Plugin BLE (v1.3.0) delay after characteristic.ReadAsync() - xamarin.forms

I’m developing an app and I want to read some characteristics one after one.
My issue is that after a read is done I must do a delay otherwise I get an error.
Why does it need a delay ? is there a way to write correctly read tasks one after other ?
I'm using Xamarin.forms and Ble v1.3.0 plugin.
I've tried "await Task.Delay(200)" between two consecutive ReadAsync() functions and it works fine but if I remove the delay, the second ReadAsync gets exception.
private async Task ReadChr(ICharacteristic LocalCharacteristic)
{
byte[] localData = { };
if (LocalCharacteristic.CanRead)
{
try
{
return localData = await LocalCharacteristic.ReadAsync();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine(ex.Message);
return null;
}
}
}
if (firstCharacteristic.CanRead)
{
var ccc = await ReadChr(firstCharacteristic);
}
await Task.Delay(200);
if (secondCharacteristic.CanRead)
{
var ddd = await ReadChr(secondCharacteristic);
}
I'm searching something like polling the read process status of the characteristic. Delay after ReadAsync does not seem a good practice coding.
Any idea ?

Related

Using SemaphoreSlim with Parallel.ForEach

This is what I am trying to achieve. Let's say I have a process which runs every minute and performs some I/O operations. I want 5 threads to execute simultaneously and do the operations. Suppose if 2 threads took longer than a minute and when the process runs again after a minute, it should execute 3 threads simultaneously as 2 threads are already doing some operations.
So, I used the combination of SemaphoreSlim and Parallel.ForEach. Please let me know if this is the correct way of achieving this or there is any other better way.
private static SemaphoreSlim _semaphoreSlim = new SemaphoreSlim(5);
private async Task ExecuteAsync()
{
try
{
var availableThreads = _semaphoreSlim.CurrentCount;
if (availableThreads > 0)
{
var lists = await _feedSourceService.GetListAsync(availableThreads); // select #top(availableThreads) * from table
Parallel.ForEach(
lists,
new ParallelOptions
{
MaxDegreeOfParallelism = availableThreads
},
async item =>
{
await _semaphoreSlim.WaitAsync();
try
{
// I/O operations
}
finally
{
_semaphoreSlim.Release();
}
});
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
_logger.LogError(ex.Message, ex);
}
}
Let's say I have a process which runs every minute and performs some I/O operations... Suppose if 2 threads took longer than a minute and when the process runs again after a minute, it should execute 3 threads simultaneously as 2 threads are already doing some operations.
This kind of problem description is somewhat common, but is surprisingly difficult to code correctly. This is because you have a polling-style timer (time based) that is trying to periodically adjust a throttling mechanism. Doing this correctly is quite difficult.
So, the first thing I'd recommend is to change the problem description. Consider having the polling mechanism read all outstanding work, and then use normal throttling from there (e.g., adding then to an execution-constrained ActionBlock).
That said, if you'd prefer continuing down the more complex path, code like this would avoid the Parallel with async problem:
private static SemaphoreSlim _semaphoreSlim = new SemaphoreSlim(5);
private async Task ExecuteAsync()
{
try
{
var availableThreads = _semaphoreSlim.CurrentCount;
if (availableThreads > 0)
{
var lists = await _feedSourceService.GetListAsync(availableThreads); // select #top(availableThreads) * from table
var tasks = lists.Select(
async item =>
{
await _semaphoreSlim.WaitAsync();
try
{
// I/O operations
}
finally
{
_semaphoreSlim.Release();
}
}).ToList();
await Task.WhenAll(tasks);
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
_logger.LogError(ex.Message, ex);
}
}

Use a message for a topic in Confluent.Kafka when consumer run

I'm using Confluent.Kafka(1.4.4) in a .netCore project as a message broker. In the startup of the project I set only "bootstrapservers" to the specific servers which were in the appSetting.json file and I produce messages in an API when necessary with the code below in related class:
public async Task WriteMessage<T>(string topicName, T message)
{
using (var p = new ProducerBuilder<Null, string>(_producerConfig).Build())
{
try
{
var serializedMessage= JsonConvert.SerializeObject(message);
var dr = await p.ProduceAsync(topicName, new Message<Null, string> { Value = serializedMessage });
logger.LogInformation($"Delivered '{dr.Value}' to '{dr.TopicPartitionOffset}'");
}
catch (ProduceException<Null, string> e)
{
logger.LogInformation($"Delivery failed: {e.Error.Reason}");
}
}
}
I have also added the following code In the consumer solution :
public async Task Run()
{
using (var consumerBuilder = new ConsumerBuilder<Ignore, string>(_consumerConfig).Build())
{
consumerBuilder.Subscribe(new List<string>() { "ActiveMemberCardForPanClubEvent", "CreatePanClubEvent", "RemovePanClubEvent"
});
CancellationTokenSource cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
Console.CancelKeyPress += (_, e) =>
{
e.Cancel = true; // prevent the process from terminating.
cts.Cancel();
};
try
{
while (true)
{
try
{
var consumer = consumerBuilder.Consume(cts.Token);
if (consumer.Message != null)
{
using (LogContext.PushProperty("RequestId", Guid.NewGuid()))
{
//Do something
logger.LogInformation($"Consumed message '{consumer.Message.Value}' at: '{consumer.TopicPartitionOffset}'.");
await DoJob(consumer.Topic, consumer.Message.Value);
consumer.Topic.Remove(0, consumer.Topic.Length);
}
}
else
{
logger.LogInformation($"message is null for topic '{consumer.Topic}'and partition : '{consumer.TopicPartitionOffset}' .");
consumer.Topic.Remove(0, consumer.Topic.Length);
}
}
catch (ConsumeException e)
{
logger.LogInformation($"Error occurred: {e.Error.Reason}");
}
}
}
catch (OperationCanceledException)
{
// Ensure the consumer leaves the group cleanly and final offsets are committed.
consumerBuilder.Close();
}
}
}
I produce a message and when the consumer project is run everything goes perfectly and the message is being read in the consumer solution.
The problem is raised when the consumer project is not run and I queue a message in the API with the message producer in API. After running consumers there is not any valid message for that topic that it's message is being produced.
I am familiar with and have experiences with message brokers and I know that by sending a message it will be on the bus until it is being used but I don't understand why it doesn't work with Kafka in this project.
The default setting for the "auto.offset.reset" Consumer property is "latest".
That means (in the context of no offsets being written yet) if you write a message to some topic and then subsequently start the consumer, it will skip past any messages written before the consumer was started. This could be why your consumer is not seeing the messages queued by your producer.
The solution is to set "auto.offset.reset" to "earliest" which means that the consumer will start from the earliest offset on the topic.
https://docs.confluent.io/current/installation/configuration/consumer-configs.html#auto.offset.reset

Unable to Access SQLite Data in MvvmCross ViewModel

Hello StackOverflow community,
I know there's a lot of code in this post, but I wanted to give you guys, the community as good of a picture as possible as to what is going on here so that maybe someone can help me figure out what my issue is.
Recently for a project I'm working on we've decided to upgrade from MvvmCross 5.7.0 to 6.2.2. I've managed to get our UWP app to successfully complete the initialization and setup process. The first viewmodel for which we register the app start also starts initializing. However, I'm finding that my vm initialization hangs at a particular line of code (shown in the code below). The weirdest part though is similar methods called in the app initialization code run perfectly fine without hanging/deadlock, so I'm not sure what's different Here's a simplified version of my viewmodel code to illustrate:
public class MyViewModel : BaseAuthenticatedTabBarViewModel, IMvxViewModel<int>
{
private int? _settingValue;
public override async Task Initialize()
{
//Some irrelevant initialization code
Exception e = null;
try
{
//This line of code never returns
_settingValue = _settingValue ?? await AppSettingService.GetSettingValue();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
e = ex;
}
if (e != null)
{
await HandleCatastrophicError(e);
}
}
}
The AppSettingService.GetSettingValue() method looks like this:
public async Task<int?> GetCurrentEventId()
{
return await GetNullableIntSetting("SettingValue");
}
private static async Task<int?> GetNullableIntSetting(string key)
{
try
{
var setting = await SettingDataService.SettingByName(key);
if (setting != null)
{
return string.IsNullOrEmpty(setting.Value) ? (int?)null : Convert.ToInt32(setting.Value);
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
//Handle the exception
}
return null;
}
All the code for SettingDataService:
public class SettingDataService : DataService<SettingDataModel>, ISettingDataService
{
public async Task<SettingDataModel> SettingByName(string name)
{
try
{
var values = (await WhereAsync(e => e.Name == name));
return values.FirstOrDefault();
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
//Handle the exception
}
return null;
}
}
Finally, the implementation for WhereAsync() is in a class called DataService and is as follows:
public virtual async Task<IEnumerable<T>> WhereAsync(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression<Func<T, bool>> condition, SQLiteAsyncConnection connection = null)
{
return await (connection ?? await GetConnectionAsync())
.Table<T>()
.Where(condition)
.ToListAsync();
}
Thank you very much for your help in advance
Edit: Forgot to also add this crucial bit of code to help you guys even further:
protected async Task<SQLiteAsyncConnection> GetConnectionAsync()
{
SQLiteAsyncConnection connection = null;
while (true)
{
try
{
connection = Factory.Create(App.DatabaseName);
// This line of code is the culprit. For some reason this hangs and I can't figure out why.
await connection.CreateTableAsync<T>();
break;
}
catch (SQLiteException ex)
{
if (ex.Result != Result.CannotOpen && ex.Result != Result.Busy && ex.Result != Result.Locked)
{
throw;
}
}
await Task.Delay(20);
}
return connection;
}
I'm suspecting that you are calling Task.Wait or Task<T>.Result somewhere further up your call stack. Or if you're not doing it, MvvmCross is probably doing it for you. This will cause a deadlock when called from a UI context.
Personally, I prefer the approach that ViewModels should always be constructed synchronously, and cannot have an asynchronous "initialization". That is, they must construct themselves (synchronously) into a "loading" state, and this construction can kick off an asynchronous operation that will later update them into a "loaded" state. The synchronous-initialization pattern means there's never an unnecessary delay when changing views; your users may only see a spinner or a loading message, but at least they'll see something. See my article on async MVVM data binding for a pattern that helps with this, and note that there's a newer version of the helper types in that article.

