Update time (pre-release - git only for now)
First a gif (to paint many thousands of words)...
So, some of the changes may or may not suit everyone's exact requirement regarding the scheduling of sunrise / sunset but I tried to take into account users requirements - and - structure it in a manor that was both easy to use and provide as MUCH flexibility* as possible.
- Example: Separate offset for sunrise and sunset
- Solution: Add 2 entries, 1 for sunrise, 1 for sunset - enter different offsets.
-
Example: Status of day/night state in the output message
-
Solution: Internally, the node scans backwards and forwards past the solar event to determine actual solar state. Not just day and night, but also if its twilight (astronomical, nautical, civil), if the sun is rising (post solar midnight) or falling (post solar noon). The properties outputed, when combined, give you lots of granularity & options.
Ouput of the describe command...
- Example: Get sun state and solar event times for any date and time
- Solution: Send a
describecommand withlocationandtime- get solar state and event times in the msg.
*Granted - flexibility and ease of use are often mutually exclusive so here are some them "ease" features...
- Added a combo drop down on the cron expression input box - to provide a bunch of "starter" example expressions. This should give the user somewhere to start (as it will popup the expression tooltip that also links to the help!)
- I added a link to the help info in the tooltip - hopefully prompting those who are blissfully unaware of node-red nodes having built in help information
- Added a second output to split scheduled events from command responses simplifying dynamic setups
- Added a map picker to simplify entering coordinates (100% loaded on demand & external CDN - so no internet - no map - only a help message telling how to get coordinates)
- New and updated examples demonstrating most of the functionality
Many other considerations have been made and tested (to a degree) like.
- extreme latitudes where there is no day or no night for many weeks
- where a schedule is setup with a solar event that has passed but the offset means the event time is in the future
With so many changes and wanting to get to a V1 release at some point in its life, it was time for the V1 stamp (V1.0.0-beta.0)
So i would greatly appreciate feedback.
NOTE:
Installation is currently only possible direct from github until tested.
npm install Steve-Mcl/node-red-contrib-cron-plus
