IoT & Connectivity Tips

Predictive models: ​ Predictive model is one of the best technique to perform predictive analytics. This is the development of models that are trained on historical data and make predictions on new data. These models are built in order to analyse the current data records in combination with some historical data.   Use of Predictive Analytics in Thingworx Analytics and How to Access Predictive Analysis Functionality via Thingworx Analytics   Bias and variance are the two components of imprecision in predictive models. Bias in predictive models is a measure of model rigidity and inflexibility, and means that your model is not capturing all the signal it could from the data. Bias is also known as under-fitting.  Variance on the other hand is a measure of model inconsistency, high variance models tend to perform very well on some data points and really bad on others. This is also known as over-fitting and means that your model is too flexible for the amount of training data you have and ends up picking up noise in addition to the signal.   If your model is performing really well on the training set, but much poorer on the hold-out set, then it’s suffering from high variance. On the other hand if your model is performing poorly on both training and test data sets, it is suffering from high bias.   Techniques to improve:   Add more data: Having more data is always a good idea. It allows the “data to tell for itself,” instead of relying on assumptions and weak correlations. Presence of more data results in better and accurate models. The question is when we should ask for more data? We cannot quantify more data. It depends on the problem you are working on and the algorithm you are implementing, example when we work with time series data, we should look for at least one-year data, And whenever you are dealing with neural network algorithms, you are advised to get more data for training otherwise model won’t generalize.  Feature Engineering: Adding new feature decreases bias on the expense of variance of the model. New features can help algorithms to explain variance of the model in more effective way. When we do hypothesis generation, there should be enough time spent on features required for the model. Then we should create those features from existing data sets. Feature Selection: This is one of the most important aspects of predictive modelling. It is always advisable to choose important features in the model and build the model again only with important and significant features. e. let’s say we have 100 variables. There will be variables which drive most of the variance of a model. If we just select the number of features only on p-value basis, then we may still have more than 50 variables. In that case, you should look for other measures like contribution of individual variable to the model. If 90% variance of the model is explained by only 15 variables then only choose those 15 variables in the final model. Multiple Algorithms: Hitting at the right machine learning algorithm is the ideal approach to achieve higher accuracy. Some algorithms are better suited to a particular type of data sets than others. Hence, we should apply all relevant models and check the performance. Algorithm Tuning: We know that machine learning algorithms are driven by parameters. These parameters majorly influence the outcome of learning process. The objective of parameter tuning is to find the optimum value for each parameter to improve the accuracy of the model. To tune these parameters, you must have a good understanding of these meaning and their individual impact on model. You can repeat this process with a number of well performing models. For example: In random forest, we have various parameters like max_features, number_trees, random_state, oob_score and others. Intuitive optimization of these parameter values will result in better and more accurate models. Cross Validation: Cross Validation is one of the most important concepts in data modeling. It says, try to leave a sample on which you do not train the model and test the model on this sample before finalizing the model. This method helps us to achieve more generalized relationships. Ensemble Methods: This is the most common approach found majorly in winning solutions of Data science competitions. This technique simply combines the result of multiple weak models and produce better results. This can be achieved through many ways.  Bagging: It uses several versions of the same model trained on slightly different samples of the training data to reduce variance without any noticeable effect on bias. Bagging could be computationally intensive esp. in terms of memory. Boosting: is a slightly more complicated concept and relies on training several models successively each trying to learn from the errors of the models preceding it. Boosting decreases bias and hardly affects variance.     

Pgweb is a light weight cross platform client for PostgreSQL DBs written in Go. It can connect to both local & remote PostgreSQL instances behind firewall using native SSH tunneling both with password or ssk keys Due to no dependency on any other external library/utility all that is needed to run pgweb is to download it and run to connect to a working PostgreSQL server. Also works on RaspberryPi.   Note: It can also be used to connect to the CockroachDB instances, detailed in post Cockroach DB : An open source distributed SQL Database as external data store for ThingWorx   Getting Access Download pre-compiled binaries here for different platforms.   Building pgweb from source Use https://github.com/sosedoff/pgweb.git to clone the source and build it.   Additional Reads Pgweb Wiki Features List Usage Installing & Testing it After downloading the pgweb_windows_amd64.exe for windows platform (used for testing in this blog), start the pgweb utility using: pgweb_windows_amd64.exe   Note starting the pgweb utility from the command prompt shows the port on which pgweb is accessible e.g. This is when no flag is used to start up the pgweb utility, all default options used     Accessing the pgweb over localhost:8081 via a web browser     Connecting Pgweb allows for connecting to the PostgreSQL DB in variety of ways - e.g. using something like JDBC connection string like postgres://user:password@host:port/db?sslmode=mode. Additionally users can connect using standard hostname, port , username & password connection w/o SSL or via SSH tunneling.   Navigating around pgweb UI UI design is pretty straight forward and clean highlighting database name, all the tables available under that database and selected table's information on the left. To switch to different database running under the connected server click on the database name to see a drop down menu with names listed.     Selected table gets queried for all its data automatically displaying all its rows together with additional tabs for quickly reviewing the metadata about the table     Query Tab This is particularly interesting esp. for getting quick info on how the SQL query is going to perform. This could be used to analyze and generate the query plan showing preliminary data on how is it going to cost to run a particular query, how many times its going to loop over the complete table, what's going to be the execution time, etc   To get this information simply type in the sql statement under the Query tab and hit Explain Query button to generate this data. For larger tables it could take a while to get this information generated     The queried data then can be exported in formats : JSON, CSV & XML   Exporting table data out of the tables This is pretty handy feature allowing quick export of entire table's data set by right clicking on the table name and selecting one of the desired formats which includes JSON, CSV, etc.    

The Squeal functionality has been discontinued with ThingWorx 8.1, see ThingWorx 8.1.0 Release Notes   There might be scenarios where it should be disabled in earlier versions as well. This can be achieved e.g. with Tomcat Security Constraints. To add such a constraint, open <Tomcat>\webapps\Thingworx\WEB-INF\web.xml At the end of the file add a new constraint just before closing the </web-app> tag:   <security-constraint> <web-resource-collection> <web-resource-name>Forbidden</web-resource-name> <url-pattern>/Squeal/*</url-pattern> </web-resource-collection> <auth-constraint/> <user-data-constraint> <transport-guarantee>CONFIDENTIAL</transport-guarantee> </user-data-constraint> </security-constraint> Save the file and restart Tomcat. Accessing the /Thingworx/Squeal resource now will result in an error message:   HTTP Status 403 - Access to the requested resource has been denied   One scenario to be aware of is when the web.xml changes, e.g. due to updating ThingWorx or other manual changes. In such a case, ensure that the filter is still present in the file and taken into account.

Alerts via Anomaly Detection This documents objective is to provide information and links about alerts used for anomaly detection. This document covers following topics: What Is Anomaly Detection Implementing Anomaly Detection Creating an Anomaly Alert and Prerequisites Anomaly Stats Certainty Parameter Video Example On How To Create An Alert for Anomaly Detection Tips and troubleshooting What Is Anomaly Detection Anomaly Detection in ThingWorx is implemented via built-in ThingWatcher functionality. ThingWatcher detects anomalies by monitoring a data stream from a device, calculating an expected distribution of data, and validating that the current data point is a member of the expected distribution.   Implementing Anomaly Detection Anomaly Detection is enabled by default in ThingWorx. However, several steps are required to configure the functionality for your specific environment, including the prerequisite activities below.   Creating an Anomaly Alert and Prerequisites   Configuring Anomaly Detection to monitor a stream of data. For information about setting up Anomaly Detection, view Preparing ThingWorx for Anomaly Detection. Anomaly Stats Anomaly Alert Statuses moves through several statuses as it works its way through the corresponding phases. Initialized Calibrating Training Buffering Monitoring Failed Certainty Parameter The Certainty Parameter when implementing anomaly detection requires a number of factors to consider. At its most basic, ThingWatcher functionality compares two sets of data, a validation set (collected during the Calibrating phase) and a test dataset (data streaming from a remote device). ThingWatcher tries to determine the likelihood that the distribution of values in the test dataset is from the same distribution of values contained in the validation dataset. The accuracy of the model plays a large role in this determination, but so does the Certainty parameter used for the statistical analysis of the two data sets.   Video Example On How To Create An Alert for Anomaly Detection Anomaly Detection Part 1. Create connectivity between KEPServer and ThingWorx Platform. Anomaly Detection Part 2. Configure Anomaly Alert to bind simulated data coming through KEPServer for Anomaly Detection. Anomaly Detection Part 3. Viewing data via Anomaly Mashup. Tips and troubleshooting Diagnose and fix the most common issues that may be encountered when working with ThingWatcher. It cannot be stressed strongly enough that you should be familiar with your data including the average time interval between data points, and the collection duration and certainty threshold you specified.

I’m excited to introduce you to a brand new training pathway called the ThingWorx IoT Developer Specialization. This specialization leverages over 40+ hours of training from our online learning platform, IoT University. Through a series of four online courses and an interactive capstone project, you’ll learn how to: Use the ThingWorx development process to build IoT applications from the ground up Build complex models and implement them in ThingWorx Design user-centric application interfaces in ThingWorx that leverage UI/UX and data visualization best practices Connect edge devices to ThingWorx and acquire the data you need for your application Once you complete all the courses, you’ll advance to the capstone project where you’ll put your knowledge into action by building an IoT solution. And to set you up for success, you’ll receive 1-on-1 feedback on your project from a dedicated industry mentor.   Learn more about the specialization by clicking here. To request access to the specialization, visit our Enterprise Training page.

