High-level interface to CoAP messaging. More...

Detailed Description

High-level interface to CoAP messaging.

gcoap provides a high-level interface for writing CoAP messages via RIOT's sock networking API. gcoap internalizes network event processing so an application only needs to focus on request/response handling. For a server, gcoap accepts a list of resource paths with callbacks for writing the response. For a client, gcoap provides a function to send a request, with a callback for reading the server response.

gcoap allocates a RIOT message processing thread, so a single instance can serve multiple applications. This approach also means gcoap uses a single UDP port, which supports RFC 6282 compression. Internally, gcoap depends on the nanocoap package for base level structs and functionality. gcoap uses nanocoap's Packet API to write message options.

gcoap supports the Observe extension (RFC 7641) for a server. gcoap provides functions to generate and send an observe notification that are similar to the functions to send a client request. gcoap also supports the Block extension (RFC 7959) with block-specific option functions as well as some helpers.

Contents

Server Operation

gcoap listens for requests on CONFIG_GCOAP_PORT, 5683 by default. You can redefine this by uncommenting the appropriate lines in gcoap's make file.

gcoap allows an application to specify a collection of request resource paths it wants to be notified about. Create an array of resources (coap_resource_t structs) ordered by the resource path, specifically the ASCII encoding of the path characters (digit and capital precede lower case). Use gcoap_register_listener() at application startup to pass in these resources, wrapped in a gcoap_listener_t. Also see Server path matching in the base nanocoap documentation.

gcoap itself defines a resource for /.well-known/core discovery, which lists all of the registered paths. See the Resource list creation section below for more.

Creating a response

An application resource includes a callback function, a coap_handler_t. After reading the request, the callback must use functions provided by gcoap to format the response, as described below. The callback must read the request thoroughly before calling the functions, because the response buffer likely reuses the request buffer. See examples/gcoap/gcoap_cli.c for a simple example of a callback.

Here is the expected sequence for a callback function:

Read request completely and parse request payload, if any. Use the coap_pkt_t payload and payload_len attributes.

If there is a payload, follow the steps below.

  1. Call gcoap_resp_init() to initialize the response.
  2. Use the coap_opt_add_xxx() functions to include any Options, for example coap_opt_add_format() for Content-Format of the payload. Options must be written in order by option number (see "CoAP option numbers" in CoAP defines).
  3. Call coap_opt_finish() to complete the PDU metadata. Retain the returned metadata length.
  4. Write the response payload, starting at the updated payload pointer in the coap_pkt_t, for up to payload_len bytes.
  5. Return the sum of the metadata length and payload length. If some error has occurred, return a negative errno code from the handler, and gcoap will send a server error (5.00).

If no payload, call only gcoap_response() to write the full response. If you need to add Options, follow the first three steps in the list above instead.

Resource list creation

gcoap allows customization of the function that provides the list of registered resources for /.well-known/core and CoRE Resource Directory registration. By default gcoap provides gcoap_encode_link(), which lists only the target path for each link. However, an application may specify a custom function in the gcoap_listener_t it registers with gcoap. For example, this function may add parameters to provide more information about the resource, as described in RFC 6690. See the gcoap example for use of a custom encoder function.

Client Operation

Client operation includes two phases: creating and sending a request, and handling the response asynchronously in a client supplied callback. See examples/gcoap/gcoap_cli.c for a simple example of sending a request and reading the response.

Creating a request

Here is the expected sequence to prepare and send a request:

Allocate a buffer and a coap_pkt_t for the request.

If there is a payload, follow the steps below.

  1. Call gcoap_req_init() to initialize the request.
  2. Optionally, mark the request confirmable by calling coap_hdr_set_type() with COAP_TYPE_CON.
  3. Use the coap_opt_add_xxx() functions to include any Options beyond Uri-Path, which was added in the first step. Options must be written in order by option number (see "CoAP option numbers" in CoAP defines).
  4. Call coap_opt_finish() to complete the PDU metadata. Retain the returned metadata length.
  5. Write the request payload, starting at the updated payload pointer in the coap_pkt_t, for up to payload_len bytes.

If no payload, call only gcoap_request() to write the full request. If you need to add Options, follow the first four steps in the list above instead.

