View source for You don't have a driver for my home automation device

[[Category: Hardware| Yo]]
[[Category:Automation]]
[[Category:Troubleshooting]]
[[Category: GSD]]

{{versioninfo}}
Most home automation products require equipment manufacturers to send samples back to the company so programmers can write drivers.  We've added features in LinuxMCE that should make this unnecessary in nearly all cases, allowing new drivers to be added quickly and usually without any major programming skills.  Here are some options:
# Our "Generic Serial Device" module (GSD) is designed for the thousands of devices that are controlled over RS232 and Ethernet.  It allows a LinuxMCE driver to be added using a point-and-click, fill-in-the-blanks interface.  Basic protocols can be implemented with no programming at all.  For more complicated tasks GSD embeds the Ruby language.  Ruby is a high-level interpreted language with flexible string handling, like Perl, but the syntax is simpler.  The protocol and embedded Ruby for GSD devices is stored in the database and automatically synchronized with all other LinuxMCE systems as long as you leave checked the "Share my IR codes and GSD device" box on the A/V Equipment wizard.  So there's no compiling and no code to check in.  GSD devices to control a/v equipment, lighting, etc., can be done in as little as an hour or two, almost never more than a day for complex protocols.  See