With the release of ThingWorx 8.2.1 , we now have the possibility to auto provision the user attributes along with the user on its first login in ThingWorx via Active Directory Authentication. In the previous releases this was not available and after the initial user provisioning, users had to fill in rest of the user attribute details e.g. zipCode, City, Title, MobilePhone , etc. However with ThingWorx 8.2.1 and later we have following new attributes for configuration when the Active Directory entity is created in ThingWorx, namely   activeDirectoryAttributeName userExtensionPropertyName userExtensionDefaultValue activeDirectoryAttributeName : Represents the attribute within AD for an user   userExtensionPropertyName : This represents the attribute available for the user, as defined in the UserExtensions ThingShape   userExtensionDefaultValue : Default value that will be assigned in case the attribute value in AD for a particular user is empty/null   XML representation for these new tags     <ConfigurationTable description="User Extension Property Mapping Configuration Table" isMultiRow="true" name="UserExtensionPropertyMapping" ordinal="6"> <DataShape> <FieldDefinitions> <FieldDefinition aspect.friendlyName="Active Directory Attribute Name" baseType="STRING" description="Active Directory Attribute Name" name="activeDirectoryAttributeName" ordinal="0"/> <FieldDefinition aspect.friendlyName="Provisioned User's User Extension Property Default Value" baseType="STRING" description="Provisioned User's User Extension Property Default Value" name="userExtensionDefaultValue" ordinal="2"/> <FieldDefinition aspect.friendlyName="Provisioned User's User Extension Property Name" aspect.isPrimaryKey="true" baseType="STRING" description="Provisioned User's User Extension Property Name" name="userExtensionPropertyName" ordinal="1"/> </FieldDefinitions> </DataShape> <Rows> <Row> <activeDirectoryAttributeName> <![CDATA[userPrincipalName]]> </activeDirectoryAttributeName> <userExtensionDefaultValue> <![CDATA[blah]]> </userExtensionDefaultValue> <userExtensionPropertyName> <![CDATA[emailAddress]]> </userExtensionPropertyName> </Row> <Row> <activeDirectoryAttributeName> <![CDATA[streetAddress]]> </activeDirectoryAttributeName> <userExtensionDefaultValue> <![CDATA[SomeDefaultValue]]> </userExtensionDefaultValue> <userExtensionPropertyName> <![CDATA[mailingAddress]]> </userExtensionPropertyName> </Row> <Row> <activeDirectoryAttributeName/> <userExtensionDefaultValue> <![CDATA[DefaultValue]]> </userExtensionDefaultValue> <userExtensionPropertyName> <![CDATA[title]]> </userExtensionPropertyName> </Row> <Row> <activeDirectoryAttributeName> <![CDATA[DefaultDemoTitle]> </activeDirectoryAttributeName> <userExtensionDefaultValue/> <userExtensionPropertyName/> </Row> <Row> <activeDirectoryAttributeName/> <![CDATA[pincode]> <userExtensionDefaultValue/> <userExtensionPropertyName> <![CDATA[zipCode]]> </userExtensionPropertyName> </Row> </Rows> </ConfigurationTable   Note: This is not a complete XML file for creating the Active Directory entity in ThingWorx, rather only a part of the XML for basic initial XML configuration refer to the Managing Users in Active Directory section in Security > Directory Service Authentication in ThingWorx Help Center   With the above configuration once the Active Directory entity is successfully created under the ThingWorx Composer > Security > Directory Services, navigate to it and scroll down to the section named User Extension Property Mapping Configuration Table   Configuration for Directory Service Extending on basic structure Once the Active Directory entity is successfully created and connected to the target Active Directory, all the users that now gets provisioned from Active Directory within ThingWorx will get their attributes filled up automatically, given that the mapping is correct and the value actually exists in Active Directory for those mapped attributes, something like this     PS: Attributes not mapped will be left blank in the user's user extension properties   Auto populating of entities will also happen even after the user has been created on first login. Meaning if there are further AD attributes which are mapped with the user's user extension properties, value for them will also be pulled on next login done by the user there is no need for ThingWorx restart here.   As shown in the screenshot above for section User Extension Property Mapping Configuration Table, these values can be added or deleted.   Pitfalls to avoid It may happen that despite the mapping values may not auto populate, for such scenarios ensure that:   AD attribute used in the section Active Directory Attribute Name must match exactly the way it is in the AD, e.g. zipCode mentioned in the section Active Directory Attribute Name may be called as Zip Code in the AD attribute. This may likely lead to error <attribute_name> attribute not found in ApplicationLog.log Empty/invalid values in AD's user attributes will not populate the User's user extension properties Attribute names used in the column Provisioned User's User Extension Property Name also need to exactly match the way they are defined in the UserExtensions ThingShape, failing to do so will likely lead to error  Property name: {} not found in UserExtensions properties in ApplicationLog.log To void using incorrect attribute name copy out the exact property names from UserExtensions ThingShape UserExtensions ThingShape can be located in ThingWorx Composer > Modeling > Thing Shapes ; click on the UserExtensions > Properties to view all available properties UserExtensions ThingShape can also be edited to add more properties to it, which can later be used for mapping it with the AD attributes   Additional read: An enhancement jira has been filed to allow users to have a drop down menu for column Provisioned User's User Extension Property Name, for quick and accurate selection, see Some User Extension Property Mapping fails with warning "Property name: not found in UserExtensions properties" in ThingWorx

Presentation by Michael Anderson highlighting new capabilities and features in the ThingWorx Manufacturing and Service Apps 8.2

DataShape Simply put, it represents the data in your model giving your application an in-built sense on how to represent the data in different scenarios. DataShape is defined with set of field definitions and related metadata e.g. DataType. DataShapes are must have (except for ValueStream) when creating entities that deal with data storage i.e. DataTable & Stream. For more detail on  DataShapes and the DataTypes see DataShapes in ThingWorx Help Center   Note: See ThingShape : Nuances, Tips & Tricks  for ThingShape vs DataShape   Ways to create DataShape   Via the ThingWorx Composer Navigate to ThingWorx Composer click on New > DataShape Provide a unique name to the DataShape entity DataShape creation in ThingWorx Composer Navigate to the Field Definition and add required Field Definition Defining Field for the DataShape Via a custom service in ThingWorx Navigate to an entity under which the service is to be created, e.g. Thing Switch to Services section for the Thing and click Add to create new service OOTB available service CreateDataShape can be used from the Resources > EntityService // snippet creating the infotable with the var params = { infoTableName : "InfoTable", dataShapeName : "DemoDataShape" }; // CreateInfoTableFromDataShape(infoTableName:STRING("InfoTable"), dataShapeName:STRING):INFOTABLE(DemoDataShape) var result = Resources["InfoTableFunctions"].CreateInfoTableFromDataShape(params); // snippet creating the DataShape using the Infotable queried above which returns the field and the metadata on those fields // DSName used below is created as the Resources["EntityServices"].CreateDataShape({ name: DSName /* STRING */, description: "Custom created DataShape" /* STRING */, fields: result /* INFOTABLE */, tags: undefined /* TAGS */ }); Here's how it'd appear in the Service editor :   DataShape creation with JavaScript service in ThingWorx Via the ThingWorx Extension SDK   Following example snippet shows the creation and usage of the DataShape while creating custom extension with the Extension SDK    @ThingworxConfigurationTableDefinitions(tables = { @ThingworxConfigurationTableDefinition(name = "ConfigTableExample1", description = "Example 1 config table", isMultiRow = false, dataShape = @ThingworxDataShapeDefinition(fields = { @ThingworxFieldDefinition(name = "field1", description = "", baseType = "STRING"), @ThingworxFieldDefinition(name = "field2", description = "", baseType = "NUMBER") })) }) Note: Refer to the ThingShape : Nuances, Tips & Tricks for Tips & Tricks   Other related reads How are DataShape used while storing the data in ThingWorx How to pass a DataShape as parameter Can two DataShapes have the same service name if used on the same thing in ThingWorx? DataShape in ThingWorx Help Center

ThingShape   Much like the ThingTemplate, ThingShapes are one of the basic entities for modeling the business logic within the ThingWorx composer. They are best used for describing the relationships between the objects within your IoT model being designed in ThingWorx platform. See ThingShape in Help Center for more   Note: Additional helpful read ThingTemplate : Nuances, Tips & Tricks   ThingShape vs ThingTemplate   While both ThingShape and ThingTemplate are basic building blocks for IoT model in ThingWorx platform; they differ to an extent in terms of the usage and logic   ThingShapes could be seen as bit more basic building block compared to the ThingTemplate ThingTemplates can implement one or more ThingShapes, this is not possible vice versa ThingShapes are ought to be used for implementing more generalised business logic as opposed to ThingTemplate There's no requirement to select ThingTemplate while creating a ThingShape A Thing inherits a ThingShape via the ThingTemplate which it is implementing   ThingShape vs DataShape   While ThingShape is used for defining the relationships within your IoT model in ThingWorx, DataShapes are targeted towards structuring and giving shapes & definition to the data model and how it will be represented. DataShapes are also used for describing a data set e.g. when there's a requirement on fetching result in a specific format when querying InfoTable.   Methods to create ThingShape   There are quite a few possibilities to create ThingShape   Via the ThingWorx Composer Navigate to the ThingWorx Composer > New > ThingShape Add an unique name to the ThingShape Notice during creation there's no ThingTemplate needed for selection, however behind the scene all Things in ThingWorx draw from base template called GenericThing Under Properties and Alerts section add required properties Finally, Save the entity Creating ThingShape via ThingWorx Composer Via the custom ThingWorx Service within the Composer ThingShape can also be created via the OOTB available JavaScript service under the Resources > Entity Service > CreateThingService. To use this service Navigate to a Thing > Services > Snippets > Search for ThingShape And add the CreateThingShape service, which will look like this var params = { name: "DemoThingShape" /* STRING */, description: "Custom ThingShape Creation Script" /* STRING */, tags: undefined /* TAGS */ }; // no return Resources["EntityServices"].CreateThingShape(params); Via the ThingWorx Extension SDK as custom extension for ThingWorx ThingWorx Extension SDK allows users to extend and add functionalities to ThingWorx that may not be available OOTB.   @ThingworxBaseTemplateDefinition(name = "GenericThing") public class DemoThingShape102 extends Thing { /** * custom thingShape created using Extension SDK to display most basic * structure for the class. * Note that the class is annotated with ThingworxBaseTemplateDefinition to * define GenericThing Template */ public DemoThingShape102() { // TODO Auto-generated constructor stub } } This simple example can be extended by adding couple of properties, similar to what's defined in the ThingShape created in ThingWorx Composer. Properties are defined with annotation ThingworxPropertyDefinitions like so :   @ThingworxPropertyDefinitions(properties = { @ThingworxPropertyDefinition(name = "Prop1", description = "defined in Extension SDK ; and is persistent", category = "", baseType = "STRING", isLocalOnly = false, aspects = { "isPersistent:true", "dataChangeType:VALUE" }), @ThingworxPropertyDefinition(name = "Prop2", description = "defined in Extension SDK", category = "", baseType = "NUMBER", isLocalOnly = false, aspects = { "dataChangeType:VALUE" }) }) Putting it all toegther :   @ThingworxBaseTemplateDefinition(name = "GenericThing") @ThingworxPropertyDefinitions(properties = { @ThingworxPropertyDefinition(name = "Prop1", description = "defined in Extension SDK ; and is persistent", category = "", baseType = "STRING", isLocalOnly = false, aspects = { "isPersistent:true", "dataChangeType:VALUE" }), @ThingworxPropertyDefinition(name = "Prop2", description = "defined in Extension SDK", category = "", baseType = "NUMBER", isLocalOnly = false, aspects = { "dataChangeType:VALUE" }) }) public class DemoThingShape102 extends Thing { /** * */ public DemoThingShape102() { // TODO Auto-generated constructor stub } }   Tips & Tricks   Adding new entities while developing custom extension via the Extension SDK would require adding those entities to the metadata.xml Failing to appropriately update metadata.xml will lead to either failure in importing the extension whithin ThingWorx or Entities might not appear correctly Custom extension development process can be greatly accelerated and extension project correctly configured using the Eclipse Plugin for ThingWorx Extensions available for download from ThingWorx Marketplace Eclipse Plugin for ThingWorx Extensions ensures that custom entities are correctly organized under metadata.xml - this update to the metadata.xml file is applied automatically as the user go about creating entities within the project's scope Users might prefer to write custom entities over creating them in ThingWorx for the reasons custom entities and code used for creating custom services under the extension - are hidden when they are built into an extension and imported into ThingWorx Other related reads Remote properties, services and events can be created on a ThingShape, but they won't properly, unless the ThingShape is applied to a RemoteThing How  can I update  the  thing template's properties or  thing shape's  properties by C SDK? How to create ThingShapes and ThingTemplates in an Extension ThingShape in ThingWorx Help Center

