APIs that enhances debugging when integrated into your code
To effectively identify and resolve performance or connectivity issues in your Electric Imp applications, it's essential to leverage specific Squirrel APIs designed for debugging. Proper integration of these APIs into your application code enables precise root cause analysis, facilitating timely and efficient troubleshooting. The table below outlines the Squirrel APIs available for debugging purposes:
| Type | API | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware details | imp.getbootromversion() | Returns the current version of the imp’s BootROM | Helps verify if the boot version is outdated and identify any issues arising from using an older version |
| Hardware details | imp.getsoftwareversion() | Returns the imp or agent’s firmware version as a string | This helps determine if the devices are running the latest software version |
| Hardware details | imp.getmemoryfree() | Returns the amount of currently unused memory in the imp | Helps to detect out-of-memory issues |
| Hardware details | hardware.getdeviceid() | Returns the device id | Helps distinguish logs from the device when multiple devices are involved. |
| Hardware details | hardware.voltage() | Returns the imp’s power supply voltage | Helps diagnose issues such as brownouts and device restarts caused by power instability, especially in battery-operated systems |
| Hardware details | hardware.vbat() | Returns the true battery voltage of devices based on certain imps | Developers can use hardware.vbat() to monitor the cell voltage, the better to track battery life |
| Wake reason | hardware.wakereason() | Returns a constant indicating the reason why the imp was woken | Helps to identify the wakeup cause, such as a firmware update, timer, software reset, or wakeup pin. |
| cm state | cm.isConnected() | Helps to know imp is connected or not when using connection manager | |
| cm state | cm.onDisconnect() | Helps to track ConnectionManager’s connection state changes from online to offline | |
| cm state | cm.onConnect() | Can be used to notify when a connection is established | |
| Error policy | imp.net.info() | net.info() has a table to know error policy | |
| Wifi | imp.getcountry() | Wifi country code | |
| Wifi | imp.getpowersave() | Gives imp’s current WiFi power-save setting | |
| Wifi | imp.net.counters() | Retrieves a snapshot of WiFi counters. Currently, the table includes just one key, wwd_wifi | Helps to know advanced wireless connection information |
| Wifi | imp.net.info() | Returns comprehensive imp network details. Using the interface table of wifi, we can get information like macaddress, bands, country, powersave, channel, rssi, ssid, connectedssid, bssid, encryption, powered | Helps in troubleshooting issues related to low RSSI values and identifying the DNS servers in use. |
| Cell | imp.net.info() | Using the interface table of cellular, we can get information like manufacture, model, imei, imsi, iccid, swver, powered, connectedtoimpserver, name | |
| Cell | imp.net.getcellinfo() | Retrieve cellular connection state information | Aids in cellular troubleshooting by providing information such as MCC, MNC, and signal strength. |
| Ethernet | imp.net.info() | Using the interface table of ethernet, we can get informations like macaddress,link, duplex, powered, connectedtoimpserver, name | |
| Other debugging API | imp.onunhandledexception() | This method registers a global error handling function that is able to trap any Squirrel exception which takes place outside of Squirrel’s own try… catch structure | |
| Network related | BlinkupLed_error_codes | This helps identify connectivity issues with cellular, Wi-Fi, or Ethernet by analyzing the LED blinking pattern | |
| Network related | server.connect() | A timeout policy can be set to RETURN_ON_ERROR or RETURN_ON_ERROR_NO_DISCONNECT. The function provided in the callback parameter of server.connect will execute upon connection completion or in case of an error. The constant passed to this function can be evaluated to determine the reason for the connection failure, such as NO_WIFI, NO_LINK, etc | |
| Network related | server.onunexpecteddisconnect() | This method nominates a function to be called if the device is unexpectedly disconnected from the server, but only if the imp has been set to a timeout policy of RETURN_ON_ERROR. |