Placeholder and Driver Status

[danfelix (Dan)]

I am trying to figure out what the presence or absence of ‘placeholder’ in the IDE and the ‘Driver’ option in the device settings really means.

I have devices that have converted and show ‘placeholder’ in Type in the IDE Devices list but do not show a ‘Driver’ option in the devices settings.

Devices that show ‘placeholder’ and ‘Driver’ appear to have a fully functional conversion. Devices that show ‘placeholder’ without the ‘Driver’ option seem to show a partial conversion. Should I consider the presence of ‘placeholder’ to mean that Sthings has completed its conversion for that device and no longer expect the ‘Driver’ option to appear?

Thanks.

[jkp]

Placeholder in the Device Type field in IDE indicates:

• directly connected devices are using an Edge Driver
• cloud to cloud integrations are using the new architecture.

Driver in the ST app:

• indicates the directly connected device is using an Edge Driver

Devices that show ‘placeholder’ without the ‘Driver’ option seem to show a partial conversion.

is it a cloud to cloud connected device? It would appear as Placeholder in IDE but there would be no Driver in the ST app for it.

Should I consider the presence of ‘placeholder’ to mean that Sthings has completed its conversion for that device and no longer expect the ‘Driver’ option to appear?

yes/no but depends on if locally connected device or cloud to cloud

Update: sorry - I had typed locally when I meant directly connected… fixed my error.

[brenthaag]

I have a few Z-Wave plugs that converted to Edge drivers. They showed as “placeholder” in the IDE for a day or two…then they switched back to what they were–BUT they still show the “driver” in the app. So, I don’t trust the IDE to prove if something is converted or not.

[danfelix (Dan)]

"is it a cloud to cloud connected device? It would appear as Placeholder in IDE but there would be no Driver in the ST app for it.

All with Placeholder are Cloud except a few. For identical devices that show placeholder, some show local, most show cloud.

I also notice that the status of the devices are changing to a converted state more rapidly. Very evolving.

[jkp]

@danfelix

It would appear as Placeholder in IDE but there would be no Driver in the ST app for it.

yes, this is expected… no Driver in the app for Cloud to Cloud devices.

@danfelix

some show local, most show cloud.

local execution is not properly reflected for devices with Placeholder in IDE. IDE was designed for groovy.

FAQ: Why does the IDE list “placeholder” for my device? Can I change that?

non-technical answer: the IDE is part of the old groovy based architecture. It will be going away and be replaced with something else. in the meantime, anything which is using the new architecture will be represented in the IDE with “placeholder“ under the device type column. This includes devices using an Edge Driver. Since new edge drivers are being added overtime, it may even be that a device which is the same model number as a device you previously added which used a groovy DTH is now using an Edge driver and so shows up as placeholder. Don’t change it! Once the device is using an integration from the new architecture, you can no longer get to its code details through the IDE, And changing it to a different device type may break the integration altogether. If you need to cha…

[danfelix (Dan)]

Understood. Much appreciated. No clue how you keep all this sorted out but the community (and Samsung) owe you greatly. Thanks.