  Step 8: Tasks If you are using the built-in Tasker to drive data collection or other types of repetitive or periodic activities, create a function for the task. Task functions are registered with the Tasker and then called at the rate specified after they are registered. The Tasker is a very simple, cooperative multitasker, so these functions should not take long to return and most certainly must not go into an infinite loop. The signature for a task function is found in [C SDK HOME DIR]/src/utils/twTasker.h. The function is passed a DATETIME value with the current time and a void pointer that is passed into the Tasker when the task is registered. After creating this function, it will need to be registered using the twApi_CreateTask function after the connection is created. Below shows an example of creating this function, registering this function, and how this function can be used. #define DATA_COLLECTION_RATE_MSEC 2000 void dataCollectionTask(DATETIME now, void * params) { /* TW_LOG(TW_TRACE,"dataCollectionTask: Executing"); */ properties.TotalFlow = rand()/(RAND_MAX/10.0); properties.Pressure = 18 + rand()/(RAND_MAX/5.0); properties.Location.latitude = properties.Location.latitude + ((double)(rand() - RAND_MAX))/RAND_MAX/5; properties.Location.longitude = properties.Location.longitude + ((double)(rand() - RAND_MAX))/RAND_MAX/5; properties.Temperature = 400 + rand()/(RAND_MAX/40); /* Check for a fault. Only do something if we haven't already */ if (properties.Temperature > properties.TemperatureLimit && properties.FaultStatus == FALSE) { twInfoTable * faultData = 0; char msg[140]; properties.FaultStatus = TRUE; properties.InletValve = TRUE; sprintf(msg,"%s Temperature %2f exceeds threshold of %2f", thingName, properties.Temperature, properties.TemperatureLimit); faultData = twInfoTable_CreateFromString("message", msg, TRUE); twApi_FireEvent(TW_THING, thingName, "SteamSensorFault", faultData, -1, TRUE); twInfoTable_Delete(faultData); } /* Update the properties on the server */ sendPropertyUpdate(); } … twApi_CreateTask(DATA_COLLECTION_RATE_MSEC, dataCollectionTask); … while(1) { char in = 0; #ifndef ENABLE_TASKER DATETIME now = twGetSystemTime(TRUE); twApi_TaskerFunction(now, NULL); twMessageHandler_msgHandlerTask(now, NULL); if (twTimeGreaterThan(now, nextDataCollectionTime)) { dataCollectionTask(now, NULL); nextDataCollectionTime = twAddMilliseconds(now, DATA_COLLECTION_RATE_MSEC); } #else in = getch(); if (in == 'q') break; else printf("\n"); #endif twSleepMsec(5); }   Step 9: File Transfer Example To handle file transfers, a virtual directory is created in the SteamSensor1 entity and in the [C SDK HOME DIR]/examples/FileTransferExample application directory. The source code used for this example is found in [C SDK HOME DIR]/examples/FileTransferExample/src/main.c. Inside of the [C SDK HOME DIR]/examples/FileTransferExample folder, create the folder structure shown below: /transfer/ /transfer/incoming/ /transfer/outgoing/ Inside of the /transfer/outgoing/ directory, create and open a file with the name outgoing.txt. Once the outgoing.txt document is open, add the following text, save, and close the file: Hello. This is a file coming from the client application. Navigate to the [C SDK HOME DIR]/examples/FileTransferExample/src/main.c code and update the lines below with the appropriate information for your IP, port, and the “admin_key” Application Key’s keyId value in the ThingWorx Composer: /* Server Details */ #define TW_HOST "127.0.0.1" #define TW_PORT 80 #define TW_APP_KEY "ce22e9e4-2834-419c-9656-ef9f844c784c" To support file transfers in your client application, you must use the twFileManager_AddVirtualDir function in order to create the virtual directories in the entity with such a capability. It will also define the directories available for file operations. A virtual directory maps a unique name to an absolute path of a directory in the file system. All subdirectories of the specified directory are exposed to the server. You can define multiple virtual directories. The directories do not need to be contiguous.   Staging Directory As an optional, but recommended step, you should set the directory that the application should use for staging when performing file transfers. This can be seen in the line below and should be done before initializing the FileManager. The default directory of the FileManager is most likely owned by root and will require a change to either the location of the staging directory and the ownership of the staging directory, or running the application as a User with the correct permissions. twcfg.file_xfer_staging_dir = "staging"; The example provided uses the TW_SHARE_DIRECTORY macro to create two virtual directories that will act as the root directories in the virtual file system of this application are added. The client is then started as follows with the necessary TW_ADD_FILE_TRANSFER_SHAPE function being called: TW_ADD_FILE_TRANSFER_SHAPE(); TW_SHARE_DIRECTORY("in", "/transfer/incoming/"); TW_SHARE_DIRECTORY("out", "/transfer/outgoing/"); The creations of the payloads used to create the remote directories on the platform have been moved to a helper function below to make the design cleaner: int setupSystemRepo(const char * remoteInPath, const char * remoteOutPath, const char * remoteFile); After our remote directories and files have been setup, it is time to perform the file transfers. Normally, this would mean invoking the Copy service for a Subsystem, but two functions have been created to make this process easier: int twFileManager_GetFile(const char * sourceRepo, const char * sourcePath, const char * sourceFile, const char * targetRepo, const char * targetPath, const char * targetFile, uint32_t timeout, char asynch, char ** tid) int twFileManager_SendFile(const char * sourceRepo, const char * sourcePath, const char * sourceFile, const char * targetRepo, const char * targetPath, const char * targetFile, uint32_t timeout, char asynch, char ** tid) The table below displays an example of the first set of parameters:   Parameter     Example                              Description sourceRepo SystemRepository The name of FileRepository or RemoteThing to transfer the file FROM. sourcePath outgoing The path specifying the location of the source file. sourceFile The name of the source file.   targetRepo SteamSensor1 The name of FileRepository or RemoteThing to transfer the file TO. targetPath incoming The path specifying the destination location of the file. targetFile incoming.txt The name of the file at the target. This name can differ from the sourceName. timeout 15,000 The amount of time (in seconds) to wait for a synchronous transfer to complete before cancelling the transfer. async false If false, the service call will block for timeout seconds or until the transfer completes. tid incoming0123 The unique TID associated with the file.   The C SDK also provides the ability to create a FileCallback function that the FileManager will call that function when any file transfer events occur. You can provide a wildcard filter so that only file transfer Events of files that match the filter call the callback function. In addition, callbacks can be set up as “one-shots” such that the callback is unregistered automatically after it is invoked the first time.   NOTE: An optional file transfer callback is registered in the code and provided. You will see the output from the function as files are sent and received.   After running this application, you will notice a new file in the transfer/incoming folder after refreshing. This is the file that we created in the ThingWorx Composer file system for the SystemRepository Entity and was able to copy from that location to our local project. We have also sent a file to the server’s SystemRepository. The BrowseFileSystem and GetFileListing services can be used to check for the folders and files created. twFileManager_RegisterFileCallback(fileCallbackFunc, NULL, FALSE, NULL);   Step 10: Support Other Platforms All Websocket errors indicate some general issue communicating with the ThingWorx platform. If you experience an issue connecting, refer to the table below for a list of websocket errors, their corresponding codes, and an explanation of the issue.   Code   Message                                                                       Troubleshooting 200 TW_UNKNOWN_WEBSOCKET_ERROR An unknown error occurred on the websocket. 201 TW_ERROR_INITIALIZING_WEBSOCKET An error occurred while initializing the websocket. Check your websocket configuration parameters for validity. 202 TW_TIMEOUT_INITIALIZING_WEBSOCKET A timeout occurred while initializing the websocket. Check the status of the connection to ThingWorx. 203 TW_WEBSOCKET_NOT_CONNECTED The websocket is not connected to ThingWorx. The requested operation cannot be performed. 204 TW_ERROR_PARSING_WEBSOCKET_DATA An error occurred while parsing websocket data. The parser could not break down the data from the websocket. 205 TW_ERROR_READING_FROM_WEBSOCKET An error occurred while reading data from the websocket. Retry the read operation. If necessary, resend the data. 206 TW_WEBSOCKET_FRAME_TOO_LARGE The SDK is attempting to send a websocket frame that is too large. The Maximum Frame Size is set when calling twAPI_Initialize and should always be set to the Message Chunk Size (twcfg.message_chunk_size). 207 TW_INVALID_WEBSOCKET_FRAME_TYPE The type of the frame coming in over the websocket is invalid. 208 TW_WEBSOCKET_MSG_TOO_LARGE The application is attempting to send a message that has been broken up in to chunks that are too large to fit in a frame. You should not see this error. 209 TW_ERROR_WRITING_TO_WEBSOCKET An error occurred while writing to the Web socket. 210 TW_INVALID_ACCEPT_KEY The Accept key sent earlier from ThingWorx is not valid.   Next Steps Congratulations! You've successfully completed the C SDK Tutorial, and learned how to utilize the resources provided in the Edge SDK to create your own application.   This is the last guide in the Connect and Configure Industrial Devices and Systems Learning Path.  If you wish to return to the Learning Path, click the link.   Additional Resources If you have questions, issues, or need additional information, refer to:  Resource Link Community Developer Community Forum Support C Edge SDK Help Center

