[BACpypes-developers] Developing with bacpypes - help getting started.

[Ken L. <klo...@co...>]

I am trying to develop several BACnet client applications.  One will discover the analog & binary I/O objects on a set of BACnet controllers and periodically poll for their presentValues.  The second will discover the Trend_Log objects on a set of BACnet controllers and periodically read the trend contents (via ReadRange).


I have worked through all the samples,tutorials, and documentation.  But apparently several fundamental concepts are eluding me.  The samples are all async event-driven programs that expect user input via the CmdConsole.  They all derive from BIPSimpleApplication.  I see bacpypes.app also contains classes: Application, ApplicationIOController, BIPForeignApplication, BIPNetworkApplication, plus a DeviceInfoCache.  I can find no documentation on any of these or when they should be used, or for what purpose.


I am trying to get started - with a very simple goal in mind - but I am at a complete loss as to how to get started, and how to interface with bacpypes in the simplest, most direct manner.


I want to write a program that:

- needs no user input.

- uses bacpypes to read object and trend data from a set of (known, or discoverable) controllers.

- acts as a BACnet client-only.

- No BACnet devices will ask it for information.  It provides no BACnet server functionality.

- runs periodically, in a stand-alone automated fashion.  i.e. it is a batch process started via cron.

- doesn't need threads.

- ideally it will startup, read a list of object references from a local file, will loop through the references making ReadPropertyMultiple & ReadRange requests, parse the responses, save the results, and exit.  [no fuss, no muss, no complex stuff. [😊] ]


Where could I find a similar client-only program to use as a starting point?


Thanks.