Find My IP Task

Find My IP Application

Overview

The Find My IP application is a C++ embedded system program that demonstrates web client functionality by retrieving and displaying the external IP address of the device. This application creates a separate, higher-priority task that navigates to a web service and retrieves IP address information.

Purpose

This program serves as an example of web client implementation on an embedded system, specifically showcasing how to:

• Initialize and configure network stack
• Make HTTP GET requests to external web services
• Parse JSON responses
• Handle network errors gracefully
• Implement task-based architecture with proper priority management

How It Works

1. Network Initialization: The application initializes the network stack and waits for an active network connection (DHCP address assignment)
2. Web Client Setup: Configures a web client task with higher priority (MAIN_PRIO - 2) to handle HTTP requests
3. HTTP Request: Makes a GET request to http://httpbin.org/ip which returns JSON data containing the client's external IP address
4. JSON Parsing: Parses the JSON response to extract the "origin" field containing the IP address
5. Display Results: Prints the retrieved IP address to the console
6. Error Handling: Implements comprehensive error handling with descriptive error messages

Key Features

• Asynchronous Operation: Uses separate tasks for network operations
• JSON Support: Built-in JSON parsing capabilities
• Error Reporting: Comprehensive error handling and reporting system
• Network Diagnostics: Optional system diagnostics for debugging
• Configurable Timing: 10-second intervals between operations

Technical Details

Dependencies

• Network stack initialization (init.h)
• HTTP client functionality (webclient/http_funcs.h, webclient/web_client.h)
• JSON parsing (json_lexer.h)
• Buffer management (buffers.h)

Key Functions

• UserMain(): Main application entry point
• DoActualClientRequest(): Handles the actual HTTP request and JSON parsing
• HandleErrorState(): Processes and displays error conditions

Configuration

• Target URL: http://httpbin.org/ip
• Application Name: "FindMyIp"
• Network Timeout: 5 seconds for DHCP acquisition
• Request Interval: 10 seconds between requests
• Task Priority: MAIN_PRIO - 2 (higher than main task)

Usage

The application runs continuously once started, making periodic requests to determine the external IP address. This is useful for:

• Network connectivity testing
• IP address monitoring
• Embedded system network diagnostics
• Learning web client implementation patterns

Output

When successful, the application displays:

Application started
My IP address is [YOUR_EXTERNAL_IP]

Error conditions are reported with descriptive messages including error codes and descriptions.

Notes

• System diagnostics are enabled by default but should be disabled for production code
• The application uses standard HTTP (not HTTPS) for simplicity
• Designed for embedded systems with real-time operating system (RTOS) support
• Requires active internet connection and DNS resolution capability