  Step 5: Properties In the Delivery Truck application, there are three Delivery Truck Things. Each Thing has a number of Properties based on its location, speed, and its deliveries carried out. In this design, when a delivery is made or the truck is no longer moving, the Property values are updated. The deliveryTruck.c helper C file is based on the DeliveryTruck Entities in the Composer. After calling the construct function, there are a number of steps necessary to get going. For the SimpleThing application, there are a number of methods for creating Properties, Events, Services, and Data Shapes for ease of use. Properties can be created in the client or just registered and utilized. In the SimpleThingClient application, Properties are created. In the DeliveryTruckClient application, Properties are bound to their ThingWorx Platform counterpart. Two types of structures are used by the C SDK to define Properties when it is seen fit to do so and can be found in [C SDK HOME DIR]/src/api/twProperties.h:   Name                    Structure             Description Property Definitions twPropertyDef Describes the basic information for the Properties that will be available to ThingWorx and can be added to a client application. Property Values twProperty Associates the Property name with a value, timestamp, and quality. NOTE: The C SDK provides a number of Macros located in [C SDK HOME DIR]/src/api/twMacros.h. This guide will use these Macros while providing input on the use of pure function calls.   The Macro example below can be found in the main source file for the SimpleThingClient application and the accompanying helper file simple_thing.c. TW_PROPERTY("TempProperty", "Description for TempProperty", TW_NUMBER); TW_ADD_BOOLEAN_ASPECT("TempProperty", TW_ASPECT_ISREADONLY,TRUE); TW_ADD_BOOLEAN_ASPECT("TempProperty", TW_ASPECT_ISLOGGED,TRUE); NOTE: The list of aspect configurations can be seen in [C SDK HOME DIR]/src/api/twConstants.h. Property values can be set with defaults using the aspects setting. Setting a default value in the client will affect the Property in the ThingWorx platform after binding. It will not set a local value in the client application.   For the DeliveryTruckClient, we registered, read, and update Properties without using the Property definitions. Which method of using Properties is based on the application being built.   NOTE: Updating Properties in the ThingWorx Platform while the application is running, will update the values in the client application. To update the values in the platform to match, end the Property read section of your property handler function with a function to set the platform value.   The createTruckThing function for the deliveryTruck.c source code takes a truck name as a parameter and is used to register the Properties, functions, and handlers for each truck. The updateTruckThing function for the deliveryTruck.c source code takes a truck name as a parameter and is used to either initialize a struct for DeliveryTruck Properties, or simulate a truck stop Event, update Properties, then fire an Event for the ThingWorx platform. Connecting properties to be used on the platform is as easy as registering the property and optionally adding aspects. The following shows the properties that correlate to those in the DeliveryTruck entities in the Composer. To do this within the code, you would use the TW_PROPERTY macro as shown in the deliveryTruck.c. This macro must be proceeded by either TW_DECLARE_SHAPE, TW_DECLARE_TEMPLATE or TW_MAKE_THING because these macros declare variables used by the TW_PROPERTY that follow them. //TW_PROPERTY(propertyName,description,type) TW_PROPERTY(PROPERTY_NAME_DRIVER, NO_DESCRIPTION, TW_STRING); TW_PROPERTY(PROPERTY_NAME_DELIVERIES_LEFT, NO_DESCRIPTION, TW_NUMBER); TW_PROPERTY(PROPERTY_NAME_TOTAL_DELIVERIES, NO_DESCRIPTION, TW_NUMBER); TW_PROPERTY(PROPERTY_NAME_DELIVERIES_MADE, NO_DESCRIPTION, TW_NUMBER); TW_PROPERTY(PROPERTY_NAME_LOCATION, NO_DESCRIPTION, TW_LOCATION); TW_PROPERTY(PROPERTY_NAME_SPEED, NO_DESCRIPTION, "TW_NUMBER); Read Properties Reading Properties from a ThingWorx platform Thing or the returned Properties of a Service can be done using the TW_GET_PROPERTY macro. Examples of its use can be seen in all of the provided applications. An example can be seen below: int flow = TW_GET_PROPERTY(thingName, "TotalFlow").number; int pressue = TW_GET_PROPERTY(thingName, "Pressure").number; twLocation location = TW_GET_PROPERTY(thingName, "Location").location; int temperature = TW_GET_PROPERTY(thingName, "Temperature").number; Write Properties Writing Properties to a ThingWorx platform Thing from a variable storing is value uses a similarly named method. Using the TW_SET_PROPERTY macro will be able to send values to the platform. Examples of its use can be seen in all of the provided applications. An example is shown below: TW_SET_PROPERTY(thingName, "TotalFlow", TW_MAKE_NUMBER(rand() / (RAND_MAX / 10.0))); TW_SET_PROPERTY(thingName, "Pressure", TW_MAKE_NUMBER(18 + rand() / (RAND_MAX / 5.0))); TW_SET_PROPERTY(thingName, "Location", TW_MAKE_LOC(gpsroute[location_step].latitude,gpsroute[location_step].longitude,gpsroute[location_step].elevation)); This macro utilizes the twApi_PushSubscribedProperties function call to pushe all property updates to the server. This can be seen in the updateTruckThing function in deliveryTruck.c. Property Change Listeners Using the Observer pattern, you can take advantage of the Property change listener functionality. With this pattern, you create functions that will be notified when a value of a Property has been changed (whether on the server or locally by your program when the TW_SET_PROPERTY macro is called). Add a Property Change Listener In order to add a Property change listener, call the twExt_AddPropertyChangeListener function using the: Name of the Thing (entityName) Property this listener should watch Function that will be called when the property has changed void simplePropertyObserver(const char * entityName, const char * thingName,twPrimitive* newValue){ printf("My Value has changed\n"); } void test_simplePropertyChangeListener() { { TW_MAKE_THING("observedThing",TW_THING_TEMPLATE_GENERIC); TW_PROPERTY("TotalFlow", TW_NO_DESCRIPTION, TW_NUMBER); } twExt_AddPropertyChangeListener("observedThing",TW_OBSERVE_ALL_PROPERTIES,simplePropertyObserver); TW_SET_PROPERTY("observedThing","TotalFlow",TW_MAKE_NUMBER(50)); } NOTE: Setting the propertyName parameter to NULL or TW_OBSERVE_ALL_PROPERTIES, the function specified by the propertyChangeListenerFunction parameter will be used for ALL properties.   Remove a Property Change Listener In order to release the memory for your application when done with utilizing listeners for the Property, call the twExt_RemovePropertyChangeListener function. void simplePropertyObserver(const char * entityName, const char * thingName,twPrimitive* newValue){ printf("My Value has changed\n"); } twExt_RemovePropertyChangeListener(simplePropertyObserver);   Step 6: Data Shapes Data Shapes are an important part of creating/firing Events and also invoking Services. Define With Macros In order to define a Data Shape using a macro, use TW_MAKE_DATASHAPE.   NOTE: The macros are all defined in the twMacros.h header file.   TW_MAKE_DATASHAPE("SteamSensorReadingShape", TW_DS_ENTRY("ActivationTime", TW_NO_DESCRIPTION ,TW_DATETIME), TW_DS_ENTRY("SensorName", TW_NO_DESCRIPTION ,TW_NUMBER), TW_DS_ENTRY("Temperature", TW_NO_DESCRIPTION ,TW_NUMBER), TW_DS_ENTRY("Pressure", TW_NO_DESCRIPTION ,TW_NUMBER), TW_DS_ENTRY("FaultStatus", TW_NO_DESCRIPTION ,TW_BOOLEAN), TW_DS_ENTRY("InletValve", TW_NO_DESCRIPTION ,TW_BOOLEAN), TW_DS_ENTRY("TemperatureLimit", TW_NO_DESCRIPTION ,TW_NUMBER), TW_DS_ENTRY("TotalFlow", TW_NO_DESCRIPTION ,TW_INTEGER) ); Define Without Macros In order to define a Data Shape without using a macro, use the twDataShape_CreateFromEntries function. In the example below, we are creating a Data Shape called SteamSensorReadings that has two numbers as Field Definitions. twDataShape * ds = twDataShape_Create(twDataShapeEntry_Create("a",NULL,TW_NUMBER)); twDataShape_AddEntry(ds, twDataShapeEntry_Create("b",NULL,TW_NUMBER)); /* Name the DataShape for the SteamSensorReadings service output */ twDataShape_SetName(ds, "SteamSensorReadings");   Step 7: Events and Services Events and Services provide useful functionality. Events are a good way to make a Service be asynchronous. You can call a Service, let it return, then your Entity can subscribe to your Event and not keep the original Service function waiting. Events are also a good way to allow the platform to respond to data when it arrives on the edge device without it having to poll the edge device for updates. Fire Events To fire an Event you first need to register the Event and load it with the necessary fields for the Data Shape of that Event using the twApi_RegisterEvent function. Afterwards, you would send a request to the ThingWorx server with the collected values using the twApi_FireEvent function. An example is as follows: twDataShape * ds = twDataShape_Create(twDataShapeEntry_Create("message", NULL,TW_STRING)); /* Event datashapes require a name */ twDataShape_SetName(ds, "SteamSensorFault"); /* Register the service */ twApi_RegisterEvent(TW_THING, thingName, "SteamSensorFault", "Steam sensor event", ds); …. struct { char FaultStatus; double Temperature; double TemperatureLimit; } properties; …. properties. TemperatureLimit = rand() + RAND_MAX/5.0; properties.Temperature = rand() + RAND_MAX/5.0; properties.FaultStatus = FALSE; if (properties.Temperature > properties.TemperatureLimit && properties.FaultStatus == FALSE) { twInfoTable * faultData = 0; char msg[140]; properties.FaultStatus = TRUE; sprintf(msg,"%s Temperature %2f exceeds threshold of %2f", thingName, properties.Temperature, properties.TemperatureLimit); faultData = twInfoTable_CreateFromString("message", msg, TRUE); twApi_FireEvent(TW_THING, thingName, "SteamSensorFault", faultData, -1, TRUE); twInfoTable_Delete(faultData); } Invoke Services In order to invoke a Service, you will use the twApi_InvokeService function. The full documentation for this function can be found in [C SDK HOME DIR]/src/api/twApi.h. Refer to the table below for additional information.   Parameter         Type                   Description entityType Input The type of Entity that the service belongs to. Enumeration values can be found in twDefinitions.h. entityName Input The name of the Entity that the service belongs to. serviceName Input The name of the Service to execute. params Input A pointer to an Info Table containing the parameters to be passed into the Service. The calling function will retain ownership of this pointer and is responsible for cleaning up the memory after the call is complete. result Input/Output A pointer to a twInfoTable pointer. In a successful request, this parameter will end up with a valid pointer to a twInfoTable that is the result of the Service invocation. The caller is responsible for deleting the returned primitive using twInfoTable_Delete. It is possible for the returned pointer to be NULL if an error occurred or no data is returned. timeout Input The time (in milliseconds) to wait for a response from the server. A value of -1 uses the DEFAULT_MESSAGE_TIMEOUT as defined in twDefaultSettings.h. forceConnect Input A Boolean value. If TRUE and the API is in the disconnected state of the duty cycle, the API will force a reconnect to send the request.   See below for an example in which the Copy service from the FileTransferSubsystem is called:   twDataShape * ds = NULL; twInfoTable * it = NULL; twInfoTableRow * row = NULL; twInfoTable * transferInfo = NULL; int res = 0; const char * sourceRepo = "SimpleThing_1"; const char * sourcePath = "tw/hotfolder/"; const char * sourceFile = "source.txt"; const char * targetRepo = "SystemRepository"; const char * targetPath = "/"; const char * targetFile = "source.txt"; uint32_t timeout = 60; char asynch = TRUE; char * tid = 0; /* Create an infotable out of the parameters */ ds = twDataShape_Create(twDataShapeEntry_Create("sourceRepo", NULL, TW_STRING)); res = twDataShape_AddEntry(ds, twDataShapeEntry_Create("sourcePath", NULL, TW_STRING)); res |= twDataShape_AddEntry(ds, twDataShapeEntry_Create("sourceFile", NULL, TW_STRING)); res |= twDataShape_AddEntry(ds, twDataShapeEntry_Create("targetRepo", NULL, TW_STRING)); res |= twDataShape_AddEntry(ds, twDataShapeEntry_Create("targetPath", NULL, TW_STRING)); res |= twDataShape_AddEntry(ds, twDataShapeEntry_Create("targetFile", NULL, TW_STRING)); res |= twDataShape_AddEntry(ds, twDataShapeEntry_Create("async", NULL, TW_BOOLEAN)); res |= twDataShape_AddEntry(ds, twDataShapeEntry_Create("timeout", NULL, TW_INTEGER)); it = twInfoTable_Create(ds); row = twInfoTableRow_Create(twPrimitive_CreateFromString(sourceRepo, TRUE)); res = twInfoTableRow_AddEntry(row, twPrimitive_CreateFromString(sourcePath, TRUE)); res |= twInfoTableRow_AddEntry(row, twPrimitive_CreateFromString(sourceFile, TRUE)); res |= twInfoTableRow_AddEntry(row, twPrimitive_CreateFromString(targetRepo, TRUE)); res |= twInfoTableRow_AddEntry(row, twPrimitive_CreateFromString(targetPath, TRUE)); res |= twInfoTableRow_AddEntry(row, twPrimitive_CreateFromString(targetFile, TRUE)); res |= twInfoTableRow_AddEntry(row, twPrimitive_CreateFromBoolean(asynch)); res |= twInfoTableRow_AddEntry(row, twPrimitive_CreateFromInteger(timeout)); twInfoTable_AddRow(it,row); /* Make the service call */ res = twApi_InvokeService(TW_SUBSYSTEM, "FileTransferSubsystem", "Copy", it, &transferInfo, timeout ? (timeout * 2): -1, FALSE); twInfoTable_Delete(it); /* Grab the tid */ res = twInfoTable_GetString(transferInfo,"transferId",0, &tid); Bind Event Handling You may want to track exactly when your edge Entities are successfully bound to or unbound from the server. The reason for this is that only bound items should be interacting with the ThingWorx Platform and the ThingWorx Platform will never send any requests targeted at an Entity that is not bound. A simple example that only logs the bound Thing can be seen below. After creating this function, it will need to be registered using the twApi_RegisterBindEventCallback function before the connection is made. void BindEventHandler(char * entityName, char isBound, void * userdata) { if (isBound) TW_LOG(TW_FORCE,"BindEventHandler: Entity %s was Bound", entityName); else TW_LOG(TW_FORCE,"BindEventHandler: Entity %s was Unbound", entityName); } …. twApi_RegisterBindEventCallback(thingName, BindEventHandler, NULL); OnAuthenticated Event Handling You may also want to know exactly when your Edge device has successfully authenticated and made a connection to the ThingWorx platform. Like the bind Event handling, this function will need to be made and registered. To register this handler, use the twApi_RegisterOnAuthenticatedCallback function before the connection is made. This handler form can also be used to do a delay bind for all Things. void simplePropertyObserver(const char * entityName, const char * thingName,twPrimitive* newValue){ printf("My Value has changed\n"); } twExt_RemovePropertyChangeListener(simplePropertyObserver);   Click here to view Part 4 of this guide. 

