NAME

Device::PiFace - Perl module to manage PiFace boards

SYNOPSIS

use Device::PiFace;
# OO interface
my $piface = Device::PiFace->new (hw_addr => 0);
$piface->write (value => 0b10000001); # turn pin 0 and 7 on
$piface->write (pin => 4, value => 1); # turn pin 4 on
printf "Status of the inputs: %08b\n", $piface->read;
printf "Input pin 3 is active? %s\n",
       $piface->mask_has_pins ($piface->read, 3) ? "yes" : "no";
# libpifacedigital API
# http://piface.github.io/libpifacedigital/pifacedigital_8h.html
use Device::PiFace ':piface';
pifacedigital_write_reg (0, OUTPUT, $hw_addr);
# libmcp23s17 API
# http://piface.github.io/libmcp23s17/mcp23s17_8h.html
use Device::PiFace ':mcp23s17';
mcp23s17_write_reg (0xFF, GPIOA, $hw_addr, $fd);

DESCRIPTION

This module provides the functions and constants available in libpifacedigital and libmcp23s17. In addition, an OO interface is provided, which makes the module extremely easy to use.

The two libraries specified before are required to install and run this module. Instructions on how this is done are available on the respective webpages.

METHODS

Device::PiFace implements the following methods.

new

my $piface = Device::PiFace->new (%options);

Creates a new Device::PiFace instance.

%options may contain the following:

  • hw_addr => 0

    The hardware address of your PiFace, specified using the on-board jumpers.

    If you have only one PiFace board, then this number is usually 0.

    This is required! The method will croak if this option is not specified.

  • no_init => 0

    If specified and true, this option disables the initialization of the PiFace board.

    WARNING: this requires the initialization to be performed manually.

open

my $piface = Device::PiFace->open (%options);

Alias of "new".

close

$piface->close;

This method frees up resources associated with the current instance of Device::PiFace.

It is automatically called when the instance of the class is being destroyed. This means that in most cases it isn't necessary to call this method explicitly.

read

my $val = $piface->read; # read from the register INPUT
$val = $piface->read (register => OUTPUT); # requires :piface_constants
$val = $piface->read (pin => 0);
$val = $piface->read (register => OUTPUT, pin => 0);

Reads a value from a register (by default INPUT). Accepts an hash containing:

  • register => INPUT

    The register where the read operation is going to be performed.

    The value of this option must be one of the following constants: INPUT, OUTPUT, IODIRA, IODIRB, IPOLA, IPOLB, GPINTENA, GPINTENB, DEFVALA, DEFVALB, INTCONA, INTCONB, IOCON, GPPUA, GPPUB, INTFA, INTFB, INTCAPA, INTCAPB, GPIOA, GPIOB, OLATA, OLATB.

    Defaults to INPUT (GPIOB).

  • pin => 0

    The pin number, used to obtain the value of a single pin (bit) instead of the whole register.

    The value of this option must be between 0 and 7 (inclusive).

WARNING: when register is INPUT, the bits of the resulting value are flipped. This is because on the INPUT register an idle pin is represented with 1, while an active pin is represented with 0 (i.e., 0xFF when no input is active).

write

$piface->write (value => 0xFF); # write to the register OUTPUT
$piface->write (register => OUTPUT, value => 0xFF); # same as before
$piface->write (pin => 0, value => 1); # turns on pin 0

Writes a value to a register (by default OUTPUT). Accepts an hash containing:

  • register => OUTPUT

    The register where the write operation is going to be performed.

    See "read" for a list of possible values.

    Defaults to OUTPUT (GPIOA).

  • pin => 0

    The pin number, used to change the value of a single pin instead of the whole register.

    The value of this option must be between 0 and 7 (inclusive).

enable_interrupts

$piface->enable_interrupts or die 'Something went wrong!';

Enables interrupts on this PiFace board.

Returns 1 on success.

WARNING: pifacedigital_enable_interrupts() returns 0 on success. This method returns 1 on success, and an empty string on failure.

disable_interrupts

$piface->disable_interrupts or die 'Something went wrong!';

Disables interrupts on this PiFace board.

Returns 1 on success.

WARNING: pifacedigital_disable_interrupts() returns 0 on success. This method returns 1 on success, and an empty string on failure.

wait_for_input

my $success = $piface->wait_for_input;
my ($success, $value) = $piface->wait_for_input;
$piface->wait_for_input (timeout => 5000);

Waits for a change of any of the input pins on the PiFace board. Accepts an hash containing:

  • timeout => 1000

    The maximum amount of time permitted for this operation, in milliseconds.

