Miscellaneous

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Miscellaneous

This page/topic is a kind of "scratch pad" for (yet) unsorted stuff.

 

Why put all content on this wiki instead of a "proper" website?

• Maintenance-free
• Very easy to learn and use
• Convenient markup (efficient content generation)
• Auditability
• Virtually unlimited undo
• Statements automatically get a date attached (makes it easier to see if information is potentially outdated)

Yes, including decorative images is a PITA (as is the header spacing), but decoration is currently not a priority.

 

"Calimero"?

It's an inside joke. Calimero is not a Falcon.

 

Why isn't there...?

Maybe because this feature is outside the scope of Calimero (which is to enable communication with KNX devices- not programming them, not offering a graphical interface for controlling your home... you get the idea).

Or maybe because too many people just took what was they could get- and left. They may have all had good and legitimate reasons. Still, it's part of the answer to this question. You may find their enhancements to Calimero in their forked-off versions.

 

Known forks and "external" patches

OpenRemote used Calimero for KNX communication in version 1, but they "rewrote the stack" in 2011 and replaced Calimero with an "own implementation" in OpenRemote version 2. This "own implementation" is probably based on iKNX, which joined OpenRemote in early 2009. Before that, however, they still wrote a "Patch A" for Calimero to add Windows 7 compatibility. The source code for this seems to be well hidden, however.

KNX Controller uses Calimero and supports DPT 20 (8-bit integer enumeration) since version 1.0.18, maybe more.

Considering changes to Calimero 2 in general

• If you distribute a changed version of the Calimero library, you must also distribute source code for the changes. DPTXlators can be added without modifying Calimero source code, so, strictly speaking, this requirement does not hold for them - but it would simply be nice of you if you made them available as well, preferably under GPL + Classpath exception.
• The easiest way to distribute your changed Calimero source is by including them in the JAR file. If this is not "clean" enough for your purpose (for example, because you want to keep your Android app package small), please put them on the web somewhere. Of course, according to the GPL v2, you only need to provide a written offer etc. pp., but... this is the 21st century, right?
• The Classpath exception includes a clause that you can remove it from your changed version. If you do this, your whole application becomes ("plain") GPL.

 

Compatible devices

Calimero should work with all KNXnet/IP compliant interfaces/routers. However, there may be bugs in Calimero - or those interfaces.

Markus Haspl maintains a list of devices working with KNX Controller. However, we do not know which Calimero version ("stock" 2.0a4, or maybe a patched version?) this refers to.

Reports are floating around on the web regarding problems with a Siemens N148/22, but these problems apparently were not related to a bug in Calimero. The capability of more recent KNXnet/IP devices to have more than one KNX individual address (for multiple KNXnet/IP Tunnelling connections) apparently adds a good bit of complexity.

 

Ideas for improving the documentation

• a starter section, providing information for Java & KNX newbies
• a feature area, explaining the individual library features
• a FAQ, the list of frequently asked questions

Plus: follow-up on bugs and unexpected/strange behavior