  Step 3: Run Sample Code The C code in the sample download is configured to run and connect to the Entities provided in the ThingWorxEntitiesExport.xml file. Make note of the IP address of your ThingWorx Composer instance. The top level of the exported zip file will be referred to as [C SDK HOME DIR]. Navigate to the [C SDK HOME DIR]/examples/ExampleClient/src directory. Open the main.c source file. Operating System          Command Linux/Ubuntu gedit main.c OR vi main.c Mac open –e main.c Windows start main.c Modify the Server Details section at the top with the IP address for your ThingWorx Platform instance and the Application Key you would like to use. Change the TW_HOST definition accordingly. NOTE: By default, TW_APP_KEY has been set to the Application Key from the admin_key in the import step completed earlier. Using the Application Key for the default Administrator is not recommended. If administrative access is absolutely necessary, create a user and place the user as a member of the Admins security group.   /* Server Details */ #define TW_HOST "127.0.0.1" #define TW_APP_KEY "ce22e9e4-2834-419c-9656-e98f9f844c784c" If you are working on a port other than 80, you will need to update the conditional statement within the main.c source file. Search for and edit the first line within the main function. Based on your settings, set the int16_t port to the ThingWorx platform port. Click Save and close the file. Create a directory to build in, for this example call it bin. Operating System           Command Linux/Ubuntu mkdir bin Mac mkdir bin Windows mkdir bin Change to the newly created bin directory. Operating System          Command Linux/Ubuntu cd bin Mac cd bin Windows cd bin Run the CMake command using your specific IDE of choice. NOTE: Include the two periods at the end of the code as shown below. Use cmake -G to see a list of supported IDEs.         cmake ..​           Once your build completes, you will find the build products in the bin directory, and you can open the project in your IDE of choice. NOTE: You should receive messages confirming successful binding, authentication, and connection after building and running the application. You should be able to see a Thing in your ThingWorx Composer called SimpleThing_1 with updated lastConnection and isConnected properties. SimpleThing_1 is bound for the duration of the application run time.     The below instructions will help to verify the connection. Click Monitoring. Click Remote Things from the list to see the connection status.   You will now be able to see and select the Entity within the list.   Step 4: ExampleClient Connection The C code provided in the main.c source file is preconfigured to initialize the ThingWorx C Edge SDK API with a connection to the ThingWorx platform and register handlers. In order to set up the connection, a number of parameters must be defined. This can be seen in the code below. #define TW_HOST "127.0.0.1" #define TW_APP_KEY "ce22e9e4-2834-419c-9656-ef9f844c784c #if defined NO_TLS #define TW_PORT = 80; #else #define TW_PORT = 443; #endif The first step of connecting to the platform: Establish Physical Websocket, we call the twApi_Initialize function with the information needed to point to the websocket of the ThingWorx Composer. This function: Registers messaging handlers Allocates space for the API structures Creates a secure websocket err = twApi_Initialize(hostname, port, TW_URI, appKey, NULL, MESSAGE_CHUNK_SIZE, MESSAGE_CHUNK_SIZE, TRUE); if (TW_OK != err) { TW_LOG(TW_ERROR, "Error initializing the API"); exit(err); } If you are not using SSL/TLS, use the following line to test against a server with a self-signed certificate: twApi_SetSelfSignedOk(); In order to disable HTTPS support and use HTTP only, call the twApi_DisableEncryption function. This is needed when using ports such as 80 or 8080. A call can be seen below: twApi_DisableEncryption(); The following event handlers are all optional. The twApi_RegisterBindEventCallback function registers a function that will be called on the event of a Thing being bound or unbound to the ThingWorx platform. The twApi_RegisterOnAuthenticatedCallback function registered a function that will be called on the event the SDK has been authenticated by the ThingWorx Platform. The twApi_RegisterSynchronizeStateEventCallback function registers a function that will be called after binding and used to notify your application about fields that have been bound to the Thingworx Platform. twApi_RegisterOnAuthenticatedCallback(authEventHandler, TW_NO_USER_DATA); twApi_RegisterBindEventCallback(NULL, bindEventHandler, TW_NO_USER_DATA); twApi_RegisterSynchronizeStateEventCallback(NULL, synchronizeStateHandler, TW_NO_USER_DATA); NOTE: Binding a Thing within the ThingWorx platform is not mandatory, but there are a number of advantages, including updating Properties while offline.   You can then start the client, which will establish the AlwaysOn protocol with the ThingWorx Composer. This protocol provides bi-directional communication between the ThingWorx Composer and the running client application. To start this connection, use the line below:   err = twApi_Connect(CONNECT_TIMEOUT, RETRY_COUNT); if(TW_OK != err){ exit(-1); }   Click here to view Part 3 of this guide.   

