Number item usage

[rossko57]

@rqxrqx

Why is it necessary to convert a number item to a number?

Don’t. Maybe this will help -

Working with Number:Temperature Items in rules

openHAB provides Quantity Type features, which can seem baffling. On top of that, Temperature type Quantities have a few quirks all of their own. These notes intend to guide the rules author. I’ve shown work examples in DSL rules language, see below for other scripts examples. All have similar features, if different syntax. Knowing what can be done is half the battle. What is a Quantity Type? Simply, Item states and rule variables may contain Quantities - that just means a number AND a unit …

@rqxrqx

temperatur = TemperatureItem.state as Number
SolltemperatureItem.sendCommand(TemperatureItem.state as Number)

States are not commands, even when they look alike. Sending xxxItem.state as a command is quite often problematic. You’ll find it does not work with a simple Switch type Item.

someSwitch.sendCommand(otherSwitch.state) // this will FAIL
// because state OFF is not command OFF

Although when it is a Number or a Quantity (number with units), it usually works.

The bomb-proof workaround is to send a string as command, because the command parser will always try to parse out the type of command it is looking for.

myItem.sendCommand(otherItem.state.toString)