How to handle timeout in queries with Firebase

I noticed that if I execute a query in Firebase and the database server is not reachable, the callback waits just forever (or until the server is reachable again).
Where this behavior is quite natural for the asynchronous approach used, it would nevertheless be useful to have an easy way to specify a timeout so you could inform the user about the status.
Is there such an option and I just missed it - or it really missing?
Or how would you solve this problem?
you can manage yourself a timer controller that after x seconds remove the listener to you firebase reference. It's very simple, just one line of code in android for example.
You can see the code for the web (Detaching Callbacks section):
https://www.firebase.com/docs/web/guide/retrieving-data.html
or for android (Detaching Callbacks section):
https://www.firebase.com/docs/android/guide/retrieving-data.html#section-detaching
same section for IOS ;)
As per today there is no timeout concept on those listeners. One option is to manage the timeout yourself.
This is how I do it when I also want to display a progress dialog while loading the content.
private void showProgressDialog(boolean show, long time) {
try {
if (progressDialog != null) {
if (show) {
progressDialog.setMessage("Cargando...");
progressDialog.show();
new Handler().postDelayed(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
if(progressDialog!=null && progressDialog.isShowing()) {
progressDialog.dismiss();
Toast.makeText(ActPreguntas.this, "Couldn't connect, please try again later.", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
}
}, time);
} else {
progressDialog.dismiss();
}
}
}catch(IllegalArgumentException e){
}catch(Exception e){
}
}
So when you make a request to Firebase you call showProgressDialog(true,5000) and after 5 seconds if the dialog stills there is because it could not connect and you then do what you have to as per the timeout.
On the callback of the Firebase listener you do this showProgressDialog(false,0)
Hope it helps.
Here's my solution for the Firebase iOS SDK, this may be helpful for others:
extension DatabaseReference {
func observe(_ eventType: DataEventType, timeout: TimeInterval, with block: #escaping (DataSnapshot?) -> Void) -> UInt {
var handle: UInt!
let timer = Timer.scheduledTimer(withTimeInterval: timeout, repeats: false) { (_) in
self.removeObserver(withHandle: handle)
block(nil)
}
handle = observe(eventType) { (snapshot) in
timer.invalidate()
block(snapshot)
}
return handle
}
}
Usage:
database.child("users").observe(.value, timeout: 30) { (snapshot) in
guard let snapshot = snapshot else {
// Timeout!
return
}
// We got data within the timeout, so do something with snapshot.value
}
I would suggest simply using a thread?
Allow yourself to assign your call to Firebase from within a thread instance, then in the rare event that the write to Firebase takes too long you can just cancel the thread?
let thread = NSThread(target:self, selector:#selector(uploadToFirebase), object:nil)
. . .
func uploadToFirebase(data: Dictionary) {
// Do what you need to here. Just an example
db.collection("posts").document("some unique post id").setData([
"name": "John",
"likes": 0
]) { err in
if let err = err {
print("Error writing document: \(err)")
} else {
print("Document successfully written!")
}
}
}
Then just create a timer that cancels the thread if the timer fires. If not, just cancel the timer.
If you're using the Firebase SDK v6.5.0 and above, you can use FirebaseOptions's setConnectTimeout (https://firebase.google.com/docs/reference/admin/java/reference/com/google/firebase/FirebaseOptions.Builder.html#setConnectTimeout(int)).
Sample:
Integer connectTimeoutinMillis = 6000; //6 seconds
FirebaseOptions firebaseOptions = FirebaseOptions.builder()
.setCredentials(credentials)
.setDatabaseUrl(Application.firebaseSDKDatabaseUrl)
.setConnectTimeout(connectTimeoutinMillis)
.build();
FirebaseApp.initializeApp(firebaseOptions);

