Making sense of the structure of the Quick Apps file (.fqa)

Investigating the structure of the Quick Apps file used by HC3

If you have ever wondered what the format of the virtual device (vfib) is then here it is. It is basically a squashed json file. JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation and has been adopted as a standard for data swapping across platforms.

A sample of .vfib file

{
  "name": "Test_QA",
  "type": "com.fibaro.doorSensor",
  "apiVersion": "1.2",
  "initialProperties": {
    "viewLayout": {
      "$jason": {
        "body": {
          "header": {
            "style": {
              "height": "0"
            },
            "title": "quickApp_device_1726"
          },
          "sections": {
            "items": [
              {
                "components": [
                  {
                    "name": "lblStatus",
                    "style": {
                      "weight": "1.2"
                    },
                    "text": "Status",
                    "type": "label",
                    "visible": true
                  },
                  {
                    "style": {
                      "weight": "0.5"
                    },
                    "type": "space"
                  }
                ],
                "style": {
                  "weight": "1.2"
                },
                "type": "vertical"
              },
              {
                "components": [
                  {
                    "components": [
                      {
                        "name": "btnOpen",
                        "style": {
                          "weight": "0.50"
                        },
                        "text": "Open",
                        "type": "button",
                        "visible": true
                      },
                      {
                        "name": "btnClose",
                        "style": {
                          "weight": "0.50"
                        },
                        "text": "Close",
                        "type": "button",
                        "visible": true
                      }
                    ],
                    "style": {
                      "weight": "1.2"
                    },
                    "type": "horizontal"
                  },
                  {
                    "style": {
                      "weight": "0.5"
                    },
                    "type": "space"
                  }
                ],
                "style": {
                  "weight": "1.2"
                },
                "type": "vertical"
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "head": {
          "title": "quickApp_device_1726"
        }
      }
    },
    "uiCallbacks": [
      {
        "callback": "onOpen",
        "eventType": "onReleased",
        "name": "btnOpen"
      },
      {
        "callback": "onClose",
        "eventType": "onReleased",
        "name": "btnClose"
      }
    ],
    "quickAppVariables": [
      {
        "name": "Manual",
        "type": "string",
        "value": "true"
      }
    ],
    "typeTemplateInitialized": true
  },
  "files": [
    {
      "name": "main",
      "isMain": true,
      "isOpen": true,
      "content": "function QuickApp:onOpen ()\n
      self:updateView ('lblStatus', 'text',  'Open')\nend\n\n
      function QuickApp:onClose ()\n  self:updateView ('lblStatus', 'text',  'Close')\n
      end\n\nfunction QuickApp:onInit()\n    self:debug(\"onInit\")\nend\n"
    }
  ]
}

Summary

This is a 3 row user interface with a block of main code and a block of code for a button :

items is an array of visual elements, in this case two of them.
- A label with caption='Status' and name='LblStatus'
- Two buttons with captions of 'Open' and 'Close'
components is an array of items on that row, for the button row, there are two buttons
quickAppVariables is an array of variables declared in the interface. In this case there is one called manual of type string and value 'true'.
content is the actual Lua code for the whole QuickApp. Lines are separated with `\n`.

Sample Code

Here is the Lua code expanded.

    function QuickApp:onOpen ()
      self:updateView ('lblStatus', 'text',  'Open')
    end

    function QuickApp:onClose ()
      self:updateView ('lblStatus', 'text',  'Close')
    end

    function QuickApp:onInit()
      self:debug("onInit")
    end

Dissecting the structure of the .fqa file

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A Sample class in Lua for the HC3

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Making sense of the structure of the Quick Apps file in Fibaro

Investigating the structure of the Quick Apps file used by HC3

A sample of .vfib file

Summary

Sample Code

Dissecting the structure of the .fqa file