Symptoms

Dispatch is apparently missing some number of bytes from time-to-time during transmission. This in on the XC16 platform, but could be present on other platforms as well.

When executing examples/test_frame.c, All is well. Note that #7 fixed a framing issue that was similar in nature but isolated to the framing library.

Using a similar strategy to debug, which is to send a continual stream of 0->63 as unsigned integers through dispatch.c and observing the error:

message received, checksum: 7E8E
[105, 0, 1, 64, 0, 4, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 3, 0, 4, 0, 5, 0, 6, 0, 7, 0, 8, 0, 9, 0, 10, 0, 11, 0, 12, 0, 13, 0, 14, 0, 15, 0, 16, 0, 17, 0, 18, 0, 19, 0, 20, 0, 21, 0, 22, 0, 23, 0, 24, 0, 25, 0, 26, 0, 27, 0, 28, 0, 29, 0, 30, 0, 31, 0, 32, 0, 33, 0, 34, 0, 35, 0, 36, 0, 37, 0, 38, 0, 39, 0, 40, 0, 41, 0, 42, 0, 43, 0, 44, 0, 45, 0, 46, 0, 47, 0, 48, 0, 49, 0, 50, 0, 51, 0, 52, 0, 53, 0, 54, 0, 55, 0, 56, 0, 57, 0, 58, 0, 59, 0, 60, 0, 61, 0, 62, 0, 63, 0]
message frame discarded, invalid checksum, received 7E8E calculated 528D
[105, 0, 1, 64, 0, 4, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 3, 0, 4, 0, 5, 0, 6, 0, 7, 0, 8, 0, 9, 0, 10, 0, 11, 0, 12, 0, 13, 0, 14, 0, 15, 0, 16, 0, 17, 0, 18, 0, 19, 0, 20, 0, 21, 0, 22, 0, 23, 0, 24, 0, 25, 0, 26, 0, 27, 0, 28, 0, 29, 0, 30, 0, 31, 0, 32, 0, 33, 0, 34, 0, 35, 0, 36, 0, 37, 0, 38, 0, 39, 0, 40, 0, 41, 0, 42, 0, 43, 0, 44, 0, 45, 0, 46, 0, 47, 0, 48, 0, 49, 0, 50, 0, 51, 0, 52, 0, 53, 0, 54, 0, 55, 0, 56, 0, 57, 0, 58, 0, 59, 0, 60, 0, 61, 0, 62, 0, 63, 0]
message received, checksum: 7E8E
[105, 0, 1, 64, 0, 4, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 3, 0, 4, 0, 5, 0, 6, 0, 7, 0, 8, 0, 9, 0, 10, 0, 11, 0, 12, 0, 13, 0, 14, 0, 15, 0, 16, 0, 17, 0, 18, 0, 19, 0, 20, 0, 21, 0, 22, 0, 23, 0, 24, 0, 25, 0, 26, 0, 27, 0, 28, 0, 29, 0, 30, 0, 31, 0, 32, 0, 33, 0, 34, 0, 35, 0, 36, 0, 37, 0, 38, 0, 39, 0, 40, 0, 41, 0, 42, 0, 43, 0, 44, 0, 45, 0, 46, 0, 47, 0, 48, 0, 49, 0, 50, 0, 51, 0, 52, 0, 53, 0, 54, 0, 55, 0, 56, 0, 57, 0, 58, 0, 59, 0, 60, 0, 61, 0, 62, 0, 63, 0]
message received, checksum: 7E8E
[105, 0, 1, 64, 0, 4, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 3, 0, 4, 0, 5, 0, 6, 0, 7, 0, 8, 0, 9, 0, 10, 0, 11, 0, 12, 0, 13, 0, 14, 0, 15, 0, 16, 0, 17, 0, 18, 0, 19, 0, 20, 0, 21, 0, 22, 0, 23, 0, 24, 0, 25, 0, 26, 0, 27, 0, 28, 0, 29, 0, 30, 0, 31, 0, 32, 0, 33, 0, 34, 0, 35, 0, 36, 0, 37, 0, 38, 0, 39, 0, 40, 0, 41, 0, 42, 0, 43, 0, 44, 0, 45, 0, 46, 0, 47, 0, 48, 0, 49, 0, 50, 0, 51, 0, 52, 0, 53, 0, 54, 0, 55, 0, 56, 0, 57, 0, 58, 0, 59, 0, 60, 0, 61, 0, 62, 0, 63, 0]
message frame discarded, invalid checksum, received 7E8E calculated CD8E
[105, 0, 1, 64, 0, 4, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, 3, 0, 4, 0, 5, 0, 6, 0, 7, 0, 8, 0, 9, 0, 10, 0, 11, 0, 12, 0, 13, 0, 14, 0, 15, 0, 16, 0, 17, 0, 18, 0, 19, 0, 20, 0, 21, 0, 22, 0, 23, 0, 24, 0, 25, 0, 26, 0, 27, 0, 28, 0, 29, 0, 30, 0, 31, 0, 32, 0, 33, 0, 34, 0, 35, 0, 36, 0, 37, 0, 38, 0, 39, 0, 40, 0, 41, 0, 42, 0, 43, 0, 44, 0, 45, 0, 46, 0, 47, 0, 48, 0, 49, 0, 50, 0, 51, 0, 52, 0, 53, 0, 54, 0, 55, 0, 56, 0, 57, 0, 58, 0, 59, 0, 60, 0, 61, 0, 62, 0, 63, 0]
message received, checksum: 7E8E
[105, 0, 1, 64, 0, 4, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, 0, 3, 0, 4, 0, 5, 0, 6, 0, 7, 0, 8, 0, 9, 0, 10, 0, 11, 0, 12, 0, 13, 0, 14, 0, 15, 0, 16, 0, 17, 0, 18, 0, 19, 0, 20, 0, 21, 0, 22, 0, 23, 0, 24, 0, 25, 0, 26, 0, 27, 0, 28, 0, 29, 0, 30, 0, 31, 0, 32, 0, 33, 0, 34, 0, 35, 0, 36, 0, 37, 0, 38, 0, 39, 0, 40, 0, 41, 0, 42, 0, 43, 0, 44, 0, 45, 0, 46, 0, 47, 0, 48, 0, 49, 0, 50, 0, 51, 0, 52, 0, 53, 0, 54, 0, 55, 0, 56, 0, 57, 0, 58, 0, 59, 0, 60, 0, 61, 0, 62, 0, 63, 0]

