Submission by Tony Tofts
xPL Home Automation protocol has been launched – xPL (eXtremely simPle protocoL) is a protocol spawned from the basics of the xAP protocol project. It is aimed at the hobbyist user, who doesn’t require all of the functionality of xAP.
xPL is designed to be both simpler and ‘lite on the wire’ to aid networks with serially attached devices, yet at the same time be more than capable of providing the functionality required by complex pc based applications.
Currently the protocol is focused on IP based networks, and serially attached devices. However the small footprint of the protocol messages means that implementation on/over other methods of communication should not be a problem. xPL provides a mechanism by which all of the users Home Automation devices and applications can be made to intercommunicate with each other. That is, it exposes a standard language that all devices and applications can be made to understand. The user may decide whether or not to use a central home controller system that is xPL capable and/or allow the individual components to interact directly.
A number of windows based applications are currently available, and the first hardware devices with xPL built-in are beginning to appear. Simple Framework applications are also available, to get new developers started. Hopefully some Linux based applications will also start to appear soon.
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