function/pulse

The PULSE function allows generating a sequence of state transitions for the when block while its children are in the True state. The function keeps True as the output of a when block for a specified duration and then switches to False for another period and it repeats a certain number of times. The duration of True states is fixed and is always the same even if the condition of a when block becomes unsatisfied. When the condition is no longer satisfied – the function immediately exits in falsePeriod.

Parameters

Field	Type	Required	Description
blockOptions.function.pulse	object	–	Settings of a PULSE function.
blockOptions.function.pulse.truePeriod	object	+	Time in seconds for saving True state of condition. Should be positive.
blockOptions.function.pulse.falsePeriod	object	–	Time in seconds for saving False state of condition after truePeriod timeout. Should be non-negative. Optional, default is 0 seconds.
blockOptions.function.pulse.times	int	–	How many pulses should be generated. Should be positive. Optional, if not specified the function will produce the pulses infinitely.

If all function’s children become True, the operator becomes True instantly. True is held as the output of the function operator for truePeriod seconds regardless of children’s state changes. The function operator immediately cancels the pulse generation in falsePeriod if any child switches to False state during the period or if it already switched to False during the last truePeriod.
For example, we have a switch and a siren. We want to force the siren to make a sound for 30 seconds 5 times with 20 seconds delay between activations, while the switch is ON. In this case, we should set the pulse.truePeriod to 30 seconds, the pulse.falsePeriod to 20 seconds, the pulse.times to 5, and add a when block checking if the state of the switch is ON. So the function will generate a 30-second True output, followed by a 20-second False output 5 times while the switch is in ON state.
NOTE: The PULSE function state is not saved between the scene service restarts, so, the function operator should not be used to handle large periods of time like hours and days. It is only intended to handle periods in seconds.

This feature is available since advanced_scenes/1.29.
The default behavior for the case when the “times” param is not specified was changed in advanced_scenes/1.37. In prior versions absent “times” parameter was leading to generating of single transition to “true”.

Examples:

				
					{
   "blockOptions":{
        "method":{
            "args":{
                "blocks":"blocks"
            },
            "name":"function"
        },
        "function": {
            "pulse":{
                "truePeriod": 30,
                "falsePeriod": 20,
                "times": 5
            }
        }
    },
    "blockType":"when",
    "fields":[
        {
            "name":"blocks",
            "type":"blocks",
            "value": [
                __WHEN_BLOCK__, ..., __WHEN_BLOCK__
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Here, the __WHEN_BLOCK__ stands for any valid when block, like a final event or a logical operator.