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DIAL Server API

Version: 1.0.0

Status: ⚫⚪⚪

DIALServer interface for Thunder framework.

(Defined by DIALServer.json)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Scope

This document describes purpose and functionality of the DIALServer interface (version 1.0.0). It includes detailed specification about its properties provided and notifications sent.

Case Sensitivity

All identifiers of the interfaces described in this document are case-sensitive. Thus, unless stated otherwise, all keywords, entities, properties, relations and actions should be treated as such.

Acronyms, Abbreviations and Terms

The table below provides and overview of acronyms used in this document and their definitions.

Acronym Description
API Application Programming Interface
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
JSON JavaScript Object Notation; a data interchange format
JSON-RPC A remote procedure call protocol encoded in JSON

The table below provides and overview of terms and abbreviations used in this document and their definitions.

Term Description
callsign The name given to an instance of a plugin. One plugin can be instantiated multiple times, but each instance the instance name, callsign, must be unique.

References

Ref ID Description
HTTP HTTP specification
JSON-RPC JSON-RPC 2.0 specification
JSON JSON specification
Thunder Thunder API Reference

Description

DIAL Server JSON-RPC interface.

Properties

The following properties are provided by the DIALServer interface:

DIALServer interface properties:

Property R/W Description
state read/write Current application running state

state property

Provides access to the current application running state.

Description

This property can be used to update the running status of an un-managed application (i.e. running in passive mode). For DIALServer-managed applications this property shall be considered read-only.

The application name parameter shall be passed as the index to the property, i.e. state@<application-name>.

Index

Name Type M/O Description
application-name string mandatory ...

Value

Name Type M/O Description
(property) string mandatory Current application running state (must be one of the following: Hidden, Started, Stopped)
Name Type M/O Description
(property) string mandatory Current application running state (must be one of the following: Hidden, Started, Stopped)

Errors

Message Description
ERROR_UNKNOWN_KEY Specified application does not exist
ERROR_ILLEGAL_STATE Specified application is running in active mode

Example

Get Request

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 42,
  "method": "<callsign>.1.state@YouTube"
}

Get Response

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 42,
  "result": "Started"
}

Set Request

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 42,
  "method": "<callsign>.1.state@YouTube",
  "params": "Started"
}

Set Response

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 42,
    "result": "null"
}

Notifications

Notifications are autonomous events triggered by the internals of the implementation and broadcasted via JSON-RPC to all registered observers. Refer to [Thunder] for information on how to register for a notification.

The following events are provided by the DIALServer interface:

DIALServer interface events:

Notification Description
start Signals that application launch (or show if previously hidden) was requested over DIAL
stop Signals that application stop was requested over DIAL
hide Signals that application hide was requested over DIAL
show deprecated Signals that application show was requested over DIAL
change deprecated Signals that application URL change was requested over DIAL

start notification

Signals that application launch (or show if previously hidden) was requested over DIAL.

Description

This event is sent out only for un-managed applications (i.e. in passive mode).

Notification Parameters

Name Type M/O Description
params object mandatory ...
params.application string mandatory Application name
params?.parameters string optional Additional application-specific parameters
params?.payload string optional Additional application-specific payload

Example

Registration

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 42,
  "method": "<callsign>.1.register",
  "params": {
    "event": "start",
    "id": "myid"
  }
}

Notification

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "myid.start",
  "params": {
    "application": "YouTube",
    "parameters": "watch?v=zpp045FBbQY",
    "payload": "..."
  }
}

The client ID parameter is passed within the notification designator, i.e. <client-id>.start.

stop notification

Signals that application stop was requested over DIAL.

Description

This event is sent out only for un-managed applications (i.e. in passive mode).

Notification Parameters

Name Type M/O Description
params object mandatory ...
params.application string mandatory Application name
params?.parameters string optional Additional application-specific parameters

Example

Registration

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 42,
  "method": "<callsign>.1.register",
  "params": {
    "event": "stop",
    "id": "myid"
  }
}

Notification

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "myid.stop",
  "params": {
    "application": "YouTube",
    "parameters": "watch?v=zpp045FBbQY"
  }
}

The client ID parameter is passed within the notification designator, i.e. <client-id>.stop.

hide notification

Signals that application hide was requested over DIAL.

Description

This event is sent out only for un-managed applications (i.e. in passive mode).

Notification Parameters

Name Type M/O Description
params object mandatory ...
params.application string mandatory Application name

Example

Registration

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 42,
  "method": "<callsign>.1.register",
  "params": {
    "event": "hide",
    "id": "myid"
  }
}

Notification

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "myid.hide",
  "params": {
    "application": "YouTube"
  }
}

The client ID parameter is passed within the notification designator, i.e. <client-id>.hide.

show notification

Signals that application show was requested over DIAL.

show is an alternative name for this notification. This name is deprecated and may be removed in the future. It is not recommended for use in new implementations.

Description

This event is sent out only for un-managed applications (i.e. in passive mode).

Notification Parameters

Name Type M/O Description
params object mandatory ...
params.application string mandatory Application name

Example

Registration

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 42,
  "method": "<callsign>.1.register",
  "params": {
    "event": "show",
    "id": "myid"
  }
}

Notification

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "myid.show",
  "params": {
    "application": "YouTube"
  }
}

The client ID parameter is passed within the notification designator, i.e. <client-id>.show.

change notification

Signals that application URL change was requested over DIAL.

change is an alternative name for this notification. This name is deprecated and may be removed in the future. It is not recommended for use in new implementations.

Description

This event is sent out only for un-managed applications (i.e. in passive mode).

Notification Parameters

Name Type M/O Description
params object mandatory ...
params.application string mandatory Application name

Example

Registration

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 42,
  "method": "<callsign>.1.register",
  "params": {
    "event": "change",
    "id": "myid"
  }
}

Notification

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "myid.change",
  "params": {
    "application": "YouTube"
  }
}

The client ID parameter is passed within the notification designator, i.e. <client-id>.change.