Finally, call gcoap_req_send() with the sum of the metadata length and payload length, the destination endpoint, and a callback function for the host's response.

Handling the response

When gcoap receives the response to a request, it executes the callback from the request. gcoap also executes the callback when a response is not received within GCOAP_RESPONSE_TIMEOUT.

Here is the expected sequence for handling a response in the callback.

  1. Test for a server response or timeout in the state field of the memo callback parameter (memo->state). See the GCOAP_MEMO... constants.
  2. Test the response with coap_get_code_class() and coap_get_code_detail().
  3. Test the response payload with the coap_pkt_t payload_len and content_type attributes.
  4. Read the payload, if any.

Observe Server Operation

A CoAP client may register for Observe notifications for any resource that an application has registered with gcoap. An application does not need to take any action to support Observe client registration. However, gcoap limits registration for a given resource to a single observer.

It is suggested that a server adds the 'obs' attribute to resources that are useful for observation (i.e. will produce notifications) as a hint. Keep in mind that this is not mandatory in order to enable the mechanism in RIOT, nor will it prevent a client from observing a resource that does not have this attribute in the link description. See the "Resource list creation" section above for how the gcoap example app publishes the obs attribute.

An Observe notification is considered a response to the original client registration request. So, the Observe server only needs to create and send the notification – no further communication or callbacks are required.

Creating a notification

Here is the expected sequence to prepare and send a notification:

Allocate a buffer and a coap_pkt_t for the notification, then follow the steps below.

  1. Call gcoap_obs_init() to initialize the notification for a resource. Test the return value, which may indicate there is not an observer for the resource. If so, you are done.
  2. Use the coap_opt_add_xxx() functions to include any Options, for example coap_opt_add_format() for Content-Format of the payload. Options must be written in order by option number (see "CoAP option numbers" in CoAP defines).
  3. Call coap_opt_finish() to complete the PDU metadata. Retain the returned metadata length.
  4. Write the notification payload, starting at the updated payload pointer in the coap_pkt_t, for up to payload_len bytes.

Finally, call gcoap_obs_send() for the resource, with the sum of the metadata length and payload length for the representation.

Other considerations

By default, the value for the Observe option in a notification is three bytes long. For resources that change slowly, this length can be reduced via CONFIG_GCOAP_OBS_VALUE_WIDTH.

A client always may re-register for a resource with the same token or with a new token to indicate continued interest in receiving notifications about it. Of course the client must not already be using any new token in the registration for a different resource. Successful registration always is indicated by the presence of the Observe option in the response.

To cancel registration, the server expects to receive a GET request with the Observe option value set to 1. The server does not support cancellation via a reset (RST) response to a non-confirmable notification.

Block Operation

gcoap provides for both server side and client side blockwise messaging for requests and responses. This section outlines how to write a message for each situation.

CoAP server GET handling

The server must slice the full response body into smaller payloads, and identify the slice with a Block2 option. This implementation toggles the actual writing of data as it passes over the code for the full response body. See the _riot_block2_handler() example in gcoap-block-server, which implements the sequence described below.

CoAP server PUT/POST handling

The server must ack each blockwise portion of the response body received from the client by writing a Block1 option in the response. See the _sha256_handler() example in gcoap-block-server, which implements the sequence described below.

CoAP client GET request

The client requests a specific blockwise payload from the overall body by writing a Block2 option in the request. See _resp_handler() in the gcoap example in the RIOT distribution, which implements the sequence described below.

CoAP client PUT/POST request

The client pushes a specific blockwise payload from the overall body to the server by writing a Block1 option in the request. See _do_block_post() in the gcoap-block-client example, which implements the sequence described below.

Proxy Operation

A CoAP proxy forwards incoming requests to an origin server, or again to another proxy server.

Proxy Client Handling

The current implementation only allows the use of Proxy-Uri to specify the absolute URI for the origin server and resource. A request that includes a Proxy-Uri option must not contain any of the Uri-* options. An example:

// endpoint for the proxy server
sock_udp_ep_t *proxy_remote = ...;
// absolute URI for the origin server and resource
char *uri = "coap://[2001:db8::1]:5683/.well-known/core";
gcoap_req_init(&pdu, buf, CONFIG_GCOAP_PDU_BUF_SIZE, COAP_METHOD_GET, NULL);
unsigned len = coap_opt_finish(&pdu, COAP_OPT_FINISH_NONE);
gcoap_req_send((uint8_t *) pdu->hdr, len, proxy_remote, _resp_handler, NULL);

See the gcoap example for a sample implementation.

