DIfference between sendCommand(gLights,...) and gLights?.members.forEach[item|

[TRIROG (T)]

I’d like to unterstand the difference between sending a command down like

sendCommand(gLights, OFF)

and doing it like this

gLights?.members.forEach[item|
      sendCommand(item, OFF) 
]

Is there any difference at all?

[rlkoshak (Rich Koshak)]

Functionally they are equivalent.

The big difference is with the latter gives you the opportunity to add more logic, for example, only send OFF if the item is ON:

gLights?.members.forEach[item|
      if(item.state != OFF) item.sendCommand(OFF)
]

NOTE: It is best to use the sendCommand method on the Item if you have a reference to the Item. The sendCommand action sometimes doesn’t handle different types of states very well.

[TRIROG (T)]

@rlkoshak

NOTE: It is best to use the sendCommand method on the Item if you have a reference to the Item. The sendCommand action sometimes doesn’t handle different types of states very well.

Could you please elaborate

[rlkoshak (Rich Koshak)]

Trigger a rule when a variable updates?

First, I highly recommend using the sendCommand and postUpdate methods on the Item objects rather than calling the action methods as you are doing here. THe Item methods are much smarter at dealing with multiple data types wheras the actions have to be more generic and therefore don’t do as well. For example: Light_FF_Family_Ceiling.sendCommand(Light_FF_Family_Ceiling_level.state) Second, when using the sendCommand action method I think you realized that you must send the state as a String…