Rivendell Macro Langauge
Overview
Rivendell Macro Language (or RML for short) is a set of commands
implemented within Rivendell that can be used to program the system
to take various actions. A wide variety of commands exist, ranging
from control of outboard gear (such as switchers and GPIO devices)
to control of various aspects of log playout in RDAirPlay, to
Rivendell user management.
Protocol
The Normal form of a command takes the following syntax:
cmd [arg] [...]!
cmd
A command mneumonic consisting of two alpha-numeric characters
indicating the action to be performed.
arg
Zero or more arguments, delimited by spaces or, if the last
argument, by ! (see below)
!
The ASCII character 33, indicating the end of the command sequence.
Command Delivery
To be executed by a Rivendell system, an appropriate command should be
delivered to UDP ports 5858 or 5859 on said system, using the SOCK_DGRAM
connectionless protocol. Commands delivered to port 5858 may receive a
reply back to the originating IP address at UDP socket 5860 to indicated
command success/failure, while commanders delivered to 5859 will be
processed, but no reply made.
Command Reply
If delivered to UDP port 5858, each command may receive a reply,
formulated as follows:
rpy +|-
rpy
The full command string (including arguments) originally received
+
ACK response, indicates success of the command.
-
NAK response, indicates failure of the command.
Specifying Color
In places where a color can be specified as a macro argument, the
following predefined values are valid:
white
red
green
blue
cyan
magenta
yellow
gray
lightGray
black
darkRed
darkGreen
darkBlue
darkCyan
darkMagenta
darkYellow
darkGray
Binary Data
Certain commands (e.g. SO and UO)
have the ability to transmit arbitrary binary data in addition to textual
characters. Such arbitrary binary data can be specified by means of
escape codes as follows:
%hexcode
hexcode
Two digit numeric value of the byte to send in hexidecimal.
For example, the sequence 'TEST' followed by a carriage return/newline
could be specified as:
TEST%0D%0A
Commands
Air Gate [AG]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
AG
Process an RML only if the On-Air flag is ON.
AG
rml!
Execute RML rml only if the On-Air flag on
the local machine is ON.
Binary Serial Out [BO]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
BO
Output a string of binary codes.
BO
portnum
hexcode
..!
Output a string of binary codes represented by
hexcode .. on
serial port portnum!
Clear Serial Trap [SC]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SC
Clear a serial trap.
SC
portnum
cart
string!
SC
portnum
cart!
SC
portnum!
Clear a serial trap. The three argument form will clear all traps on
port that reference
cart and string.
The two argument form will clear all traps on
port that reference
cart, while the one argument form will
clear all traps on port.
Command Send [CC]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
CC
Send RML to a remote host.
CC
dest
[:udpport]
rml!
Send the RML command rml to
dest.dest may be
either a Rivendell host name or an IP address. A UDP port value may be
optionally specified as udpport (default
value 5859).
Connect Jack Ports [JC]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
JC
Connect a JACK input port to an output port.
JC
output
input!
Attempt to connect JACK input port input
to output.
Console Label [CL]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
CL
Set the label on a control surface.
CL
matrix
surface
chan
label!
On matrix matrix, set the input
chan module label of control surface
surface to label.
Copy Cut [CP]
Module
rdcatchd8
Mnemonic
CP
Copy cut audio and metadata.
CP
srccart
srccut
dstcart
dstcut!
Copy the audio and metadata from cut number
srccut in cart
srccart to cut number
dstcut in cart
dstcart. The destination cart/cut must
already exist.
Cut Event [CE]
Module
rdcatchd8
Mnemonic
CE
Place a cut event at the current location of an active RDCatch recording.
CE
decknum
eventnum!
Place a cut event with event number
eventnum at the current position of the
active recording in RDCatch Deck
decknum.
Disconnect Jack Ports [JD]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
JD
Disconnect a JACK input port from an output port.
JD
output
input!
Attempt to disconnect JACK input port input
from output.
Duck Panel Button [PD]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PD
Set the duck level of a SoundPanel button in RDAirPlay.
PD
panel
col
row
level
fade
[mport]!
Set the duck level of button at column,
row> of panel
panel.
Panel: S1...S50 or
U1...U50;
C for panel means
currently selected panel.
If col and/or row
is 0: duck all buttons in
col or row.
If playing, the audio fades to level
(in dbFS) in fade msecs.
If specified, only stop carts playing on panel port
mport. The duck level will be set to 0 after
the playback is finished, or the button is stopped or reset.