  Use the C SDK to build an app that connects to ThingWorx with persistent bi-directional communication   Guide Concept This project will introduce more complex aspects of the ThingWorx C SDK and help you to get started with development.  Following the steps in this this guide, you will be ready to develop your own IoT application with the ThingWorx C SDK.  We will teach you how to use the C programming language to connect and build IoT applications to be used with the ThingWorx Platform.   You'll learn how to Establish and manage a secure connection with a ThingWorx server, including SSL negotiation and connection maintenance Enable easy programmatic interaction with the Properties, Services, and Events that are exposed by Entities running on a ThingWorx server Create applications that can be directly used with your device running the C programming language Basic concepts of the C Edge SDK How to use the C Edge API to build a real-world application How to utilize resources provided in the Edge SDK to help create your own application NOTE: This guide's content aligns with ThingWorx 9.3. The estimated time to complete ALL 3 parts of this guide is 60 minutes.   Step 1: Completed Examples Download the completed files for this tutorial: ThingWorx C Edge SDK Sample Files.zip.  This tutorial will guide you through working with the C SDK on differing levels. Utilize this file to see a finished example and return to it as a reference if you become stuck creating your own fully fleshed out application.  Keep in mind, this download uses the exact names for Entities used in this tutorial. If you would like to import this example and also create Entities on your own, change the names of the Entities you create.   Step 2: Environment Setup In order to compile C code, you need a C compiler and the ThingWorx C Edge SDK available in the PTC Support download site.  It will be helpful to have CMake installed on your system. CMake is a build tool that will generate make or project files for many different platforms and IDEs.   Operating System      Notes Windows You will need a 3rd party compiler such as MinGW GCC, Cygwin GCC or you can follow these Microsoft instructions to download and use the Microsoft Visual C++ Build Tool. Mac Download the Apple Developer Tools. Linux/Ubuntu A compiler is included by default.   NOTE: You can use CMake, version 2.6.1 or later to build projects or make files, which then are used to build the applications that you develop with the C SDK.     Before you can begin developing with the ThingWorx C SDK, you need to generate an Application Key and modify the source code file. You can use the Create an Application Key guide as a reference.   Modify Source File Extract the files from the C SDK samples zip file. At the top level of the extracted files, you will see a folder called examples. This directory provides examples of how to utilize the C SDK. Open a terminal, go to your workspace, and create a new directory. You can also just switch to the unzipped directory in your system. After you've created this directory in your workspace, copy the downloaded files and folders into your new directory. You can start creating your connection code or open the main.c source file in the examples\SteamSensor\src directory for an example. Operating System      Code Linux/Ubuntu gedit main.c OR vi main.c Mac open –e main.c Windows start main.c Modify the Server Details section at the top with the IP address for your ThingWorx platform instance and the Application Key you would like to use. Change the TW_HOST definition accordingly. Change the TW_PORT definition accordingly. Change the TW_APP_KEY definition to the keyId value saved from the last step.         /* Server Details */ #define TW_HOST "https://pp-XXXXXXXXX.devportal.ptc.i" #define TW_PORT 80 #define TW_APP_KEY "e1d78abf-cfd2-47a6-92b7-37ddc6dd34618"​         NOTE: Using the Application Key for the default Administrator is not recommended. If administrative access is absolutely necessary, create a User and place the user as a member of Admins.   Compile and Run Code To test your connection, you will only need to update the main.c in the SteamSensor example folder. CMake can generate Visual Studio projects, make build files or even target IDEs such as Eclipse, or XCode. CMake generates a general description into a build for your specific toolchain or IDE.   Inside the specific example folder you would like to run, ie SteamSensor. Create a directory to build in, for this example call it bin. mkdir bin  cd bin Run the CMake command listed below. This assumes CMake is already on your PATH.         cmake ..​           CMake has now produced a set of project files which should be compatible with your development environment. Operating System        Command                                            Notes Unix make A set of make files Windows msbuild tw-c-sdk.sln /t:build A visual studio solution   NOTE: CMake does its best to determine what version of Visual Studio you have but you may wish to specify which version to use if you have more than one installed on your computer. Below is an example of forcing CMake to use a specific version of Visual Studio: cmake -G "Visual Studio 15 2017" .. If your version of Visual Studio or other IDE is unknown, use cmake -G to see a list of supported IDEs.   You also have the alternative of opening the tw-c-sdk.sln from within Visual Studio and building in this IDE.   NOTE: By default, CMake will generate a build for the creation of a release binary. If you want to generate a debug build, use the command:           cmake -DBUILD_DEBUG=ON ..           Once your build completes you will find the build products in the CMake directory (see example below). From here, open the project in your IDE of choice.   NOTE: You should receive messages confirming successful binding, authentication, and connection after the main.c file edits have been made.   Operating System Files Description Unix ./bin/src/libtwCSdk_static.a  Static Library Unix ./bin/src/libtwCSdk.so  Shared Library Unix ./bin/examples/SteamSensor/SteamSensor   Sample Application Windows .\bin\src\<Debug/Release>\twCSdk_static.lib  Static Library Windows .\bin\src\<Debug/Release>\twCSdk.dll  Shared Library Windows .\bin\examples\<Debug/Release>\SteamSensor\SteamSensor.exe  Sample Application   Click here to view Part 2 of this guide.  

Get Started with ThingWorx for IoT Guide Part 5   Step 13: Extend Your Model   Modify the application model, enhance your UI, and add features to the house monitoring application to simulate a request as it might come from an end user. For this step, we do not provide explicit instructions, so you can use critical thinking to apply your skills. After completing the previous steps, your Mashup should look like this:   In this part of the lesson, you'll have an opportunity to: Complete an application enhancement in Mashup Builder Compare your work with that of a ThingWorx engineer Import and examine ThingWorx entities provided for download that satisfy the requirements Understand the implications of ThingWorx modeling options   Task Analysis   Add a garage to the previously-created house monitoring web application and include a way to display information about the garage in the UI. You will need to model the garage using Composer and add to the web application UI using Mashup Builder. What useful information could a web application for a garage provide? How could information about a garage be represented in ThingWorx? What is the clearest way to display information about a garage?   Tips and Hints   See below for some tips and hints that will help you think about what to consider when modifying the application in ThingWorx. Modify your current house monitoring application by adding a garage: Extend your model to include information about a garage using Composer. Add a display of the garage information to your web application UI using Mashup Builder.   Best Practices   Keep application development manageable by using ThingWorx features that help organize entities you create.   Modeling   The most important feature of a garage is the status of the door. In addition to its current status, a user might be interested in knowing when the garage door went up or down. Most garages are not heated, so a user may or may not be interested in the garage temperature.   Display   The current status of the garage door should be easily visible. Complete the task in your Composer before moving forward. The Answer Key below reveals how we accomplished this challenge so you can compare your results to that of a ThingWorx engineer.   Answer Key   Confirm you configured your Mashup to meet the enhancement requirements when extending your web application. Use the information below to check your work.   Create New Thing   Creating a new Thing is one way to model the garage door. We explain other methods, including their pros and cons, in the Solution discussion below. Did you create a new Thing using the Building Template? Did you apply a Tag to the new Thing you created?   Review detailed steps for how to Create a Thing in Part 2 of this guide.   Add Property   Any modeling strategy requires the addition of a new Property to your model. We explore options for selecting an appropriate base type for the garage Property in the Solution discussion on the next step. Did you add a Property to represent the garage door? Did you use the Boolean type? Did you check the Logged? check-box to save history of changes?   Review detailed steps for how to Add a Property. in Part 1, Step 3 of this guide.   Add Widget   In order to display the garage door status, you must add a Widget to your Mashup. We used a check-box in our implementation. We introduce alternative display options in the Solution discussion on the next step. Did you add a Widget to your Mashup representing the garage door status? Review detailed steps for how to Create an Application UI in Part 3, Step 8 of this guide.   Add Data Source   If you created a new Thing, you must add a new data source. This step is not required if you added a Property to the existing Thing representing a house. Did you add a data source from the garage door Property of your new Thing? Did you check the Execute on Load check-box? Review detailed steps for how to Add a Data Source to a Mashup in Part 4, Step 10 of this guide.   Bind Data Source to Widget   You must bind the new garage door Property to a Widget in order to affect the visualization. Did you bind the data source to the Widget you added to your Mashup? Review detailed steps for how to Bind a Data Source to a Widget in Part 4, Step 10 of this guide.   Solution   If you want to inspect the entities as configured by a ThingWorx engineer, import this file into your Composer. Download the attached example solution:   FoundationChallengeSolution.xml Import the xml file into, then open MyHouseAndGarage Thing. See below for some options to consider in your application development.   Modeling   There are several ways the garage door property could be added to your existing model. The table below discusses different implementations we considered. We chose to model the status of the garage door as a Property of a new Thing created using the building Template. Modeling Method Pros Cons Add Property to BuildingTemplate The Garage property will be added to existing house Thing All future Things using Building Template will have a garage door property Add Property to existing house Thing House and garage are linked No separate temperature and watts Property for garage Add Property to new Thing created with BuildingTemplate All Building features available No logical link between house and garage   Property Base Type   We chose to represent the status of the door with a simple Boolean Property named 'garageDoorOpen' Thoughtful property naming ensures that the values, true and false, have a clear meaning. Using a Boolean type also makes it easy to bind the value directly to a Widget. The table below explains a few Base Type options. Modeling Method Pros Cons Boolean Easy to bind to Widget Information between open and closed is lost Number Precise door status Direction information is lost String Any number of states can be represented An unexpected String could break UI   Visualization   We chose a simple Check-box Widget to show the garage door status, but there are many other Widgets you could choose depending on how you want to display the data. For example, a more professional implementation might display a custom image for each state.   Logging   We recommended that you check the Logged option, so you can record the history of the garage door status.   Step 14: Next Steps   Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Get Started with ThingWorx for IoT tutorial, and learned how to: Use Composer to create a Thing based on Thing Shapes and Thing Templates Store Property change history in a Value Stream Define application logic using custom defined Services and Subscriptions Create an applicaton UI with Mashup Builder Display data from connected devices Test a sample application The next guide in the Getting Started on the ThingWorx Platform learning path is Data Model Introduction.