Proxy Server Handling

Not implemented yet.

Implementation Notes

Waiting for a response

We take advantage of RIOT's asynchronous messaging by using an xtimer to wait for a response, so the gcoap thread does not block while waiting. The user is notified via the same callback, whether the message is received or the wait times out. We track the response with an entry in the _coap_state.open_reqs array.

Implementation Status

gcoap includes server and client capability. Available features include:

Modules

 Gcoap compile configurations
 

Files

file  gcoap.h
 gcoap definition
 

Data Structures

struct  coap_link_encoder_ctx_t
 Context information required to write a resource link. More...
 
struct  gcoap_listener
 A modular collection of resources for a server. More...
 
struct  gcoap_resend_t
 Extends request memo for resending a confirmable request. More...
 
struct  gcoap_request_memo
 Memo to handle a response for a request. More...
 
struct  gcoap_observe_memo_t
 Memo for Observe registration and notifications. More...
 

Macros

#define GCOAP_TOKENLEN_MAX   (8)
 Maximum length in bytes for a token.
 
#define GCOAP_HEADER_MAXLEN   (sizeof(coap_hdr_t) + GCOAP_TOKENLEN_MAX)
 Maximum length in bytes for a header, including the token.
 
#define GCOAP_PAYLOAD_MARKER   (0xFF)
 Marks the boundary between header and payload.
 
#define GCOAP_SEND_LIMIT_NON   (-1)
 Value for send_limit in request memo when non-confirmable type.
 
#define GCOAP_OBS_TICK_EXPONENT   (5)
 See CONFIG_GCOAP_OBS_VALUE_WIDTH.
 
#define GCOAP_STACK_SIZE
 Stack size for module thread. More...
 

Typedefs

typedef ssize_t(* gcoap_link_encoder_t) (const coap_resource_t *resource, char *buf, size_t maxlen, coap_link_encoder_ctx_t *context)
 Handler function to write a resource link. More...
 
typedef struct gcoap_listener gcoap_listener_t
 Forward declaration of the gcoap listener state container.
 
typedef int(* gcoap_request_matcher_t) (gcoap_listener_t *listener, const coap_resource_t **resource, const coap_pkt_t *pdu)
 Handler function for the request matcher strategy. More...
 
typedef struct gcoap_request_memo gcoap_request_memo_t
 Forward declaration of the request memo type.
 
typedef void(* gcoap_resp_handler_t) (const gcoap_request_memo_t *memo, coap_pkt_t *pdu, const sock_udp_ep_t *remote)
 Handler function for a server response, including the state for the originating request. More...
 

Functions

kernel_pid_t gcoap_init (void)
 Initializes the gcoap thread and device. More...
 
void gcoap_register_listener (gcoap_listener_t *listener)
 Starts listening for resource paths. More...
 
int gcoap_req_init (coap_pkt_t *pdu, uint8_t *buf, size_t len, unsigned code, const char *path)
 Initializes a CoAP request PDU on a buffer. More...
 
static ssize_t gcoap_request (coap_pkt_t *pdu, uint8_t *buf, size_t len, unsigned code, char *path)
 Writes a complete CoAP request PDU when there is not a payload. More...
 
size_t gcoap_req_send (const uint8_t *buf, size_t len, const sock_udp_ep_t *remote, gcoap_resp_handler_t resp_handler, void *context)
 Sends a buffer containing a CoAP request to the provided endpoint. More...
 
int gcoap_resp_init (coap_pkt_t *pdu, uint8_t *buf, size_t len, unsigned code)
 Initializes a CoAP response packet on a buffer. More...
 
static ssize_t gcoap_response (coap_pkt_t *pdu, uint8_t *buf, size_t len, unsigned code)
 Writes a complete CoAP response PDU when there is no payload. More...
 
int gcoap_obs_init (coap_pkt_t *pdu, uint8_t *buf, size_t len, const coap_resource_t *resource)
 Initializes a CoAP Observe notification packet on a buffer, for the observer registered for a resource. More...
 
size_t gcoap_obs_send (const uint8_t *buf, size_t len, const coap_resource_t *resource)
 Sends a buffer containing a CoAP Observe notification to the observer registered for a resource. More...
 
uint8_t gcoap_op_state (void)
 Provides important operational statistics. More...
 
int gcoap_get_resource_list (void *buf, size_t maxlen, uint8_t cf)
 Get the resource list, currently only CoRE Link Format (COAP_FORMAT_LINK) supported. More...
 
ssize_t gcoap_encode_link (const coap_resource_t *resource, char *buf, size_t maxlen, coap_link_encoder_ctx_t *context)
 Writes a resource in CoRE Link Format to a provided buffer. More...
 
int gcoap_add_qstring (coap_pkt_t *pdu, const char *key, const char *val)
 Adds a single Uri-Query option to a CoAP request. More...
 

States for the memo used to track waiting for a response

#define GCOAP_MEMO_UNUSED   (0)
 This memo is unused.
 
#define GCOAP_MEMO_RETRANSMIT   (1)
 Request sent, retransmitting until response arrives.
 
#define GCOAP_MEMO_WAIT   (2)
 Request sent; awaiting response.
 
#define GCOAP_MEMO_RESP   (3)
 Got response.
 
#define GCOAP_MEMO_TIMEOUT   (4)
 Timeout waiting for response.
 
#define GCOAP_MEMO_ERR   (5)
 Error processing response packet.
 

States for the memo used to track Observe registrations

#define GCOAP_OBS_MEMO_UNUSED   (0)
 This memo is unused.
 
#define GCOAP_OBS_MEMO_IDLE   (1)
 Registration OK; no current activity.
 
#define GCOAP_OBS_MEMO_PENDING   (2)
 Resource changed; notification pending.
 

Return values for gcoap_obs_init()

#define GCOAP_OBS_INIT_OK   (0)
 
#define GCOAP_OBS_INIT_ERR   (-1)
 
#define GCOAP_OBS_INIT_UNUSED   (-2)
 

Bitwise positional flags for encoding resource links

#define COAP_LINK_FLAG_INIT_RESLIST   (1)
 initialize as for first resource in a list
 

Return values for resource related operations

#define GCOAP_RESOURCE_FOUND   (0)
 
#define GCOAP_RESOURCE_WRONG_METHOD   (1)
 
#define GCOAP_RESOURCE_NO_PATH   (2)
 
#define GCOAP_RESOURCE_ERROR   (3)
 

Macro Definition Documentation

◆ GCOAP_STACK_SIZE

#define GCOAP_STACK_SIZE
Value:

Stack size for module thread.

Definition at line 570 of file gcoap.h.

Typedef Documentation

◆ gcoap_link_encoder_t

typedef ssize_t(* gcoap_link_encoder_t) (const coap_resource_t *resource, char *buf, size_t maxlen, coap_link_encoder_ctx_t *context)

Handler function to write a resource link.

Parameters
[in]resourceResource for link
[out]bufBuffer on which to write; may be null
[in]maxlenRemaining length for buf
[in]contextContextual information on what/how to write
Returns
count of bytes written to buf (or writable if buf is null)
-1 on error

Definition at line 612 of file gcoap.h.

◆ gcoap_request_matcher_t

typedef int(* gcoap_request_matcher_t) (gcoap_listener_t *listener, const coap_resource_t **resource, const coap_pkt_t *pdu)

Handler function for the request matcher strategy.

Parameters
[in]listenerListener context
[out]resourceMatching resource
[in]pduPointer to the PDU
Returns
GCOAP_RESOURCE_FOUND on resource match
GCOAP_RESOURCE_NO_PATH on no path found in resource that matches pdu
GCOAP_RESOURCE_ERROR on processing failure of the request

Definition at line 642 of file gcoap.h.

◆ gcoap_resp_handler_t

typedef void(* gcoap_resp_handler_t) (const gcoap_request_memo_t *memo, coap_pkt_t *pdu, const sock_udp_ep_t *remote)

Handler function for a server response, including the state for the originating request.

If request timed out, the packet header is for the request.