    A value of -1 (which is the default) represents an infinite maximum waiting time.

In scalar context, it returns one of R_SUCCESS, R_TIMEOUT, R_FAILURE ($success).

In list context, it returns $success and the current state of all inputs (the equivalent of a "read" call).

Requires that interrupts are enabled with "enable_interrupts" first.

WARNING: this method blocks until an input pin changes, or the timeout is reached. Be careful.

get_mask

my $mask = $piface->get_mask (@pins);

Returns a mask usable with "write", containing the pins specified in @pins.

NOTE: instead of doing this:

$piface->write (value => $piface->get_mask (qw(1 3 5 7)));

Do this!

$piface->write (value => 0b10101010);

mask_has_pins

my $bool = $piface->mask_has_pins ($mask, @pins);

Checks if $mask contains @pins. Useful to check if a determined set of pins is currently turned on:

printf "Pin 1, 5, 7 active? %s\n",
       $piface->mask_has_pins ($piface->read, qw(1 5 7)) ? "yes" : "no";

NOTE: you can do this by yourself if you have a mask representing the pins to check:

my $bool = ($mask & 0b10000001) == $mask; # pin 0 and 7 turned on?

hw_addr

my $hw_addr = $piface->hw_addr;

Retrieves the hardware address associated with this instance.

fd

my $fd = $piface->fd;

Retrieves the file descriptor returned by pifacedigital_open().

A NOTE ABOUT EXPORTABLE CONSTANTS AND FUNCTIONS

You may export constants/functions either directly (with use Device::PiFace qw(CONST1 func1 ...)) or using "EXPORT TAGS". They are then usable without any prefix.

Otherwise, if you prefer to export nothing, you can refer to constants with

Device::PiFace->CONSTANT_NAME

And to functions with

Device::PiFace::function_name

This approach is useful to reduce namespace pollution, but it is uglier and longer to write.

EXPORT

None by default.

EXPORT TAGS

Device::PiFace specifies the following export tags:

  • :registers

    This tag exports all the registers usable with "read" and "write".

    See "read" for a list.

    NOTE: this does not include INPUT and OUTPUT! Use :all_constants or :piface_constants if you need these. You may also refer to them directly as explained in "A NOTE ABOUT EXPORTABLE CONSTANTS AND FUNCTIONS".

  • :piface_constants

    This tag exports all the constants sufficient for a basic usage of the object-oriented API of Device::PiFace.

    INPUT
    OUTPUT
    R_SUCCESS
    R_TIMEOUT
    R_FAILURE
  • :mcp23s17_constants

    This includes all the constants of :registers, plus:

    WRITE_CMD READ_CMD
    BANK_OFF BANK_ON
    INT_MIRROR_OFF INT_MIRROR_ON
    SEQOP_OFF SEQOP_ON
    DISSLW_OFF DISSLW_ON
    HAEN_OFF HAEN_ON
    ODR_OFF ODR_ON
    INTPOL_LOW INTPOL_HIGH
    GPIO_INTERRUPT_PIN
  • :all_constants

    This includes all the constants of :piface_constants and :mcp23s17_constants.

  • :piface

    This tag exports all the constants and functions necessary for a basic usage of the functional interface of Device::PiFace (libpifacedigital). It includes all the constants of :piface_constants, plus the following functions:

    pifacedigital_open
    pifacedigital_open_noinit
    pifacedigital_close
    pifacedigital_read_reg
    pifacedigital_write_reg
    pifacedigital_read_bit
    pifacedigital_write_bit
    pifacedigital_digital_read
    pifacedigital_digital_write
    pifacedigital_enable_interrupts
    pifacedigital_disable_interrupts
    pifacedigital_wait_for_input
  • :mcp23s17

    This tag exports all the constants and functions necessary to use the interface of libmcp23s17. It includes all the constants of :mcp23s17_constants, plus the following functions:

    mcp23s17_open
    mcp23s17_read_reg
    mcp23s17_write_reg
    mcp23s17_read_bit
    mcp23s17_write_bit
    mcp23s17_enable_interrupts
    mcp23s17_disable_interrupts
    mcp23s17_wait_for_interrupt
  • :all

    This tag exports every function and constant of libpifacedigital and libmcp23s17.

SEE ALSO

libpifacedigital, libmcp23s17, http://piface.github.io/

AUTHOR

Roberto Frenna (robertof AT cpan DOT org)

BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature requests to https://github.com/Robertof/perl-device-piface.

LICENSE

Copyright (C) 2015, Roberto Frenna.

This program is free software, you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Artistic License version 2.0.