: (object)
Properties/Function Description
tracker (boolean) This will enable response tracker, and event cf.response.tracker will be fired if any issue happens in sending back response to caller. Enable this property if your function needs a confirmation of response delivered to the caller.
id (string) (readonly) Each client function execution is assigned a unique ID by the library. when the response tracker is enabled, the application can bind to an event cf.response.tracker to get the delivery notification. The event will indicate the delivery notification linked to this ID. Application will need to maintain this ID to track the delivery notification.
next (function) dataBridges CF (Special case RPC |request-response) supports mult-part response. Application can use response.next to send multi-part response to the caller.
end (function) response.end is to send the final response to the caller. Once end is called, the object is closed and no more response can be sent.
exception (function) Two parameter, return errorCode (string) ,errorMessage (string) is sent to caller. This will raise an exception at the caller library.
Exceptions:

Below exceptions are raised in the cf.regfn.

Source Code Description
DBLIB_CF_REGFN INVALID_FUNCTION_NAME Invalid Function name.
DBLIB_CF_REGFN INVALID_CALLBACK Callback is not a function or is not defined.

Below exceptions are raised on response object inside the registered function.

Source Code Description
DBLIB_CF_CALL NETWORK_DISCONNECTED Connection to dataBridges network is not active.
DBLIB_CF_CALL RESPONSE_OBJECT_CLOSED Return response object is closed. Thus the function is unable to respond back to the call.

resetqueue()

dbridgeObject resetqueue() . The dataBridges network maintains in-process CF function execution status. resetqueue() informs the dataBridges network that all in-process CF function execution will be dropped by the application and response to be invalidated. Resetqueue() use case is intended to be used by application in its self health status management. Sometime due to the application process flow, the application can identify situation where it would like to ease its load by resetting the CF function execution queue by sending resetqueue() message to dataBridges network and than closing all in-process CF function execution.

try {
    dbridge.cf.resetqueue();
} catch(err) {
    console.log(err.source, err.code, err.message);
}
try:
    await dbridge.cf.resetqueue();
except dBError as e:
    print(e.code, e.source, e.message)
try {
    dbridge.cf.resetqueue();
} catch (dBError err) {
    Console.WriteLine("{0} ,  {1} , {2}" , err.source, err.code, err.message);
}
Exceptions:
Source Code Description
DBLIB_CF_CALL NETWORK_DISCONNECTED Connection to dataBridges network is not active.

System events for cf object

There are a number of events which are triggered internally by the library, but can also be of use elsewhere. Below are the list of all events triggered by the library.

Below syntax is same for all system events.

//  Binding to systemevent on dbridgeObject  
try {
    dbridge.cf.bind('eventName', (payload, metadata) => {
        console.log( payload, metadata);
    });
} catch(err) {
     console.log(err.source, err.code, err.message);
}
# Binding to systemevent on dbridgeObject  
def void my_cf_function(payload , metadata):
    print(payload)
try:
    dbridge.cf.bind('eventName', my_cf_function)
except dBError as e:
    print(e.code, e.source, e.message)
// Binding to systemevent on dbridgeObject 
Action<object,object> iChannelStatus;
try {
    dbridge.cf.bind('eventName', iChannelStatus = (object payload, object metadata) => {
         Console.WriteLine("{0} , {1} " , payload, metadata);
    });
} catch (dBError err) {
    Console.WriteLine("{0} ,  {1} , {2}" , err.source, err.code, err.message);
}

cf.response.tracker

Callback parameters
Return Values Description
payload (string) Tracker identifier. which is same as response.id
metadata (string) Refer below table.
Error Identifier Description
RE_12616 cf caller is disconnected from dataBridges network and hence cannot process response tracking.
RE_13151 cf caller is disconnected from dataBridges network and hence cannot process response tracking.
RE_30030 The cf callee is disconnected from dataBridges network
RE_33635 The cf callee is disconnected from dataBridges network

cf.callee.queue.exceeded

payload: (dberror object)
{
    "source": "DBNET_CF_CALL" ,             // (string) Error source
    "code": "ERR_CALLEE_QUEUE_EXCEEDED",    // (string) Error code 
    "message": ""                           // (string) Error message if applicable.
}
metadata:

null

dberror:

Source Code Description
DBNET_CF_CALL ERR_CALLEE_QUEUE_EXCEEDED No new cf calls are being routed by the dataBridges network to the application because the application's current cf processing queue has already exceeded.
Each application connection cannot exceed cf.queue.maximum. Refer to management console documentation for cf.queue.maximum details.