Okay... let me start by saying that I've been a LOYAL Homeseer user from very early version 1. I've bought every update, a bunch of plugins, and even just updated my system to HS3 PRO. I'm also a professional software developer, so code doesn't scare me.
Imagine my shock when I upgraded my very functional and well-loved HS2 PRO system to HS3 PRO a couple of days ago. And every script stopped working.
No biggie, I thought. Probably just a few deprecated commands or a new DLL import or the like. BOY, WAS I WRONG.
The simplest and most basic of functions for a home automation system, turning something on, has gone from 1 simple line to a HUGE, poorly-designed "API" with absolutely no backwards compatibility.
As far as I can tell I can no longer do something as simple as:
hs.ExecX10 "B2", "On"
Instead I have to import a new DLL, iterate through control objects, Get special device identifiers to pass into cryptic commands, etc., etc.
JUST TO TURN ON A LAMP!
Once a device is in Homeseer it has knowledge of the device capabilities. Or it wouldn't be able to turn the lamp on either, now would it? (Yes, yes, flexible, self-documenting API... next you're going to tell me it's RESTful. Fine, but for the basic devices it's ridiculous...)
So WHY wouldn't the scripting language extend that simple courtesy to the consumers of the system?
Not everyone is a professional code jockey. And a lot of us who are don't want to have yet another bizarre API to contend with.
So Rich? Rupp? What's the deal?
I'v been a huge advocate of HS for years, bragging about the software and showing off what it could do. But I'm am honestly about 3 seconds from walking away from 10 years of HS and just buying a Vera3 box because it is simple and just works.
-Scott
Imagine my shock when I upgraded my very functional and well-loved HS2 PRO system to HS3 PRO a couple of days ago. And every script stopped working.
No biggie, I thought. Probably just a few deprecated commands or a new DLL import or the like. BOY, WAS I WRONG.
The simplest and most basic of functions for a home automation system, turning something on, has gone from 1 simple line to a HUGE, poorly-designed "API" with absolutely no backwards compatibility.
As far as I can tell I can no longer do something as simple as:
hs.ExecX10 "B2", "On"
Instead I have to import a new DLL, iterate through control objects, Get special device identifiers to pass into cryptic commands, etc., etc.
JUST TO TURN ON A LAMP!
Once a device is in Homeseer it has knowledge of the device capabilities. Or it wouldn't be able to turn the lamp on either, now would it? (Yes, yes, flexible, self-documenting API... next you're going to tell me it's RESTful. Fine, but for the basic devices it's ridiculous...)
So WHY wouldn't the scripting language extend that simple courtesy to the consumers of the system?
Not everyone is a professional code jockey. And a lot of us who are don't want to have yet another bizarre API to contend with.
So Rich? Rupp? What's the deal?
I'v been a huge advocate of HS for years, bragging about the software and showing off what it could do. But I'm am honestly about 3 seconds from walking away from 10 years of HS and just buying a Vera3 box because it is simple and just works.
-Scott
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