mesh.checkConnection via parent not master (#250)

* mesh.checkConnection via parent not master

- Adjust mesh.checkConnection function to verify connectivity with parent only. Leave old functionality in place with a #define
- Suggestions in place per @2bndy5
closes #249

* Fix last commit - _nodeID not nodeID

* review changes

* trigger compile size reports for PRs

Specifically for PRs that only change the lib src code and not examples.

* doc review

use doxygen references

* [docs] clarify return value of checkConnection()

* format RF24Mesh.h

Co-authored-by: github-actions[bot] <41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

* review supported CMake options

also defaults RF24_DRIVER to SPIDEV (per nRF24/RF24#971)

* add reference to new config macro in checkConnection() doc.

---------

Co-authored-by: Brendan <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: github-actions[bot] <41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

.github/workflows/build_arduino.yml

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ on:
     paths:
       - ".github/workflows/build_arduino.yml"
       - "examples/**"
+      - "RF24Mesh.*"
+      - "RF24Mesh_config.h"
 
   push:
     branches: [master, v1.x]

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -143,10 +143,9 @@ if(DEFINED MESH_WRITE_TIMEOUT)
     message(STATUS "MESH_WRITE_TIMEOUT set to ${MESH_WRITE_TIMEOUT}")
     target_compile_definitions(${LibTargetName} PUBLIC MESH_WRITE_TIMEOUT=${MESH_WRITE_TIMEOUT})
 endif()
-# conditionally disable interruot support (a pigpio specific feature)
-if("${LibPIGPIO}" STREQUAL "LibPIGPIO-NOTFOUND" OR DEFINED RF24_NO_INTERRUPT)
-    message(STATUS "Disabling IRQ pin support")
-    target_compile_definitions(${LibTargetName} PUBLIC RF24_NO_INTERRUPT)
+if(DEFINED RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE)
+    message(STATUS "RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE set to ${RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE}")
+    target_compile_definitions(${LibTargetName} PUBLIC RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE=${RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE})
 endif()
 
 

RF24Mesh.cpp

@@ -146,8 +146,25 @@ void RF24Mesh::setChild(bool allow)
 
 bool RF24Mesh::checkConnection()
 {
-    // getAddress() doesn't use auto-ack; do a double-check to manually retry 1 more time
-    for (uint8_t i = 0; i < MESH_CONNECTION_CHECK_ATTEMPTS; i++) {
+
+    if (!_nodeID) return false;
+    if (mesh_address == MESH_DEFAULT_ADDRESS) return false;
+
+// Connection check via parent node
+#if RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE == RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_PARENT
+    RF24NetworkHeader header;
+    header.to_node = network.parent();
+    header.type = NETWORK_PING;
+    for (uint8_t i = 0; i < MESH_CONNECTION_CHECK_ATTEMPTS; ++i) {
+        if (network.write(header, 0, 0)) {
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+    return false;
+
+#else // Connection check via master node
+    // getAddress() doesn't use auto-ack; check connectivity multiple times
+    for (uint8_t i = 0; i < MESH_CONNECTION_CHECK_ATTEMPTS; ++i) {
 
         int16_t result = getAddress(_nodeID);
         switch (result) {
@@ -162,6 +179,7 @@ bool RF24Mesh::checkConnection()
         }
     }
     return false;
+#endif
 }
 
 /*****************************************************/

RF24Mesh.h

@@ -163,7 +163,16 @@ class RF24Mesh
     /**
      * Tests connectivity of this node to the mesh.
      * @note If this function fails, address renewal should typically be done.
-     * @return 1 if connected, 0 if mesh not responding
+     *
+     * The current behavior will only ping this node's parent to validate connection to mesh.
+     * Previously, this function would validate connection by looking up this node's assigned address with
+     * the master node's `RF24Mesh::addrList`.
+     * The old behavior can be mandated by changing @ref RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE in RF24Mesh_config.h,
+     * although a large mesh network might suffer a performance cost using the old behavior.
+     *
+     * @return
+     * - True if connected.
+     * - False if not connected, mesh is not responding, or this node is the master node.
      */
     bool checkConnection();
 

RF24Mesh_config.h

@@ -64,6 +64,25 @@
     #define MESH_CONNECTION_CHECK_ATTEMPTS 3
 #endif
 
+#define RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_PARENT 1
+#define RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_MASTER 0
+/**
+ * @brief How to verify a connection
+ *
+ * On child nodes, determine how they verify/check their connection periodically, or when writes start to fail via the `RF24Mesh::checkConnection();`
+ * function.
+ * Set RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE to @ref RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_PARENT for the new behaviour of verifying connectivity only with their parent node.
+ * Set RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE to @ref RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_MASTER for the old behaviour of verifying connectivity with the master node.
+ * The old behaviour typically results in more network congestion, more load on the master node, and less reliable networks,
+ * but it can work well when radio conditions are good and/or when there are only a small number of nodes on the network and/or in close proximity
+ * to the master node.
+ */
+#ifndef RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE
+    #define RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_PARENT
+    // To use old behavior:
+    // #define RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_TYPE RF24MESH_CONN_CHECK_MASTER
+#endif
+
 /**************************/
 /***       Debug        ***/
 //#define RF24MESH_DEBUG_MINIMAL /** Uncomment for the Master Node to print out address assignments as they are assigned */

cmake/AutoConfig_RF24_DRIVER.cmake

@@ -26,31 +26,33 @@ else()
 endif()
 
