B4i Library BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) library

Erel · Oct 26, 2014

B4i BLE library is now available. This library allows you to connect and read data from BLE peripheral devices.

Using this library is quite simple. There are three main steps:
1. Search for devices (assuming that the state is STATE_POWERED_ON).
2. Connect to a device.
3. Read data from the device.

There are several events which you need to handle:
StateChanged (State As Int) - This event is raised when you initialize BleManager and when the BLE adapter state changes. Only if the state is STATE_POWERED_ON then you can use this feature.

DeviceFound (Name As String, Id As String, AdvertisingData As Map, RSSI As Double) - Raised when a new device is discovered (after you call BleManager.Scan). The event parameters include the device Id, name, RSSI value and a Map with additional advertised data.

Connected (Services As List) - Raised when a device is connected. The Services list holds the device service ids. The data on the device is stored in a tree like structure made of services that hold characteristics.

DataAvailable (Service As String, Characteristics As Map) - Raised after you call Manager.ReadData. Service is the service that was read and Characteristics is a Map that holds the characteristics ids and values. The values are arrays of bytes.

Disconnected - Raised after a failed connection or after a device has disconnected.

Make sure to see the video in HD mode (click on the small gear button).

iBLE is now included as a preinstalled library.

Example was updated with a new requirement:

B4X:

#PlistExtra: <key>NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription</key><string>Bluetooth used to connect to ...</string>

You should change the description as needed.

B4XPages example: https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/b4x-ble-2-bluetooth-low-energy.59937/

Erel · Feb 11, 2015

Intek said:
Thank you very much Erel,
works fine for me.

Did it make reading faster?

Deleted member 103 · Feb 11, 2015

Did it make reading faster?

For me, it is just as fast as the Serial Bluetooth.

Intek · Feb 11, 2015

Erel said:
Did it make reading faster?

Yes and now it's possible to use device that have Characteristics with only the notifiy properties

Intek · Feb 11, 2015

About WriteData I write the following code and I have no error but then it did not write the value, someone has tried it?
Am I doing something wrong?

state = state + 1
sff(1) = Bit.AND(state, 255)
sff(0) = ((state - Unsigned(sff(1))) / 256
manager.WriteData("FF00", "FFF1", sff)

Erel · Feb 11, 2015

Are there any messages in the logs? It should log something.

Intek · Feb 11, 2015

Erel said:
Are there any messages in the logs? It should log something.

In logs i can see when i change Notify state "Notification state changed for characteristic: FFF1" but nothing about WriteData

Erel · Feb 12, 2015

You are correct. There won't be a message in the logs in the current version. However the writing code should work. Make sure that you are writing to a writable characteristic.

The attached a file (which was uploaded to the hosted builders) should log the result.

Intek · Feb 12, 2015

Now appears in the log the successful writing and now I can write in characteristic.
I checked the code again and maybe something was wrong, anyway now works.
Thank you very much again.

henrywood · Mar 10, 2015

Can the BLEManager be used with iBeacons so that events are fired when a beacon region is entered or exited (like the easiBeacon library for B4A ?

Erel · Mar 11, 2015

If the iBeacon device behave like a standard BLE device then it should work with this library.

KY Leng · Mar 20, 2015

Erel said:
Support for writing values will be added.

Could you please tell us when will be available ? or maybe how to compile XCode to be a library so that we can use it in B4i ?

Erel · Mar 22, 2015

It is already available in the latest version: https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/ble-bluetooth-low-energy-library.46099/page-4#post-315209

KY Leng · Mar 24, 2015

Not yet test, but hopefully, it will work this time to solve my problem.

henrywood · Apr 18, 2015

This may be dumb question, but here goes:

If the Iphone is sleeping or my app is not in the foreground/running, will periodically scanning for beacons in my app (to raise the DeviceFound event) still work ?
I need to react in my app when new iBeacons are in range and from what I've gathered thus far I need to react to the DeviceFound event but will that event even be raised if the app is not in the foreground / running ? According to Apple, iOS 7.1+ supports notifying apps of iBeacons nearby even when the app is closed / not in the foreground, but will it work like this in the BLEManager also ?

Erel · Apr 19, 2015

By default your app will be suspended when it is in the background.

See this page: https://developer.apple.com/library...ormingTasksWhileYourAppIsInTheBackground.html

You can add the key with:

B4X:

#PlistExtra: <key>UIBackgroundModes</key><array><string>bluetooth-central</string></array>

henrywood · Apr 19, 2015

thanks

Deleted member 103 · Apr 29, 2015

Hi,

Is there an event if no BLE device is found or a timeout?

B4X:

Sub btnScan_Click
    manager.Scan(Null)
End Sub

Erel · Apr 30, 2015

There is no event in this case. You can use a timer to implement a timeout (call StopScan after x seconds).

Deleted member 103 · Apr 30, 2015

Erel said:
There is no event in this case. You can use a timer to implement a timeout (call StopScan after x seconds).

Thanks

Ph1lJ · May 6, 2015

Hi
I just tried to install v1.20 and it continues to show 1.11, I have unchecked and re-checked, to force a refresh

Any one got any ideas - I'm using B41 1.8

B4i Library BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) library

Attachments

B4X founder

Deleted member 103

Guest

Member

Member

B4X founder

Member

B4X founder

Attachments

Member

Active Member

B4X founder

Member

B4X founder

Member

Active Member

B4X founder

Active Member

Deleted member 103

Guest

B4X founder

Deleted member 103

Guest

Member

Similar Threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency