## <a name="Programming"></a>Programming Overview

### General 

The Control-Freak IDE and Run-time does already some legwork:

- Creating the Javascript class file from a template, ready to be completed by your code. 
- Instantiating the class when a device is referencing this driver
- Cleanup and stop the driver when not needed anymore
- Calling the driver API for each device or system event
- adding useful attributes to the instance like quick access the drivers meta database or more methods to access other drivers, devices and also calling xblox. 

### The Driver base class 


[Please find its API documentation here](DriverBase.html)

All driver code is written in OOP. The system inherits your driver class automatically 
from a driver base class which provides the most wanted functions. It also enforces a
a strict API (signature) when it comes to device communication but its entirely up to you to you to make use of it.
 

### General Entry Points
 

The most important methods being called by the system are:

- [sendMessage(string,now)](../../modules/xcfnode/out/DriverBase.html#sendMessage)
- [onMessage(data)](../../modules/xcfnode/out/DriverBase.html#onMessage)
- [start()](../../modules/xcfnode/out/DriverBase.html#start)
- [stop(data)](../../modules/xcfnode/out/DriverBase.html#stop)

You may override or complete this methods. If you don't override it, then the methods of the base class will be called. 


### Tools 

There are more utils functions in your driver instance to have direct access to variables, commands or xBlox. Here some of them:

#### Variables


- [getVariable(title)](../../modules/xcfnode/out/DriverBase.html#getVariable)
- [setVariable(title,value)](../../modules/xcfnode/out/DriverBase.html#setVariable)

#### Commands

- [callCommand('PowerOn')](../../modules/xcfnode/out/DriverBase.html#callCommand)

#### xBlox

- runBlock('BlockTitle',args)