Feedback required: New sets of plugins/controllers

[TD-er]

See Github:
https://github.com/letscontrolit/ESPEasy/issues/2590

The last few weeks we're running out of the space available for the sketch.
The test and dev builds now approach their max size so something has to change.

I think the sets of normal, test and dev does not really make sense anymore.

We already have some builds specific for some use case, like specific hardware or just a single purpose.
For example the Sonoff POW as a specific build for off the shelf hardware and the IR builds for the IR RX/TX and AC control.

Maybe we can make more logical build sets.

For this we need some user input to get an idea of sensors often used together or so often they must be included in any build.

Other options are to disable some of the webserver parts if they are not needed.

So please let's get some proper lists of used plugins to redefine the build scripts.

[Domosapiens]

As reported on Github,
My applications are:

- Multi DS18B20 / BME280 Temperature measurement
- Energy calculation by DS18B20 delta Temperature measurement and Flow measurement plus PWM pump control
- Thermostat setting&control by Rotary encoder, MLX90614 IR and DS18B20 Temperature measurement and relay control

all supported by generic:
LCD/OLED display, Touch,IR,RCWL detection, Dummy Devices and System measurement
reported to 2# Domoticz controllers via HTTP

[Wiki]

Plugins used in different devices:

DS18B20 &INA219 - battery monitoring

DHT21 &OLED framed - Temperature &Humidity measurement and display

Single BME/BMP280 - Temperature &Humidity measurement

Single HC-SR04 - Cisterne monitoring

Nextion, Thermocouple MAX6675 & DS18B20 - Display and switch almost all sensors and switches in my home, measuremnet of environmental temperature & exhaust gases of heating

Different Switches & power monitoring, Blitzwolf, currently used with Tasmota due to oversized ESPEasy .bins

Allover 41 devices in my home, more to come. All of them reporting to Domoticz using MQTT protocol, interacting with each other using UDP Inter-ESP and HTTP out of rules, most of them setting GPIOs depnding on different sensor readings out of rules, most of them using Switch plugin and Dummy devices

[Wiki]

I forgot:

All of the "mobile" devices powered by battery using internal analogue input for monitoring its battery voltage.

[budman1758]

Copied from https://github.com/letscontrolit/ESPEasy/issues/2590

My 2 cents...
A much more detailed tutorial on setting up the necessary components to self-compile the firmware with just the plugins needed for your specific use case, If it were a bit easier to understand the process to build your own versions that would reduce the need for 20 to 30 plus bin files every release. I don't think you will ever make a set of pre-built bins that will please everyone. While this would not completely solve the issue methinks it would help immensely. This way you could have some very generic builds for most setups and build a few device specific bins for stuff like Sonoffs etc.

[Patou]

Hello,
I fully support Budman in his demand. To be flexible we should be able to compile our bin file. So a good tutorial to do it should be great.
Most used actually and in project :
- Dummy Device ( as long as we cannot use variables )
- I/O on GPIO
- I/O over I2C : digital I/O (PCF 8574), analog in (ADS1115), pwm out(PCA 9685), slow pwm (P218)
- Displays over I2C : OLED simple, OLED framed, LCD
- Temp sensors : 1 wire Temp (DS18B20)
- Sensors over I2C : temp, hum, Pressure (BMx280), Lux (BH1750)
- Energy (INA219), (Eastron)
- Pulse counter and encoder
- Distance (HC-SR 04) ( P133 : VL53 LOX)
- General purpose serial controler
- I2C EEPROM memory

They are a lot of differents plugins for the same physical use ( as temp sensor for example) you should concentrate on most used !
Hope this can help in improving the ESP Easy
Patou

[iron]

Hello,

Something similar to this will work the best :

https://nodemcu-build.com/

User can choose their components and system will provide the image.

-D

[HomeJCL]

Hello,

Something similar to this will work the best :

https://nodemcu-build.com/

User can choose their components and system will provide the image.

-D

This would be killer.

But on the other hand, a thorough foolproof self compile tutorial would be my choice.

Even though I am a big lazy guy, I like the idea of "custom" compile ... to paraphrase a big company "ESP Made Easy"
This would suitably be an extension to ... ESP Easy.

Somehow I'm proud of the idea ESP Made Easy.

[dynamicdave]

I'd give a thumbs-up for @iron suggestion (as I don't think it will be possible to make a set of lists to keep everyone happy).

[Shardan]

Hello,

Something similar to this will work the best :

https://nodemcu-build.com/

User can choose their components and system will provide the image.

-D

This would be my favorite. There are already such webpages compiling a complete set, even for ESP8266 IoT.