Detect if Firebase connection is lost/regained

Is there a strategy that would work within the current Firebase offering to detect if the server connection is lost and/or regained?
I'm considering some offline contingencies for mobile devices and I would like a reliable means to determine when the Firebase data layer is available.
This is a commonly requested feature, and we just released an API update to let you do this!
var firebaseRef = new Firebase('http://INSTANCE.firebaseio.com');
firebaseRef.child('.info/connected').on('value', function(connectedSnap) {
if (connectedSnap.val() === true) {
/* we're connected! */
} else {
/* we're disconnected! */
}
});
Full docs are available at https://firebase.google.com/docs/database/web/offline-capabilities.
Updated:
For many presence-related features, it is useful for a client to know when it is online or offline. Firebase Realtime Database clients provide a special location at /.info/connected which is updated every time the client's connection state changes. Here is an example:
DatabaseReference connectedRef = FirebaseDatabase.getInstance().getReference(".info/connected");
connectedRef.addValueEventListener(new ValueEventListener() {
#Override
public void onDataChange(DataSnapshot snapshot) {
boolean connected = snapshot.getValue(Boolean.class);
if (connected) {
System.out.println("connected");
} else {
System.out.println("not connected");
}
}
#Override
public void onCancelled(DatabaseError error) {
System.err.println("Listener was cancelled");
}
});
I guess this changed in the last couple of months. Currently the instructions are here:
https://firebase.google.com/docs/database/web/offline-capabilities
In summation:
var presenceRef = firebase.database().ref("disconnectmessage");
// Write a string when this client loses connection
presenceRef.onDisconnect().set("I disconnected!");
and:
var connectedRef = firebase.database().ref(".info/connected");
connectedRef.on("value", function(snap) {
if (snap.val() === true) {
alert("connected");
} else {
alert("not connected");
}
});
I'll admit I don't know a lot about how references are set, or what that means (are you making them out of thin air or do you have to have already created them beforehand?) or which one of those would trigger something on the server as opposed to something on the front end, but if the link is still current when you read this, a little more reading might help.
For android you can make user offline by just a single function called onDisconnect()
I did this in one of my chat app where user needs to get offline automatically if network connection lost or user disconnected from Internet
DatabaseReference presenceRef = FirebaseDatabase.getInstance().getReference("USERS/24/online_status");
presenceRef.onDisconnect().setValue(0);
On disconnecting from network Here I am making online_status 0 of user whose Id is 24 in firebase.
getReference("USERS/24/online_status") is the path to the value you need to update on offline/online.
You can read about it in offline capabilities
Note that firebase takes time around 2-10 minutes to execute onDisconnect() function.
firebase for web
firebase.database().ref(".info/connected").on("value",(snap)=> {});
The suggested solution didn't work for me, so I decided to check the connection by writing and reading 'health/check' value. This is the code:
const config = {databaseURL: `https://${projectName.trim()}.firebaseio.com/`};
//if app was already initialised delete it
if (firebase.apps.length) {
await firebase.app().delete();
}
// initialise app
let cloud = firebase.initializeApp(config).database();
// checking connection with the app/database
let connectionRef = cloud.ref('health');
connectionRef.set('check')
.then(() => {
return connectionRef.once("value");
})
.then(async (snap) => {
if (snap.val() === 'check') {
// clear the check input
await connectionRef.remove();
// do smth here becasue it works
}
});

Resources