Execute Breakaway [DX]
Module
rdcartslots1
Mnemonic
DX
Execute a breakaway.
DX
slotlen!
Execute a breakaway of length len (in mS)
using the autofill carts configured for the service currently loaded
in the slot slot. The slot must be in
Breakaway mode. If a breakaway is currently executing, it will
immediately be aborted and a new one started. Passing a '0' for
len will cause any currently executing
breakaway immediately to be aborted and input audio restored.
Execute Cart [EX]
Module
rdcatchd8
Mnemonic
EX
Execute a macro cart.
EX
cartnum!
Execute macro cart cartnum on the local host.
Fire Salvo [FS]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
FS
Execute a switcher salvo.
FS
matrix
salvo!
Fire salvo number salvo on matrix
matrix.
GPI Enable [GE]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
GE
Enable/disable a GPI line.
GE
matrix
type
gpinum
state!
Enable or disable the GPI line of type type
indicated by gpinum on matrix
matrix. Possible types are:
I
Input
O
Output
GPI Enable [GE] (old format, deprecated)
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
GE
Enable/disable a GPI line.
GE
matrix
gpinum
state!
Enable or disable the GPI line indicated by
gpinum on matrix
matrix.
GPI Set [GI]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
GI
Set action in response to a GPIO event.
GI
matrix
type
gpinum
state
cart!
Execute the macro cart cart upon transition
of the GPIO of type type and line
gpinum on matrix
matrix to state.
Possible types are:
I
Input
O
Output
GPI Set [GI] (old format, deprecated)
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
GI
Set action in response to a GPIO event.
GI
matrix
gpinum
state
cart!
Execute the macro cart cart upon transition
of the GPIO of line gpinum on matrix
matrix to state.
GPO Set [GO]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
GO
Set the state of a GPIO line.
GO
matrix
type
gponum
state
length!
Command GPIO line gponum of type
type on matrix
matrix> to state
for length> mS. A length of
0 indicates to hold the state indefinitely.
Possible types are:
I
Input
O
Output
Possible states are:
0
OFF
1
ON
-1
Passthrough hardware input (valid only for Input type)
GPO Set [GO] (old format, deprecated)
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
GO
Set the state of a GPIO line.
GO
matrix
gponum
state
length!
Command GPIO line gponum on matrix
matrix> to state
for length> mS. A length of
0 indicates to hold the state indefinitely.
Insert Cart [PX]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PX
Insert a cart in a log.
PX
mach
cart
[offset]
[PLAY|SEGUE|STOP]!
Insert cart cart after the currently playing
or next event plus offset (default '0')
lines on log machine mach. The
transition may also be optionally specified.
Insert Serial Trap [SI]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SI
Insert a serial trap to detect a character sequence.
SI
portnum
cart
string!
Insert a serial trap to execute the macro cart
cart upon receipt of
string on serial port
port.
Label Panel [PC]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PC
Set the label of a SoundPanel button in RDAirPlay.
PC
panel
col
row
label
color!
Set the button at col,
row of panel panel
to have a text label of label and a
background color of color.
Panel: S1...S50 or
U1...U50;
C for panel means
currently selected panel.
Load Log [LL]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
LL
Load a log into RDAirPlay.
LL
mach
[logname]
[startline]!
Load the log logname in log machine
mach. After loading, start the log at line
startline if it is >=0. If
startline is -2, the log will be started at
the first event if that event does not have a 'stop' transition.
Default startline=-1. If no
log> is specified, the machine's current log
is unloaded.
Load Panel [PE]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PE
Load a cart into a SoundPanel button in RDAirPlay.
PE
panel
col
row
cart!
Load cart cart into the button at
col,row of panel
panel.
Panel: S1...S50 or
U1...U50;
C for panel means
currently selected panel.
Load Slot [DL]
Module
rdcartslots1
Mnemonic
DL
Load an RDCartSlots slot.
This command has two syntaxes, depending upon the mode of the slot.
Cart Deck Mode syntax:
DL
slot
cart!
Load the cart cart into the
slot slot. Passing a '0' for
cart will cause the slot to be unloaded.
This command will be ignored if the slot is currently playing.
Breakaway Mode syntax:
DL
slot
svcname!
Set the slot slot to use service
svcname. Omitting the
svcname argument will cause the slot to be
unloaded. This command will be ignored if the slot is currently
executing a breakaway.
Login [LO]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
LO
Change the active Rivendell user context.
LO
user
password!
Set the current Rivendell user to user.
If no arguments are supplied, log out the station --i.e. revert to the
default user.
