Molecule.js

Molecule is project skeleton for adding custom control logic to and running Atom.js. Molecule comes bundled with a sample configuration for Atom as well as example control logic scripts.

Getting started

Set up environment

Install Node.js. For example, on Ubuntu, run

$ sudo apt-get install nodejs npm libexpat1-dev

In order to get started, clone this repository and create your own branch.

$ git clone https://github.com/bjorne/molecule.js
$ cd molecule.js
$ git branch <your name>

By creating your own branch, you can freely commit and push changes and easily share your code with other users.

Copy

• config/atom.json.sample to config/atom.json
• config/molecule.json.sample to config/molecule.json

and make the changes necessary to suit your environment.

Run npm install to install the necessary packages.

Scripting basics

A molecule script resides under the lib/controllers directory and exports a function which will automatically be invoked by molecule upon startup, like so:

module.exports = function($) {
  // logic goes here
}

The $ argument is the unit selector function. If you've every used jQuery, you should feel quite at home. The unit selector function is used to find units - which are abstractions of modules and functions in the CAN network. For example, there is a unit called BusVoltage. We can select all BusVoltage units using

$({ type: 'BusVoltage' })

The result of the $ function is a unit selection upon which you can apply commands or listen for events. Suppose, we would like to print the bus voltage in the console when a new value is received. The script could look like this:

module.exports = function($) {
  $({ type: 'BusVoltage' })
    .on('meta:voltage', function(unit, voltage) {
      console.log('current voltage is ' + voltage);
  });
};

The meta: prefix indicates we are listening for metadata changes. Whenever a unit receives a new value, the metadata will be updated and an event is emitted.

Once you see everything is working, it may be a good idea to commit.

Checkout the examples/ directory for more examples of scripts.

Launching

Now, in order to try out the code, just run

$ ./bin/molecule

and see your logic coming to work.

Development notes

When developing Atom alongside Molecule it is handy to point Molecule directly to the Atom source directory. You can do this using npm link.

$ cd /path/to/atom.js
$ npm link
$ cd /path/to/molecule.js
$ npm link atom.js