cordova-plugin-networking-bluetooth

This plugin provides Bluetooth RFCOMM connectivity for peer to peer networking between Android devices, with an API inspired by Mobile Chrome Apps Bluetooth Socket.

For an explaination of the rationale behind this plugin, see this blog post.

Installation

cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-networking-bluetooth

Supported Platforms

• Android

Namespace and API

All the functions and events described in this plugin reside in the networking.bluetooth namespace.

All the functions are asynchronous and have 2 callbacks as their last 2 parameters, the first being the success callback, and the second being the error callback.

All the events have the following methods:

Event.addListener(function callback)
Event.removeListener(function callback)
boolean Event.hasListener(function callback)
boolean Event.hasListeners()

Adapter information

To obtain the state of the Bluetooth adapter, use the getAdapterState method:

networking.bluetooth.getAdapterState(function (adapterInfo) {
    // The adapterInfo object has the following properties:
    // address: String --> The address of the adapter, in the format 'XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX'.
    // name: String --> The human-readable name of the adapter.
    // enabled: Boolean --> Indicates whether or not the adapter is enabled.
    // discovering: Boolean --> Indicates whether or not the adapter is currently discovering.
    // discoverable: Boolean --> Indicates whether or not the adapter is currently discoverable.
    console.log('Adapter ' + adapterInfo.address + ': ' + adapterInfo.name);
}, function (errorMessage) {
    console.error(errorMessage);
});

The onAdapterStateChanged event is sent whenever the adapter state changes. This can be used, for example, to determine when the adapter is enabled or disabled.

var enabled = false;
networking.bluetooth.getAdapterState(function (adapterInfo) {
    enabled = adapterInfo.enabled;
});
 
networking.bluetooth.onAdapterStateChanged.addListener(function (adapterInfo) {
    // The adapterInfo object has the same properties as getAdapterState
    if (adapterInfo.enabled !== enabled) {
        enabled = adapterInfo.enabled;
        if (enabled) {
            console.log('Adapter is enabled');
        } else {
            console.log('Adapter is disabled');
        }
    }
});

To enable the adapter, either the requestEnable or the enable functions can be used, the difference being that the requestEnable function is recommended, as it nicely prompts the user before enabling the adapter.

To disable the adapter, use the disable function.

networking.bluetooth.requestEnable(function () {
    // The adapter is now enabled
}, function () {
    // The user has cancelled the operation
});

Device information and discovery

To get a list of the devices known to the Bluetooth adapter, use the getDevices method:

networking.bluetooth.getDevices(function (devices) {
    for (var i = 0; i < devices.length; i++) {
        // The deviceInfo object has the following properties:
        // address: String --> The address of the device, in the format 'XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX'.
        // name: String --> The human-readable name of the device.
        // paired: Boolean --> Indicates whether or not the device is paired with the system.
        // uuids: Array of String --> UUIDs of protocols, profiles and services advertised by the device.
        console.log(devices[i].address);
    }
});

To begin discovery of nearby devices, use the startDiscovery method. Discovery can be resource intensive so you should call stopDiscovery when done.

You should call startDiscovery whenever your app needs to discover nearby devices. Do not make the call conditional on the discovering property of the adapterInfo.

Information about each newly discovered device is received using the onDeviceAdded event.

Example:

var device_names = {};
var updateDeviceName = function (device) {
    device_names[device.address] = device.name;
};
 
// Add listener to receive newly found devices
networking.bluetooth.onDeviceAdded.addListener(updateDeviceName);
 
// With the listener in place, get the list of known devices
networking.bluetooth.getDevices(function (devices) {
    for (var i = 0; i < devices.length; i++) {
        updateDeviceName(devices[i]);
    }
});
 
// Now begin the discovery process.
networking.bluetooth.startDiscovery(function () {
    // Stop discovery after 30 seconds.
    setTimeout(function () {
        networking.bluetooth.stopDiscovery();
    }, 30000);
});

To make the device discoverable, use the requestDiscoverable function, that will prompt the user to make the device discoverable for a limited amount of time (120 seconds on Android).

networking.bluetooth.requestDiscoverable(function () {
    // The device is now discoverable
}, function () {
    // The user has cancelled the operation
});

Connecting to a socket

In order to make a connection to a device you need two things. The address of the device you wish to connect to, and the UUID of the service itself.

Example:

var uuid = '94f39d29-7d6d-437d-973b-fba39e49d4ee';
 
networking.bluetooth.connect(device.address, uuid, function (socketId) {
    // Profile implementation here.
}, function (errorMessage) {
    console.log('Connection failed: ' + errorMessage);
});

Keep a handle to the socketId so that you can later send data to this socket.

Receiving from and sending to a socket

Receiving data from and sending to a socket uses ArrayBuffer objects.

To send data you have in arrayBuffer use send:

networking.bluetooth.send(socketId, arrayBuffer, function(bytes_sent) {
    console.log('Sent ' + bytes_sent + ' bytes');
}, function (errorMessage) {
    console.log('Send failed: ' + errorMessage);
});

In contrast to the method to send data, data is received in an event (onReceive).

networking.bluetooth.onReceive.addListener(function (receiveInfo) {
    if (receiveInfo.socketId !== socketId) {
        return;
    }
 
    // receiveInfo.data is an ArrayBuffer.
});

Receiving socket errors and disconnection

To be notified of socket errors, including disconnection, add a listener to the onReceiveError event.

networking.bluetooth.onReceiveError.addListener(function (errorInfo) {
    if (errorInfo.socketId !== socketId) {
        return;
    }
 
    // Cause is in errorInfo.errorMessage.
    console.log(errorInfo.errorMessage);
});

Disconnecting from a socket

To hang up the connection and disconnect the socket use close.

networking.bluetooth.close(socketId);

Listening on a socket

var uuid = '94f39d29-7d6d-437d-973b-fba39e49d4ee';
networking.bluetooth.listenUsingRfcomm(uuid, function (serverSocketId) {
    // Keep a handle to the serverSocketId so that you can later accept connections (onAccept) from this socket.
}, function (errorMessage) {
    console.error(errorMessage);
});

Accepting client connections

Client connections are accepted and passed to your application through the onAccept event.

networking.bluetooth.onAccept.addListener(function (acceptInfo) {
    if (acceptInfo.socketId !== serverSocketId) {
        return;
    }
 
    // Say hello...
    networking.bluetooth.send(acceptInfo.clientSocketId, data, onSendCallback, onSendErrorCallback);
 
    // Set the onReceive listener
    networking.bluetooth.onReceive.addListener(onReceive);
});

Stop accepting client connections

To stop accepting client connections and unpublish the service use close.

networking.bluetooth.close(serverSocketId);