 
-if(${RF24_DRIVER} STREQUAL "UNKNOWN") # invokes automatic configuration
-    if("${SOC}" STREQUAL "BCM2708" OR "${SOC}" STREQUAL "BCM2709" OR "${SOC}" STREQUAL "BCM2835")
-        set(RF24_DRIVER RPi CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/RPi" FORCE)
-    elseif(NOT "${LibPIGPIO}" STREQUAL "LibPIGPIO-NOTFOUND")
-        message(STATUS "Found pigpio library: ${LibPIGPIO}")
-        set(RF24_DRIVER pigpio CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/pigpio" FORCE)
-    elseif(NOT "${LibWiringPi}" STREQUAL "LibWiringPi-NOTFOUND")
-        message(STATUS "Found wiringPi library: ${LibWiringPi}")
-        set(RF24_DRIVER wiringPi CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/wiringPi" FORCE)
-    elseif(NOT "${LibLittleWire}" STREQUAL "LibLittleWire-NOTFOUND")
-        message(STATUS "Found LittleWire library: ${LibLittleWire}")
-        set(RF24_DRIVER LittleWire CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/LittleWire" FORCE)
-    elseif(NOT "${LibMRAA}" STREQUAL "LibMRAA-NOTFOUND")
-        message(STATUS "Found MRAA library: ${LibMRAA}")
-        set(RF24_DRIVER MRAA CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/MRAA" FORCE)
-    elseif(SPIDEV_EXISTS) # should be a non-empty string if SPI is enabled
-        message(STATUS "detected that SPIDEV is enabled: ${SPIDEV_EXISTS}")
-        set(RF24_DRIVER SPIDEV CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/SPIDEV" FORCE)
-    endif()
-endif()
+# if(${RF24_DRIVER} STREQUAL "UNKNOWN") # invokes automatic configuration
+#     if("${SOC}" STREQUAL "BCM2708" OR "${SOC}" STREQUAL "BCM2709" OR "${SOC}" STREQUAL "BCM2835")
+#         set(RF24_DRIVER RPi CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/RPi" FORCE)
+#     elseif(NOT "${LibPIGPIO}" STREQUAL "LibPIGPIO-NOTFOUND")
+#         message(STATUS "Found pigpio library: ${LibPIGPIO}")
+#         set(RF24_DRIVER pigpio CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/pigpio" FORCE)
+#     elseif(NOT "${LibWiringPi}" STREQUAL "LibWiringPi-NOTFOUND")
+#         message(STATUS "Found wiringPi library: ${LibWiringPi}")
+#         set(RF24_DRIVER wiringPi CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/wiringPi" FORCE)
+#     elseif(NOT "${LibLittleWire}" STREQUAL "LibLittleWire-NOTFOUND")
+#         message(STATUS "Found LittleWire library: ${LibLittleWire}")
+#         set(RF24_DRIVER LittleWire CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/LittleWire" FORCE)
+#     elseif(NOT "${LibMRAA}" STREQUAL "LibMRAA-NOTFOUND")
+#         message(STATUS "Found MRAA library: ${LibMRAA}")
+#         set(RF24_DRIVER MRAA CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/MRAA" FORCE)
+#     elseif(SPIDEV_EXISTS) # should be a non-empty string if SPI is enabled
+#         message(STATUS "detected that SPIDEV is enabled: ${SPIDEV_EXISTS}")
+#         set(RF24_DRIVER SPIDEV CACHE STRING "using folder /utility/SPIDEV" FORCE)
+#     endif()
+# endif()
 
 # override the auto-detect if RF24_DRIVER is defined in an env var
 if(DEFINED ENV{RF24_DRIVER})
     message(STATUS "RF24_DRIVER (set from env var) = $ENV{RF24_DRIVER}")
     set(RF24_DRIVER $ENV{RF24_DRIVER} CACHE STRING "" FORCE)
+elseif(${RF24_DRIVER} STREQUAL "UNKNOWN")
+    set(RF24_DRIVER SPIDEV CACHE STRING "using folder RF24/utility/SPIDEV" FORCE)
 endif()
 
 message(STATUS "Using driver: ${RF24_DRIVER}")

examples_RPi/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -47,26 +47,20 @@ elseif("${RF24_DRIVER}" STREQUAL "wiringPi")
     else()
         message(FATAL "Lib ${RF24_DRIVER} not found.")
     endif()
-elseif(NOT "${LibPIGPIO}" STREQUAL "LibPIGPIO-NOTFOUND" AND NOT DEFINED RF24_NO_INTERUPT)
-    if(NOT "${RF24_DRIVER}" STREQUAL "pigpio")
-        message(STATUS "linking to ${LibPIGPIO} for interrupt support")
-    else()
+elseif("${RF24_DRIVER}" STREQUAL "pigpio")
+    if(NOT "${LibPIGPIO}" STREQUAL "LibPIGPIO-NOTFOUND")
         message(STATUS "linking to ${LibPIGPIO}")
+        list(APPEND linked_libs ${LibPIGPIO})
+    else()
+        message(FATAL "Lib ${RF24_DRIVER} not found.")
     endif()
-    list(APPEND linked_libs ${LibPIGPIO})
-else()
-    message(STATUS "Disabling IRQ pin support")
 endif()
 
 foreach(example ${EXAMPLES_LIST})
     # make a target
     add_executable(${example} ${example}.cpp)
     # link the RF24 lib to the target.
     target_link_libraries(${example} PUBLIC ${linked_libs})
-    # conditionally disable interruot support (a pigpio specific feature)
-    if("${LibPIGPIO}" STREQUAL "LibPIGPIO-NOTFOUND" OR DEFINED RF24_NO_INTERRUPT)
-        target_compile_definitions(${example} PUBLIC RF24_NO_INTERRUPT)
-    endif()
 endforeach()
 
 include(../cmake/enableNcursesExample.cmake)