Macro Timer [MT]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
MT
Timer for running macro carts.
MT
timernum
timeout
cart!
Set the macro timer timernum to execute macro
cart cart in
timeout milliseconds. Setting
timeout to 0 disables
the timer. Sixteen macro timers (numbered 1-16) are available on each
Rivendell host.
Make Next [MN]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
MN
Load changes to a currently loaded log in RDAirPlay.
RL
mach
line!
Set the next event for log machine mach to
line line>.
Message Box [MB]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
MB
Display a popup message box on a host display.
MB
display
severity
msg!
Display the text msg in a popup window on X
display display, with an icon to indicate
severity. Valid values of
severity are:
1
Information
2
Warning
3
Critical
When using the 'Message Box' ['MB'] RML,
it may be necessary to configure the X server to allow local
connections from other processes. One way to
do this is to execute the following command as the local Rivendell user:
xhost +local:
For more information, see the
xhost1 man page.
Pause Panel [PU]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PU
Pause a SoundPanel button in RDAirPlay.
PU
panel
col
row
[mport]!
Pause the button at col,
row of panel panel.
Panel: S1...S50 or
U1...U50;
C for panel means
currently selected panel.
If col and/or row
is 0: pause all playing buttons in
col or row.
If specified, start the playout on panel port
mport.
Play Panel [PP]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PP
Load a cart into a SoundPanel button in RDAirPlay.
PP
panel
col
row
[mport]
[0|1]!
Play the button at col,
row of panel panel.
Panel: S1...S50 or
U1...U50;
C for panel means
currently selected panel.
If col and/or row
is 0: Start the first loaded button that is not
active. If specified, start the playout on panel port
mport. The started panel will stay active when
finished, if the 5th argument is 1.
Play Slot [DP]
Module
rdcartslots1
Mnemonic
DP
Play an RDCartSlots slot.
DP
slot!
Play the cart currently loaded in the slot
slot. The slot must be in Cart Deck mode. This command will be
ignored if the slot is unloaded or already playing.
Refresh Log [RL]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
RL
Load changes to a currently loaded log in RDAirPlay.
RL
mach!
Refresh the log currently loaded in log machine
mach.
Run Shell Command [RN]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
RN
Run a shell command.
RN
cmd!
Run the shell command cmd.
Select Widget [PW]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PW
Select right-hand widget in RDAirPlay.
PW
mach!
Select right-hand widget to log-machine mach
or 0 for sound panel.
Serial Out [SO]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SO
Output a string on a serial port.
SO
portnum
data!
Output data on serial port
portnum. data can
consist of arbitrary binary data as well as textual characters (see
Binary Data above).
Serial Reload [SY]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SY
Reload the configuration for a serial port.
SY
portnum!
Reload the configuration for serial port
portnum. Normally, this should only be
issued by RDAdmin following a configuration change.
Set Color Label [LC]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
LC
Display a color message in the label widget on RDAirPlay.
LC
color
string!
Display string> in color
color in the message widget.
Set Default Now & Next Cart [SN]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
SN
Set the default Now & Next cart.
SN
now|next
mach
cart!
Set the default Now & Next cart for log
mach to cart.
Set Display [SD]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SD
Set a console display.
SD
matrix
display
line
col
attr
label!
On matrix matrix, set the console display
display to label,
starting at position line,
col and using message attributes
attr.
The message attributes value is constructed as follows:
Bit 7
Display mode
Bits 6,5
Video attribute
Bit 2,1,0
Message Text Color
Display Mode:
0
Overwrite text
1
Insert text
Video Attribute:
00
Normal
01
Flash
02
Reverse
Text Color:
000
White
001
Red
010
Yellow
011
Green
100
Cyan
101
Magenta
Set Duck Level [MD]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
MD
Set duck level for an RDAirPlay log machine.
MD
mach
level
fade
[mport]!
Set the duck level of mach, or
0 for all log machines. If playing, the audio
fades to level (in dbFS) in
fade msecs. If specified, only affect carts
playing on machine port mport.
Loading or clearing a log will set the duck level back to 0.
Set Label [LB]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
LB
Display a message in the label widget on RDAirPlay.
LB
string!
Display string> in the message widget.
Set Mode [PM]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PM
Set the mode of an RDAirPlay log machine.
PM
mode
[mach]!
Set log machine mach to mode
mode. If mode is not given or the Mode
Control Style is set to 'Unified', then all log machines are set to
mode. Valid values for
mode are:
1
LiveAssist
2
Auto
3
Manual
Sleep [SP]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SP
Pause for specified time.