Definition at line 680 of file gcoap.h.

Function Documentation

◆ gcoap_add_qstring()

int gcoap_add_qstring ( coap_pkt_t pdu,
const char *  key,
const char *  val 
)

Adds a single Uri-Query option to a CoAP request.

To add multiple Uri-Query options, simply call this function multiple times. The Uri-Query options will be added in the order those calls.

Deprecated:
Will not be available after the 2020.10 release. Use coap_opt_add_uri_query() instead.
Parameters
[out]pduThe package that is being build
[in]keyKey to add to the query string
[in]valValue to assign to key (may be NULL)
Precondition
((pdu != NULL) && (key != NULL))
Returns
overall length of new query string
-1 on error

◆ gcoap_encode_link()

ssize_t gcoap_encode_link ( const coap_resource_t resource,
char *  buf,
size_t  maxlen,
coap_link_encoder_ctx_t context 
)

Writes a resource in CoRE Link Format to a provided buffer.

This default implementation only writes the resource path.

Parameters
[in]resourceresource to write
[out]bufoutput buffer to write link into, may be null
[in]maxlenlength of buf, ignored if buf is NULL
[in]contextother parameters that affect how link is written
Returns
count of bytes written to buf (or writable if buf is null)
-1 on error

◆ gcoap_get_resource_list()

int gcoap_get_resource_list ( void *  buf,
size_t  maxlen,
uint8_t  cf 
)

Get the resource list, currently only CoRE Link Format (COAP_FORMAT_LINK) supported.

If buf := NULL, nothing will be written but the size of the resulting resource list is computed and returned.

Parameters
[out]bufoutput buffer to write resource list into, my be NULL
[in]maxlenlength of buf, ignored if buf is NULL
[in]cfcontent format to use for the resource list, currently only COAP_FORMAT_LINK supported
Todo:

add support for JSON CoRE Link Format

add support for 'CBOR CoRE Link Format`

Returns
the number of bytes written to buf
-1 on error

◆ gcoap_init()

kernel_pid_t gcoap_init ( void  )

Initializes the gcoap thread and device.

Must call once before first use.

Returns
PID of the gcoap thread on success.
-EEXIST, if thread already has been created.
-EINVAL, if the IP port already is in use.

◆ gcoap_obs_init()

int gcoap_obs_init ( coap_pkt_t pdu,
uint8_t *  buf,
size_t  len,
const coap_resource_t resource 
)

Initializes a CoAP Observe notification packet on a buffer, for the observer registered for a resource.

First verifies that an observer has been registered for the resource.

Parameters
[out]pduNotification metadata
[out]bufBuffer containing the PDU
[in]lenLength of the buffer
[in]resourceResource for the notification
Returns
GCOAP_OBS_INIT_OK on success
GCOAP_OBS_INIT_ERR on error
GCOAP_OBS_INIT_UNUSED if no observer for resource

◆ gcoap_obs_send()

size_t gcoap_obs_send ( const uint8_t *  buf,
size_t  len,
const coap_resource_t resource 
)

Sends a buffer containing a CoAP Observe notification to the observer registered for a resource.

Assumes a single observer for a resource.

Parameters
[in]bufBuffer containing the PDU
[in]lenLength of the buffer
[in]resourceResource to send
Returns
length of the packet
0 if cannot send

◆ gcoap_op_state()

uint8_t gcoap_op_state ( void  )

Provides important operational statistics.

Useful for monitoring.

Returns
count of unanswered requests

◆ gcoap_register_listener()

void gcoap_register_listener ( gcoap_listener_t listener)

Starts listening for resource paths.

Precondition
listener is a valid pointer to a single listener (that is, listener->next == NULL)
Note
If you are tempted to register a pre-linked chain of listeners, consider placing all their resources in the resources array of a single listener instead. In the few cases where this does not work (that is, when the resources need a different link_encoder or other fields of the listener struct), they can just be registered individually.
Parameters
[in]listenerListener containing the resources.

◆ gcoap_req_init()

int gcoap_req_init ( coap_pkt_t pdu,
uint8_t *  buf,
size_t  len,
unsigned  code,
const char *  path 
)

Initializes a CoAP request PDU on a buffer.

