Did you know? #22 - Version numbers for DDFs

If you create a DDF for a new device yourself or correct an existing DDF, you might have noticed the XML attribute dmxcversion in the second line, as in the following example from our tutorial for writing a DDF for a moving head (only available in German).

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<device image="Showtec Indigo 150.png" type="DMXDevice" dmxcversion="3.1.2" ddfversion="1.2">
<information>
    <model>...

In the past years there have not only been many developments that were more or less directly visible on the surface. A lot has also happened "under the hood" - including the DDF syntax. Since version 3.1.1 DMXControl 3 supports different strobe modes, with version 3.1.2 the support handler was introduced as well as additional attributes for easier definition of RGBx matrices. Certainly more functions will follow in the future, which will then have to be mapped in DDF syntax.

To avoid conflicts between DDFs for example for DMXControl 3.2 and the currently installed version 3.1.3, all DDFs with a higher version number are automatically hidden and cannot be added to the project. A corresponding warning can be found in the window of the kernel. This is helpful if you have several versions of DMXControl 3 installed on your PC or if you don't have the latest version yet. The prerequisite is, of course, that the version number is properly maintained.

The XML attribute ddfversion serves - as the name suggests - to distinguish between different versions of a DDF. There are quite legitimate reasons why, for example, the entire internal programs and macros of a device are only rudimentary adopted in the first throw and only fully implemented in the DDF with a second or third revision. The version number is used when comparing DDFs from the DDFLib or another source with your own DDFs. However, this should only be mentioned here for the completeness.

Your DMXControl-Team