SP
msecs!
Wait for msecs milliseconds.
Start [PL]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PL
Start a log at a specified line.
PL
mach
line!
Start log machine mach at line
line if stopped, otherwise do nothing.
Start Button [PB]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PB
Push an RDAirPlay Start button (1-7, numbered from the top).
PB
button!
Push button button.
Start Next [PN]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PN
Start the next event in a log.
PN
mach
[mport]
[skip]!
Start log machine mach> if stopped, or start
next event if already running. If specified, start the playout on
machine port mport>. If
skip is supplied, equal to '1' and the log
machine is in Manual or Live Assist mode, then any intervening
meta-events in log between the current 'next' event and the next cart
will be skipped over.
Start Record Deck [RS]
Module
rdcatchd8
Mnemonic
RS
Start an RDCatch Recording
RS
decknum
cartnum
cutnum
maxlen!
Start recording to cut cutnum of cart
cartnum, using RDCatch record deck
decknum for a maximum time of
maxlen mS. The record parameters used
(format, sample rate, channels, etc) will be those configured for the
selected deck in RDAdmin->ManageHosts->RDCatch. The selected cart and
cut must already exist. Any audio previously residing in the selected
cart and cut will be overwritten.
Stop [PS]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PS
Stop a log in RDAirPlay.
PS
mach|0
[fade]
[mport]!
Stop log machine mach, or
0 for all log machines. If specified, only stop
carts playing on machine port mport. If
specified, fade out fade msecs.
Stop Panel [PT]
Module
rdairplay1
Mnemonic
PT
Stop a SoundPanel button in RDAirPlay.
PT
panel
col
row
[mport]
[0|1]
fade!
Stop the button at col,
row of panel panel.
Panel: S1...S50 or
U1...U50;
C for panel means
currently selected panel.
If col and/or row
is 0: stop all playing buttons in
col or row.
If specified, start the playout on panel port
mport. The stopped panel will stay active when
finished, if the 5th argument is 1.
Stop Record Deck [RR]
Module
rdcatchd8
Mnemonic
RR
Stop an RDCatch Recording
RR
decknum!
Stop any active recording on RDCatch deck decknum.
Stop Slot [DS]
Module
rdcartslots1
Mnemonic
DS
Stop an RDCartSlots slot.
DS
slot!
Stop the cart currently loaded in the slot
slot. The slot must be in Cart Deck mode. This command will be
ignored if the slot is unloaded or already playing.
Switch Add [SA]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SA
Add an input to an output.
SA
matrix
input
output!
Command switch matrix number matrix to add
input number input to output number
output. Unlike SWITCH TAKE,
this command leaves any other previously assigned inputs unchanged.
Switch Add With Gain [SG]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SG
Add an input to an output while specifyng the crosspoint gain.
SG
matrix
input
output
gain!
Command switch matrix number matrix to add
input number input to output number
output at gain gain.
The gain is specified in 1/10 of a dB, with 0 = unity gain.
Unlike SWITCH TAKE, this command leaves any other
previously assigned inputs unchanged.
Switch Crosspoint Gain [SX]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SX
Set crosspoint gain.
SX
matrix
input
output
level!
Command switch matrix number matrix to adjust
the gain of the crosspoint connecting input
input to output
output to level dB.
Switch Level [SL]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SL
Set input gain.
SL
matrix
input
level!
Command switch matrix number matrix to adjust
the gain of input number input to
level dB.
Switch Reload [SZ]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SZ
Reload the configuration for a switch matrix.
SZ
matrix!
Reload the configuration for switch matrix
matrix. Normally, this should only be
issued by RDAdmin following a configuration change.
Switch Remove [SR]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
SR
Remove an input from an output.
SR
matrix
input
output!
Command switch matrix number matrix to remove
input number input from output number
output. Unlike SWITCH TAKE,
this command leaves any other previously assigned inputs unchanged.
Switch Take [ST]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
ST
Exclusively route an input to an output.
ST
matrix
input
output!
Command switch matrix number matrix to take
input number input to output number
output. "Take" in this context implies
removing any previously assigned inputs from the referenced output.
Toggle On Air Flag [TA]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
TA
Set the state of the On Air flag.
TA 0|1!
Set the On-Air flag to ON [1] or OFF
[0].
UDP Out [UO]
Module
ripcd8
Mnemonic
UO
Send data to a UDP port.
UO
ipaddr
udpport
data!
Send data in a UDP packet to port
udpport at ipaddr.
data can consist of arbitrary binary data as
well as textual characters (see Binary Data above).