Java platform

standalone Java

xpl4java framework

Windows platform

The intend of this page is to list the platform specific agreements for xPL on the Windows platform.

Network settings

The network settings determine how windows applications connect to the network. Using the generic settings enhances the user experience because only a single setting is required as opposed to configuring the network for each individual device.

The network settings contain 3 elements

ListenOn

HKLM/Software/xPL/ListenOnAddress

This is the local IP address (an IP address that has been assigned to any of the local network interface cards in the computer) to listen on for xPL messages, generally this is only applicable for computers with more than one network card.

The setting should contain a string value with the IP address, or "ANY_LOCAL" (default) to listen for messages on any local interface.

ListenTo

HKLM/Software/xPL/ListenToAddresses

These are the addresses to listen to on the network. Messages received from any other address should be ignored.

The value is a string value with a list of comma separated IP addresses, or alternatively "ANY" (to accept every message that arrives from the whole internet) or "ANY_LOCAL" (to accept only messages from the local subnet).

Broadcast

HKLM/Software/xPL/BroadcastAddress

This key contains the address to broadcast xPL messages to. The default broadcast address is 255.255.255.255, which means 'send to the entire network'. Fortunately, network routers typically block messages sent to this address, otherwise our xPL messages would end up being sent to every machine on the Internet!

By setting a different value for the broadcast address, xPL traffic can be restricted to specifc parts of the network.

For example, setting the broadcast address to 192.168.10.255 would restrict xPL messages to machines with IP addresses that start with 192.168.10.

Registry location for application data

Generic registry key

The generic registry key to store aplication specific settings should be;

HKLM/Software/xPL/[vendorid]/[deviceid]

There is no requirement to use this registry location, but tools that do not necessarily expose an xPL device on the network may still make themselves known to the world this way. Some generic applications (xPL Updater for example) will scan these registry locations for installed applications.

Specific values used

HKLM/Software/xPL/[vendorid]/[deviceid]/Version

Value should be a string in format x.x.x.x, 1 (required) to 4 (maximum) numbers, separated by dots.