Owner's Manual (Complete)

Chapter 10—Programs and the Visual Programmer
2 The Home Control Assistant
- The Validate button
 Troubleshooting, or Getting programs to do what you want them to do
 Program properties Advanced tab—Examples
Terminology
Although the Visual Programmer is set up for non-programmers, and does not use a lot of esoteric
symbols and punctuation, there are still some terms used that you may want to become familiar
with before you start using the Visual Programmer.
Start—When a program is started it begins running. Programs can be started in several ways.
The first is from the HCA display by using the popup menu from right clicking either a
program icon in the display pane or the program’s name in the design pane. You can also start
a program that is defined with a house code/unit code address by sending that house code/unit
code from a control panel.
Run—Between the time a program is started and the time it finishes, it is said to be running.
Execute—While a program is running, each element is executed, that is, whatever the element is
supposed to do, is done. If it is an element that turns on a light, when it is
executed the light
comes on.
Element—Each action that the program executes (does) is an element.
You draw programs by placing
elements in the programming canvas, and link them together
by drawing connecting lines. The program begins with the “Start Here” element and flows
from element to element following the connecting lines in the direction of the arrows.
Test—A test is an element that allows the program to examine a condition and execute different
elements based upon the outcome of that test.
Trigger—A condition that when it occurs starts a program running. This could be the receipt of a
X10 address and command, a UPB command, a weather condition, the change in value of a
flag, etc
Repeat—An element that allows one or more elements to be executed (done) a number of times.
Flag—A Flag can hold values – numbers, strings, dates and times, or simple yes or no.
A program can use flags like pieces of note paper. Each flag has a name and a value, such as
Yes or No.
In the way that you might make notes to yourself while doing a complex task, programs can
use flags to record things. A program can set a flag to a value and that value remains as long
as HCA is running. For example, one program can set a flag to Yes while it runs. Much later
another program can test the value of that flag to see if it’s Yes or No. In programming
terminology, flags are called variables.
Now that you know the terminology, let’s look at HCA programs, what you can do with the Visual
Programmer, and how you do it.
Using the New Program Wizard
In the Home Control Assistant, you begin a new HCA program using the New Program Wizard.
However, the wizard does not actually create your program. To create the program, after
completing the wizard, you use the Visual Programmer.
The first step in creating a new program is to begin it, or sketch its outline or skeleton—you do this
with the New Program Wizard.