IC10: control a device by name

An IC Housing has six pins, d0 to d5. For a small controller that is enough. But once ten vents, three sensors and a display join in, it gets tight. The solution: address devices by their name. That reaches every device on the data network – no pins needed.

This article sums up the essentials. The IC10 academy goes deeper, with exercises.

The two instructions#

Instruction	Form	Effect
lbn	lbn r? deviceHash nameHash logicType batchMode	reads a value from all matching devices
sbn	sbn deviceHash nameHash logicType r?	writes a value to all matching devices

Matching means: same device type (prefab hash) and same name.

The device hash#

Every device has a fixed prefab hash. For the Active Vent it is -1129453144. You find the hash at the top of every device page in this wiki, with a copy button, or in the Hash lookup.

The name#

You give the device its name in game with the Labeller. In the program HASH("…") turns it into a number. HASH is replaced when the script is saved, so it may appear wherever a number may appear – including after define. Names with spaces are fine:

define NAME HASH("Storage Vent")

The batch mode when reading#

When several devices match, the batch mode decides what lbn returns:

Mode	Number	Result	when no device matches
Average	0	average	NaN
Sum	1	sum	0
Minimum	2	smallest value	0
Maximum	3	largest value	−infinity
Count	4	number of devices	0

For readings, always use 0 (Average). With Sum a mistake only shows once a second device with the same name is built: two sensors at 400 K each suddenly read 800 K.

Average returns NaN when no device with that name is found – after a typo in the name, for example. NaN silently spreads through every calculation. So catch it right away:

lbn pressure SENSOR NSENSOR Pressure 0
bnan pressure start

What else you need to know#

• Batch instructions only work over the data cable network, not over the pins.
• If the IC housing has no data network at all, the chip stops with an error.
• If a device cannot read or write the logic type, the chip stops as well. Which values a device knows is listed on its page under “IC10 and logic”.
• Every main loop needs a yield. Device values only change once per tick (0.5 s).
• If the program runs past its last line, the chip stays stopped for good. That is why every loop ends with j start.

A complete example: holding room pressure#

A Gas Sensor named “Storage Sensor” measures the pressure. If it drops below 95 kPa, all vents named “Storage Vent” blow air into the room until 101 kPa is reached.

# Hold room pressure: vents by name
define SENSOR -1252983604      # Gas Sensor (StructureGasSensor)
define VENT -1129453144        # Active Vent (StructureActiveVent)
define NSENSOR HASH("Storage Sensor")  # name of the sensor
define NVENT HASH("Storage Vent")      # name of the vents
define PMIN 95                 # kPa, switch on below
define PMAX 101                # kPa, switch off above
alias pressure r0
alias run r1
alias low r2
alias high r3

# --- 1. Once at start: set the direction ---
sbn VENT NVENT Mode 0          # 0 = outward (into the room)
start:
yield
# --- 2. Read pressure and switch ---
lbn pressure SENSOR NSENSOR Pressure 0
bnan pressure start            # no sensor with this name
slt low pressure PMIN
sgt high pressure PMAX
select run low 1 run           # too little pressure: on
select run high 0 run          # enough pressure: off
sbn VENT NVENT On run
j start

How to read it:

1. The define lines keep all numbers in one place. For a different pressure you only change PMIN and PMAX.
2. The alias lines give the registers readable names.
3. Mode is written only once, before the loop. There is a reason: every write to Mode resets the active vent's target pressures, even when the same value is already set. In mode 0 that means PressureExternal = 101.325 kPa and PressureInternal = 0. If the line sat inside the loop, a target pressure of your own would be gone after one tick.
4. slt and sgt set low and high to 1 or 0.
5. The two select lines build a hysteresis: between 95 and 101 kPa the last state is kept. Without it the vents would keep switching on and off.

Every device page in this wiki also has a short example in the same style that addresses exactly that device by name.

Continue in the academy#

• IC10 academy – the full course
• IC10 academy: devices by name
• IC10 academy: batch modes
• IC10 academy: define and alias
• Try code right away: IC10 editor