A less nice but possible way would be a solution for self-compiling that is usable for people who are not platformio-specialists.
Far too much time and effort to get it up and running for me being a "now and then" user. It takes up a lot of time to get a result
(a working result is on another note ..) and when I need it another time there are a lot of updates, new bugs and such I've to start all over again.
Platformio is nice, but even for me being 30 years in IT and hardware it is completely useless. I just don't have that much spare time.

[TD-er]

@Shardan
Have you looked at this discussion? https://github.com/letscontrolit/ESPEasy/issues/2594

[Shardan]

You really think that is a solution for a normal user?

Sorry, but if ESPeasy should grow into a business or something alike it needs solutions
a normal user can handle. Vagrant in a virtual machine is far away from that.

For a normal user the Arduino IDE incl. adding libs and core is near the limits if not over limits already.
Platformio is far too complex for many users, honestly including me being a IT admin for more then two decades now.
Vagrant adds more complexity like virtual machines etc - I think most users will be overstrained.

I've seen a nice solution for another software long time ago... just a website with some checkboxes to select modules,
a "compile" button started a check first if this combination is possible, then compiled and offered a download...

Anyways, nearly all nowadays projects suffer from similar problems...
There's another ESP firmware... same problem with installing this and doing that before getting any result (if at all...)

[TD-er]

The whole idea of using Vagrant is to have a single command to run and it will be built.
Later I wanted to add a webserver inside the Vagrant to help define the build setup.

It does not need anything other than the script file and the Vagrant file (and Vagrant)
So all the setup of Platformio etc. is already done.

A hosted build environment is a costly one, it does require quite some resources while users often have cycles and resources to spare.
If this is too difficult, someone may use it to run a build environment.
But you have to make sure you trust the build environment.

At least this is for now something easy to make.
Creating a slick webgui to build stuff is taking time and this is just a way to start somewhere.
It may not be useful for all, but at least it will help some and help us getting insights in what is needed and wanted by the users.

[Drum]

On the Arduino ide I did a lot of custom builds by removing or adding modules before compiling, and it was pretty straight forward and easy. On platformio I have not been able to get it to compile consistently yet, or at all yet so I probably need to spend some more time with that.

I will take some time this week to look at platformio again and see if I can get it to work. In the past after following all the instructions I could not get it to compile. I gave up after several complete remove and install cycles failed to produce consistent success compiling. Obviously others are using it so I must be doing something incorrectly, but I will try again. I also seem to remember there was a very large number of options for compiling and no information (I could find) which explained what they were, and which options were best for which modules. If I remember correctly the only way I could compile at all was to tell it compile every possible bin and then hope the one I needed worked because it was hit or miss. It was extremely frustrating.

In my mind, tick boxes for plugins and compile options is perfect, in the Arduino ide it was really easy to select the option you needed and compile it (deleting or adding the plugins I wanted). I do not know if this is possible in platformio or if there is a file which could be edited to select the options and plugins. Some of the Linux config files do a pretty good job of this and give brief explanation of what it all means.....

If we want people to compile the frustration factor needs to be minimized for it to be a success, and if we want to maximize plugin options, custom compile I think is the best option.

[TD-er]

Please let me know if something in these steps are unclear of if there's something missing.
https://espeasy.readthedocs.io/en/lates ... th-vs-code

[Drum]

Please let me know if something in these steps are unclear of if there's something missing.
https://espeasy.readthedocs.io/en/lates ... th-vs-code

It would be helpful to have a link to this on the main page as the wiki linked to from the main page still has the atom/platformio instructions and no link to readthedocs.io

Is it still possible to use atom or arduino to build? VS-code and atom are both giving me erroer which do not make sense but that is for another thread.

[Drum]

After looking at the pre_extra_script.py it is not really clear and I am not sure what it is doing. I assume there is an explanation somewhere?
It would be nice if it listed all the pluging, maybe even the plugins from the playground and dependent libraries or does it automatically only include libraries it needs?

[TD-er]

I had removed and installed PlatformIO myself to make a proper description of what's needed.
Just make sure to install Python 2.7 and not 3.8.
The last one is not able to build ESPeasy right now (at least on Windows)
The guys from PlatformIO are working on it.

[Drum]

Which OS are you running Platformio on?
I have not been able to get it to work after uninstalling and reinstalling. Even to the point of searching for and deleting everything VSCode or Platformio related (outside of Git folders).
I would expect a Microsoft product to be able to do a clean uninstall, and even says it is deleting all data it leaves a very large folder.

[TD-er]

I'm running Windows 10 here and I have also issues building if you're using Python 3.8
Removed it and installed Python 2.7 and builds complete successful again.
See also: https://github.com/platformio/platformi ... ssues/2796

[JR01]

After help from td-er on vs code, platformio in other posts, I have it running on Mac and a Linux Mint notebook, I am very happy with both.