If code is COAP_CODE_EMPTY, prepares a complete "CoAP ping" 4 byte empty message request, ready to send.

Parameters
[out]pduRequest metadata
[out]bufBuffer containing the PDU
[in]lenLength of the buffer
[in]codeRequest code, one of COAP_METHOD_XXX or COAP_CODE_EMPTY to ping
[in]pathResource path, may be NULL
Precondition
path must start with / if not NULL
Returns
0 on success
< 0 on error

◆ gcoap_req_send()

size_t gcoap_req_send ( const uint8_t *  buf,
size_t  len,
const sock_udp_ep_t remote,
gcoap_resp_handler_t  resp_handler,
void *  context 
)

Sends a buffer containing a CoAP request to the provided endpoint.

Parameters
[in]bufBuffer containing the PDU
[in]lenLength of the buffer
[in]remoteDestination for the packet
[in]resp_handlerCallback when response received, may be NULL
[in]contextUser defined context passed to the response handler
Returns
length of the packet
0 if cannot send

◆ gcoap_request()

static ssize_t gcoap_request ( coap_pkt_t pdu,
uint8_t *  buf,
size_t  len,
unsigned  code,
char *  path 
)
inlinestatic

Writes a complete CoAP request PDU when there is not a payload.

Parameters
[in,out]pduRequest metadata
[in,out]bufBuffer containing the PDU
[in]lenLength of the buffer
[in]codeRequest code: GCOAP_[GET|POST|PUT|DELETE]
[in]pathResource path, must start with '/'
Returns
size of the PDU within the buffer
< 0 on error

Definition at line 783 of file gcoap.h.

◆ gcoap_resp_init()

int gcoap_resp_init ( coap_pkt_t pdu,
uint8_t *  buf,
size_t  len,
unsigned  code 
)

Initializes a CoAP response packet on a buffer.

Initializes payload location within the buffer based on packet setup.

Parameters
[out]pduResponse metadata
[in]bufBuffer containing the PDU
[in]lenLength of the buffer
[in]codeResponse code
Returns
0 on success
< 0 on error

◆ gcoap_response()

static ssize_t gcoap_response ( coap_pkt_t pdu,
uint8_t *  buf,
size_t  len,
unsigned  code 
)
inlinestatic

Writes a complete CoAP response PDU when there is no payload.

Parameters
[out]pduResponse metadata
[out]bufBuffer containing the PDU
[in]lenLength of the buffer
[in]codeResponse code
Returns
size of the PDU within the buffer
< 0 on error

Definition at line 833 of file gcoap.h.

THREAD_STACKSIZE_DEFAULT
#define THREAD_STACKSIZE_DEFAULT
A reasonable default stack size that will suffice most smaller tasks.
Definition: thread.h:211
coap_opt_add_proxy_uri
ssize_t coap_opt_add_proxy_uri(coap_pkt_t *pkt, const char *uri)
Adds a single Proxy-URI option into pkt.
_sock_tl_ep
Common IP-based transport layer end point.
Definition: sock.h:213
gcoap_req_send
size_t gcoap_req_send(const uint8_t *buf, size_t len, const sock_udp_ep_t *remote, gcoap_resp_handler_t resp_handler, void *context)
Sends a buffer containing a CoAP request to the provided endpoint.
COAP_OPT_FINISH_NONE
#define COAP_OPT_FINISH_NONE
no special handling required
Definition: nanocoap.h:160
CONFIG_GCOAP_PDU_BUF_SIZE
#define CONFIG_GCOAP_PDU_BUF_SIZE
Size of the buffer used to build a CoAP request or response.
Definition: gcoap.h:411
DEBUG_EXTRA_STACKSIZE
#define DEBUG_EXTRA_STACKSIZE
Extra stacksize needed when ENABLE_DEBUG==1.
Definition: debug.h:114
coap_pkt_t
CoAP PDU parsing context structure.
Definition: nanocoap.h:185
gcoap_req_init
int gcoap_req_init(coap_pkt_t *pdu, uint8_t *buf, size_t len, unsigned code, const char *path)
Initializes a CoAP request PDU on a buffer.
coap_opt_finish
ssize_t coap_opt_finish(coap_pkt_t *pkt, uint16_t flags)
Finalizes options as required and prepares for payload.