Get Started with ThingWorx for IoT Guide Part 4   Step 10: Display Data   Now that you have configured the visual part of your application, you need to bind the Widgets in your Mashup to a data source, and enable your application to display data from your connected devices.   Add Services to Mashup   Click the Data tab in the top-right section of the Mashup Builder. Click on the green + symbol in the Data tab.   Type MyHouse in the Entity textbox. Click MyHouse. In the Filter textbox below Services, type GetPropertyValues. Click the arrow to the right of the GetPropertyValues service to add it.   Select the checkbox under Execute on Load. NOTE: If you check the Execute on Load option, the service will execute when the Mashup starts. 8. In the Filter textbox under Services, type QueryProperty. 9. Add the QueryPropertyHistory service by clicking the arrow to the right of the service name. 10. Click the checkbox under Execute on Load. 11. Click Done. 12. Click Save.   Bind Data to Widgets   We will now connect the Services we added to the Widgets in the Mashup that will display their data.   Gauge   Configure the Gauge to display the current power value. Expand the GetPropertyValues Service as well as the Returned Data and All Data sections. Drag and drop the watts property onto the Gauge Widget.   When the Select Binding Target dialogue box appears, select # Data.   Map   Configure Google Maps to display the location of the home. Expand the GetPropertyValues service as well as the Returned Data section. Drag and drop All Data onto the map widget.   When the Select Binding Target dialogue box appears, select Data. Click on the Google Map Widget on the canvas to display properties that can configured in the lower left panel. Set the LocationField property in the lower left panel by selecting building_lat_lng from the drop-down menu.   Chart   Configure the Chart to display property values changing over time. Expand the QueryPropertyHistory Service as well as the Returned Data section. Drag and drop All Data onto the Line Chart Widget. When the Select Binding Target dialogue box appears, select Data. In the Property panel in the lower left, select All from the Category drop-down. Enter series in Filter Properties text box then enter 1 in NumberOfSeries . Enter field in Filter Properties text box then click XAxisField. Select the timestamp property value from the XAxisField drop-down. Select temperature from the DataField1 drop-down.   Verify Data Bindings   You can see the configuration of data sources bound to widgets displayed in the Connections pane. Click on GetPropertyValues in the data source panel then check the diagram on the bottom of the screen to confirm a data source is bound to the Gauge and Map widget.   Click on the QueryPropertyHistory data source and confirm that the diagram shows the Chart is bound to it. Click Save.   Step 11: Simulate a Data Source   At this point, you have created a Value Stream to store changing property value data and applied it to the BuildingTemplate. This guide does not include connecting edge devices and another guide covers choosing a connectivity method. We will import a pre-made Thing that creates simulated data to represent types of information from a connected home. The imported Thing uses Javascript code saved in a Subscription that updates the power and temperature properties of the MyHouse Thing every time it is triggered by its timer Event.    Import Data Simulation Entities   Download the attached sample:  Things_House_data_simulator.xml. In Composer, click the Import/Export icon at the lower-left of the page. Click Import. Leave all default values and click Browse to select the Things_House_data_simulator.xml file that you just downloaded. Click Open, then Import, and once you see the success message, click Close.   Explore Imported Entities   Navigate to the House_data_simulator Thing by using the search bar at the top of the screen. Click the Subscriptions tab. Click Event.Timer under Name. Select the Subscription Info tab. NOTE: Every 30 seconds, the timer event will trigger this subscription and the Javascript code in the Script panel will run. The running script updates the temperature and watts properties of the MyHouse Thing using logic based on both the temperature property from MyHouse and the isACrunning property of the simulator itself. 5. Expand the Subscription Info menu. The simulator will send data when the Enabled checkbox is checked. 6. Click Done then Save to save any changes.   Verify Data Simulation   Open the MyHouse Thing and click Properties an Alerts tab Click the Refresh button above where the current property values are shown   Notice that the temperature property value changes every 30 seconds when the triggered service runs. The watts property value is 100 when the temperature exceeds 72 to simulate an air conditioner turning on.   Step 12: Test Application   Browse to your Mashup and click View Mashup to launch the application.   NOTE: You may need to enable pop-ups in your browser to see the Mashup.       2. Confirm that data is being displayed in each of the sections.        Test Alert   Open MyHouse Thing Click the Properties and Subscriptions Tab. Find the temperature Property and click on pencil icon in the Value column. Enter the temperature property of 29 in the upper right panel. Click Check mark icon to save value. This will trigger the freezeWarning alert.   Click Refresh to see the value of the message property automatically set.   7. Click the the Monitoring icon on the left, then click ScriptLog to see your message written to the script log.   Click here to view Part 5 of this guide. 

Get Started with ThingWorx for IoT Guide Part 3   Step 7: Create Alerts and Subscriptions   An Event is a custom-defined message published by a Thing, usually when the value of a Property changes. A Subscription listens for a specific Event, then executes Javascript code. In this step, you will create an Alert which is quick way to define both an Event and the logic for when the Event is published.   Create Alert   Create an Alert that will be sent when the temperature property falls below 32 degrees. Click Thing Shapes under the Modeling tab in Composer, then open the ThermostatShape Thing Shape from the list.   Click Properties and Alerts tab.   Click the temperature property. Click the green Edit button if not already in edit mode, then click the + in the Alerts column.   Choose Below from the Alert Type drop down list. Type freezeWarning in the Name field.   Enter 32 in the Limit field. Keep all other default settings in place. NOTE: This will cause the Alert to be sent when the temperature property is at or below 32.        8. Click ✓ button above the new alert panel.       9. Click Save.     Create Subscription   Create a Subscription to this event that uses Javascript to record an entry in the error log and update a status message. Open the MyHouse Thing, then click Subscriptions tab.   Click Edit if not already in edit mode, then click + Add.   Type freezeWarningSubscription in the Name field. After clicking the Inputs tab, click the the Event drop down list, then choose Alert. In the Property field drop down, choose temperature.   Click the Subscription Info tab, then check the Enabled checkbox   Create Subscription Code   Follow the steps below to create code that sets the message property value and writes a Warning message to the ThingWorx log. Enter the following JavaScript in the Script text box to the right to set the message property.                       me.message = "Warning: Below Freezing";                       2. Click the Snippets tab. NOTE: Snippets provide many built-in code samples and functions you can use. 3. Click inside the Script text box and hit the Enter key to place the cursor on a new line. 4. Type warn into the snippets filter text box or scroll down to locate the warn Snippet. 5. Click All, then click the arrow next to warn, and Javascript code will be added to the script window. 6. Add an error message in between the quotation marks.                       logger.warn("The freezeWarning subscription was triggered");                       7. Click Done. 8. Click Save.   Step 8: Create Application UI ThingWorx you can create customized web applications that display and interact with data from multiple sources. These web applications are called Mashups and are created using the Mashup Builder. The Mashup Builder is where you create your web application by dragging and dropping Widgets such as grids, charts, maps, buttons onto a canvas. All of the user interface elements in your application are Widgets. We will build a web application with three Widgets: a map showing your house's location on an interactive map, a gauge displaying the current value of the watts property, and a graph showing the temperature property value trend over time. Build Mashup Start on the Browse, folder icon tab of ThingWorx Composer. Select Mashups in the left-hand navigation, then click + New to create a new Mashup.   For Mashup Type select Responsive.   Click OK. Enter widgetMashup in the Name text field, If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject, Click Save. Select the Design tab to display Mashup Builder.   Organize UI On the upper left side of the design workspace, in the Widget panel, be sure the Layout tab is selected, then click Add Bottom to split your UI into two halves.   Click in the bottom half to be sure it is selected before clicking Add Left Click anywhere inside the lower left container, then scroll down in the Layout panel to select Fixed Size Enter 200 in the Width text box that appears, then press Tab key of your computer to record your entry.   Click Save   Step 9: Add Widgets Click the Widgets tab on the top left of the Widget panel, then scroll down until you see the Gauge Widget Drag the Gauge widget onto the lower left area of the canvas on the right. This Widget will show the simulated watts in use.   Select the Gauge object on the canvas, and the bottom left side of the screen will show the Widget properties. Select Bindable from the Catagory dropdown and enter Watts for the Legend property value, and then press tab..   Click and drag the Google Map Widget onto the top area of the canvas. NOTE: The Google Map Widget has been provisioned on PTC CLoud hosted trial servers. If it is not available, download and install the Google Map Extension using the step-by-step guide for using Google Maps with ThingWorx . Click and drag the Line Chart Widget onto the lower right area of the canvas. Click Save

Get Started with ThingWorx for IoT Guide Part 2   Step 4: Create Thing   A Thing is used to digitally represent a specific component of your application in ThingWorx. In Java programming terms, a Thing is similar to an instance of a class. In this step, you will create a Thing that represents an individual house using the Thing Template we created in the previous step. Using a Thing Template allows you to increase development velocity by creating multiple Things without re-entering the same information each time. Start on the Browse, folder icon tab on the far left of ThingWorx Composer. Under the Modeling tab, hover over Things then click the + button. Type MyHouse in the Name field. NOTE: This name, with matching capitalization, is required for the data simulator which will be imported in a later step. 4. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject. 5. In the Base Thing Template text box, click the + and select the recently created BuildingTemplate. 6. In the Implemented Shapes text box, click the + and select the recently created ThermostatShape. 7. Click Save.     Step 5: Store Data in Value Stream   Now that you have created the MyHouse Thing to model your application in ThingWorx, you need to create a storage entity to record changing property values. This guide shows ways to store data in ThingWorx Foundation. This exercise uses a Value Stream which is a quick and easy way to save time-series data.   Create Value Stream   Start on the Browse, folder icon tab on the far left of ThingWorx Composer. Under the Data Storage section of the left-hand navigation panel, hover over Value Streams and click the + button. Select the ValueStream template option, then click OK. Enter Foundation_Quickstart_ValueStream in the Name field. If Project is not already set, click the + in the Project text box and select the PTCDefaultProject.   Click Save.   Update Thing Template   Navigate to the BuildingTemplate Thing Template. TIP: You can use the Search box at the top if the tab is closed.       2. Confirm you are on the General Information tab.       3. Click Edit button if it is visible, then, in the Value Stream text entry box, click the + and select Foundation_Quickstart_ValueStream               4. Click Save     Step 6: Create Custom Service   The ThingWorx Foundation server provides the ability to create and execute custom Services written in Javascript. Expedite your development with sample code snippets, code-completion, and linting in the Services editor for Things, Thing Templates, and Thing Shapes. In this section, you will create a custom Service in the Electric Meter Thing Shape that will calculate the current hourly cost of electricity based on both the simulated live data, and the electricity rate saved in your model. You will create a JavaScript that multiplies the current meter reading by the cost per hour and stores it in a property that tracks the current cost. Click Thing Shapes under the Modeling tab on the left navigation pane; then click on MeterShape in the list. Click Services tab, then click + Add and select Local (Javascript). Type calculateCost into the Name field. Click Me/Entities to open the tab. Click Properties. NOTE: There are a number of properties including costPerKWh, currentCost and currentPower. These come from the Thing Shape you defined earlier in this tutorial. 6. Click the arrow next to the currentCost property. This will add the Javascript code to the script box for accessing the currentCost property. 7. Reproduce the code below by typing in the script box or clicking on the other required properties under the Me tab:           me.currentCost = me.costPerKWh * me.currentPower;           8. Click Done. 9. Click Save. NOTE: There is a new ThingWorx 9.3 feature that allows users to easily Execute tests for ‘Services’ right from where they are defined so users can quickly test solution code.    Click here to view Part 3 of this guide. 