Note that it is not the same byte missing from iteration-to-iteration.

Add introspection via standard messages so that devices may be queried via the serial port to determine if they are Dispatch devices. These would be implemented via 'reserved' topics/endpoints.

Problem on XC16 Platform

There is a bug in the framing library which - from time to time - causes a byte to be missed. This changes the checksum and the message is rejected as it should be. Problem has been traced to the transmitting end to somewhere in frame.c. The uart.c library has been extensively tested to ensure that the problem is not there, but there may still be some interaction issue between the two libraries which needs to be further explored.

This issue probably exists on all platforms and needs to be traced and properly dealt with.

Data Thus Far

For debugging, I sent the same frame continually. It is a frame that sends the numbers 0 to 64 over and over continually.

message received, checksum: A0E0
[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63]
message received, checksum: A0E0
[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63]
message received, checksum: A0E0
[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63]
message frame discarded, invalid checksum, received A0E0 calculated 57D6
[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63]
message received, checksum: A0E0
[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63]

Notice that the discarded frame simply missed 10.

Further Action

All tests are still passing, so there is probably a test case that should be added.

Summary

The DIS_publish() is very flexible, but potentially utilizes a fair amount of program memory (~1kB on PIC24/dsPIC platforms) to parse arguments. By offering a few pre-formatted functions, the user may decide which to use and balance his/her own needs.

Suggested Additions

• DIS_publish_str()
• DIS_publish_u8()
• DIS_publish_s8()
• DIS_publish_u16()
• DIS_publish_s16()
• DIS_publish_u32()
• DIS_publish_s32()

Others may be added as requested.

Currnently, DIS_publish() will create a local array in which the data is constructed before it is sent to framing. This is a fast process, but may not be compatible with low-RAM devices.