Controls and Instructions

Controls and Instructions are what provide interactivity in SolarNode.

Controls

A Control represents a value that can be changed in SolarNode. Simulated controls can be configured on the Setup pane's Controls tab. Each control has a Control ID, type, starting value, datum property, and a Publish setting.

Control datum property

A datum a control publishes has its value in a val status property, and a number value also in a v instantaneous property, the default for SolarNode controls. Some controls, like the Modbus and GPIO controls, can use another property name: set it as Property, and then the value is only that status property. Property Type can make the value an instantaneous or accumulating property instead, like a GPIO control's setting does; a Boolean value is then 1 or 0, and a value that is not a number stays a status property.

Control publish mode

The Publish setting for each control determines when a datum is generated from the control's value. Any generated datum is added to the simulated Datum Queue and processed like any other datum.

Publish mode	Description
Never	Do not generate datum.
On change	Generate only when the the control value changes.
On update	Generate any time the control value is set.

A generated datum is not persisted unless you turn on Persist. After a run, the Execution Flow's final state lists each control's value, and Use the final values copies them into the Controls tab, to continue from there in the next run.

Control Conductors

Below the controls, Control Conductors are simulated Control Conductor components. A conductor runs its tasks when an OrchestrateControls instruction, names it in its service parameter. Each task sets a control to a value at a time offset from the instruction's date parameter: a number of milliseconds, or an ISO 8601 duration like -PT5M, possibly with instruction parameters as placeholders, like {duration}. A Static Value is used as written, or use the Spring Expression Language to treat the value as an expression, using the instruction parameters as variables.

Instructions

An Instruction represents a request to perform some action. For example the SetControlParameter instruction asks SolarNode to update the value of a Control. Within the simulation there are two main ways for instructions to get generated:

1. The Instructor filter can generate instructions during datum processing.
2. A Control Conductor can generate instructions on a schedule in response to receiving an OrchestrateControls instruction.

Deferred instructions

An instruction can be deferred to a future date by including an executionDate parameter in the instruction. A Control Conductor can also generate instructions in the future based on its configured schedule. Within the simulation deferred instructions are processed like they would be in SolarNode, using a simulated Instruction Execution Job. The Execution Job's schedule can be configured on the Setup pane's Environment tab, with the Instruction Job Seconds setting. The default of 10s matches SolarNode's default.

Tip

Use the Keep Running After the Last Datum on the Setup pane's Environment tab to let instructions deferred to after the last datum to be executed.