  Create Your Application Guide UI Part 4    Step 6: Apply Services   You now have an idea of what your Mashup will look like, but without Data Services, it won't accomplish anything productive. In the following steps you'll apply Mashup Data Services to the Widgets.   Add Data Services   Click the + button in the top-right in the Data tab.   In the Entity Filter field, search for and select MBQSThing. In the Select Services field, search for and select GetPropertyValues. Check the Execute on Load checkbox for GetPropertyValues. In the Services Filter field, search for and select SetProperties. In this case, you WILL NOT check the box for Mashup Loaded? because we do not want to call this Service upon initial Mashup load. 6. Click Done. Both the GetPropertyValues and SetProperties Services now appears under the Data tab as well. 7. Click Save.   GetPropertyValues   GetPropertyValues has brought all the values of our Thing's Properties into the Mashup. Now let's tie these values to the Widgets. Expand All Data under the GetPropertyValues Service on the right under the Data tab.   Drag-and-drop Gears_Count onto the textfield-gears-count Widget.   On the Select Binding Target pop-up, click Text.   Repeat Steps 2 and 3, binding Pistons_Count to textfield-pistons-count and Wheels_Count to textfield-wheels-count. Drag-and-drop Gears_Count_Manually_Set onto the checkbox-gears-manual Widget.   On the Select Binding Target pop-up, click State.   Repeat Steps 5 and 6, binding Pistons_Count_Manually_Set to checkbox-pistons-manual and Wheels_Count_Manually_Set to checkbox-wheels-manual. Click Save.   SetProperties   We want to tie the Widgets to the SetProperties Service to manually set the inventory counts in case something has gone wrong with our IoT sensors in the warehouse. On the right under the Data tab, minimize the GetPropertyValues Service and expand the SetProperties Service.        2. Click the textfield-gears-count Widget to select it. 3. Click the top-left drop-down of the TextBox to expand the options. 4. Drag-and-drop Text onto SetProperties > Gears_Count. 5. Repeat Steps 2 through 4, binding Text from textfield-pistons-count onto Pistons_Count and textfield-wheels-count onto Wheels_Count. 6. Click the checkbox-gears-manual Widget to select it. 7. Click the top-left drop-down of the Checkbox to expand the options. 8. Drag-and-drop State onto Gears_Count_Manually_Set. 9. Repeat Steps 6 through 8, binding State from both checkbox-pistons-manual to Pistons_Count_Manually_Set and checkbox-wheels-manual to Wheels_Count_Manually_Set. 10. Click the button-manual-set Widget to select it. 11. Click the top-left drop-down of the Button to expand the options. 12. Drag-and-drop the Clicked Event onto SetProperties under the Data tab. NOTE: The previous steps in this section where we bound Widgets to Properties simply defined what-goes-where in terms of storing the values into the ThingWorx Foundation backend.To actually push those values, the SetProperties Service itself must be called. 13. With the SetProperties Service selected, drag-and-drop SetProperties' ServiceInvokeCompleted Event (in the bottom-right Data Properties section) onto the GetPropertyValues Service (in the top-right Data tab). If you don't see ServiceInvokeCompleted, ensure that you have the Data Properties tab selected. This will cause the GUI to update once the new values have been saved to the platform’s backend. 14. Click Save.   Manual Data Retrieval   We want to tie a Button to GetPropertyValues to update the GUI with the backend's ever-changing inventory counts without requiring a page reload. Click button-manual-retrieve to select it. Click the top-left drop-down of this Button Widget to expand the options. Drag-and-drop the Clicked Event onto the GetPropertyValues Service. This will create another way to update the part counts in the GUI, other than reloading the page. 4. Click Save.   Click here to view Part 5 of this guide. 

  Create Your Application Guide UI Part 3    Step 5: Add Widgets to Mashup    At this point, you should have an understanding of how the Widgets in your Mashup relate to the data from devices you've connected via the ThingWorx platform.   Scenario   Now, let's try to imagine a real-world scenario. For this example, assume that you are in a company developing an IoT application utilizing ThingWorx Foundation.   Developer Role Responsibility Edge Developers Utilize the Edge MicroServer, Software Development Kits, or ThingWorx Kepware Server to connect devices and bring data into the platform. Backend Developers Created Things, Thing Templates, and Thing Shapes to store and manipulate the data within ThingWorx Foundation. Frontend Developer Tasked with taking the IoT data and creating an interface with which your users can interact to gain insight from the data. In this scenario, you are the Frontend Developer. The Thing you imported previously represents those Edge and Backend Developers’ work. The data is all there. Specifically, let's assume that this Data Model represents a factory inventory system. You want to quickly build a GUI that is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to display the current counts of various products in your warehouse, while also allowing you to manually edit those counts if you receive a report that an IoT scanner in the warehouse has malfunctioned. Since this is a real factory, inventory is constantly increasing and decreasing as manufactured parts are completed or shipping orders are fulfilled. In this lesson, we'll simulate these changes by a 10-second-timer which will increment the counts until a shipping order has been fulfilled (100 total parts), at which point the current inventory count for that part will be reset.   Create the Mashup   Follow the subsequent steps to create an MVP GUI for the example scenario: Click Browse > VISUALIZATION > Mashups > + New. Keep the default of Responsive (with NO Responsive Templates chosen), and click OK in the pop-up window. In the Name field, enter MBQSMashup.   If the Project field is not already set, search for and select PTCDefaultProject.  At the top, click Save. At the top, click Design. On the left, click the Left Arrow to slide-back the navigation pane, leaving more room for the Mashup Builder. At the topleft on the Layout tab, for Positioning, check the radio-button for Static.   Add Labels   Follow the subsequent steps to add Labels that clarify GUI sections of the application. Select the Widgets tab, then drag-and-drop three Label Widgets onto the central Canvas.   With the top Label Widget selected (by clicking on it), change the DisplayName to label-gears-count and hit the Tab key on your keyboard to lock in the modification. NOTE: You can find the DisplayName and all other Widget Properties in the bottom-left of the Mashup Builder. Changing the Widget DisplayNames to recognizable values is highly recommended, as it assists with your logic inspection in the bottom-center Connections window.        3. With the newly-named label-gears-count still selected, type Gears Count in the LabelText field and hit the Tab key.       4. Click on the middle Label; then, in the bottom-left Widget Properties panel, change the DisplayName to label-pistons-count and LabelText to Pistons Count.       5. Similarly, change the bottom Label's DisplayName to label-wheels-count and LabelText to Wheels Count.       6. Click Save.   Add TextBoxes   Follow the subsequent steps to display some information on the various part-counts in our inventory. Drag-and-drop three Text Field Widgets onto the central Canvas.   With the top Text Field Widget selected, change the DisplayName to textfield-gears-count and hit the Tab key.   Change the middle Text Field's DisplayName to textfield-pistons-count, and hit the Tab key. Change the bottom Text Field's DisplayName to textfield-wheels-count, and hit the Tab key. Click Save.   Add Checkboxes   We want to display that inventory counts have been manually set when something went wrong, rather than have someone assume that the information is current and coming from an IoT sensor. This also allows us to flag any sensors that are experiencing issues. Follow the subsequent steps to create checkboxes. Drag-and-drop three Checkbox Widgets onto the central Canvas.   With the top Checkbox Widget selected, change the DisplayName to checkbox-gears-manual and the Label property to Gears Manually Set. Change the middle Checkbox's DisplayName to checkbox-pistons-manual and Label to Pistons Manually Set. Change the bottom Checkbox's DisplayName to checkbox-wheels-manual and Label to Wheels Manually Set.   Click Save.   Add Buttons   After our manual count has been entered, we need to trigger storing it in the backend. We can do this with a Button Widget. In addition, it would be helpful to be able to update the changing counts in the Textboxes without having to reload the entire Mashup. Follow the subsequent steps to add Buttons. Drag-and-drop two Button Widgets onto the central Canvas.   With the top Button Widget selected, change the DisplayName to button-manual-set, the Label to Manually Set Counts, and click-and-drag the right-side of the Button to expand its size.   With the bottom Button Widget selected, change the DisplayName to button-manual-retrieve, the Label to Manually Retrieve Counts, and click-and-drag the right-side of the Button to expand its size.   Click Save.   Resize the Mashup   Follow the subsequent steps to enable the Mashup to fit on a smartphone screen. Click-and-drag your Widgets around the Mashup such that they look roughly like the pictures shown above. Click-and-drag the right-side of the Mashup, pulling it to the left to reduce the horizontal size. Click-and-drag the bottom of the Mashup, pulling it up to reduce the vertical size.   Click Save.         Click here to view Part 4 of this guide.   

Design and Implement Data Models to Enable Predictive Analytics Learning Path   Design and implement your data model, create logic, and operationalize an analytics model.   NOTE: Complete the following guides in sequential order. The estimated time to complete this learning path is 390 minutes.    Data Model Introduction  Design Your Data Model Part 1 Part 2 Part 3  Data Model Implementation Part 1 Part 2 Part 3  Create Custom Business Logic  Implement Services, Events, and Subscriptions Part 1 Part 2  Build a Predictive Analytics Model  Part 1 Part 2 Operationalize an Analytics Model  Part 1 Part 2  

Connect and Monitor Industrial Plant Equipment Learning Path   Learn how to connect and monitor equipment that is used at a processing plant or on a factory floor.   NOTE: Complete the following guides in sequential order. The estimated time to complete this learning path is 180 minutes.   Create An Application Key  Install ThingWorx Kepware Server Connect Kepware Server to ThingWorx Foundation Part 1 Part 2 Create Industrial Equipment Model Build an Equipment Dashboard Part 1 Part 2