Added utility methods to device addr and mac addr to make them more usable.

3 files changed, 67 insertions, 12 deletions

diff --git a/host/include/uhd/types/device_addr.hpp b/host/include/uhd/types/device_addr.hpp
index d32dfa77e..1162884fb 100644
--- a/host/include/uhd/types/device_addr.hpp
+++ b/host/include/uhd/types/device_addr.hpp
@@ -26,15 +26,40 @@
 namespace uhd{
 
     /*!
-     * The device address args are just a mapping of key/value string pairs.
-     * When left empty, the discovery routine will try to find all usrps.
-     * The discovery can be narrowed down by specifying the transport type arguments.
+     * Mapping of key/value pairs for locating devices on the system.
+     * When left empty, the device discovery routines will search
+     * all available transports on the system (ethernet, usb...).
      *
-     * For example, to access a specific usrp2 one would specify the transport type
-     * ("type", "udp") and the transport args ("addr", "<resolvable_hostname_or_addr>").
+     * To narrow down the discovery process to a particular device,
+     * specify a transport key/value pair specific to your device.
+     * Ex, to find a usrp2: my_dev_addr["addr"] = <resolvable_hostname_or_ip>
+     *
+     * The device address can also be used to pass arguments into
+     * the transport layer control to set (for example) buffer sizes.
      */
     class UHD_API device_addr_t : public dict<std::string, std::string>{
-        public: std::string to_string(void) const;
+    public:
+
+        /*!
+         * Convert a device address into a printable string.
+         * \return string good for use with std::cout <<
+         */
+        std::string to_string(void) const;
+
+        /*!
+         * Convert the device address into an args string.
+         * The args string contains delimiter symbols.
+         * \return a string with delimiter markup
+         */
+        std::string to_args_str(void) const;
+
+        /*!
+         * Make a device address from an args string.
+         * The args string contains delimiter symbols.
+         * \param args_str the arguments string
+         * \return the new device address
+         */
+        static device_addr_t from_args_str(const std::string &args_str);
     };
 
     //handy typedef for a vector of device addresses
diff --git a/host/include/uhd/types/dict.hpp b/host/include/uhd/types/dict.hpp
index 5b9883704..7fb712e76 100644
--- a/host/include/uhd/types/dict.hpp
+++ b/host/include/uhd/types/dict.hpp
@@ -18,10 +18,11 @@
 #ifndef INCLUDED_UHD_TYPES_DICT_HPP
 #define INCLUDED_UHD_TYPES_DICT_HPP
 
-#include <list>
-#include <vector>
-#include <stdexcept>
+#include <uhd/config.hpp>
 #include <boost/foreach.hpp>
+#include <stdexcept>
+#include <vector>
+#include <list>
 
 namespace uhd{
 
diff --git a/host/include/uhd/types/mac_addr.hpp b/host/include/uhd/types/mac_addr.hpp
index 2cac7d343..3cd1fe86b 100644
--- a/host/include/uhd/types/mac_addr.hpp
+++ b/host/include/uhd/types/mac_addr.hpp
@@ -28,10 +28,39 @@ namespace uhd{
     * Wrapper for an ethernet mac address.
     * Provides conversion between string and binary formats.
     */
-    struct UHD_API mac_addr_t{
-        boost::uint8_t mac_addr[6];
-        mac_addr_t(const std::string &mac_addr_str = "00:00:00:00:00:00");
+    class UHD_API mac_addr_t{
+    public:
+        static const size_t hlen = 6;
+
+        /*!
+         * Create a mac address a byte array.
+         * \param bytes a pointer for the byte array
+         * \return a new mac address
+         */
+        static mac_addr_t from_bytes(const boost::uint8_t *bytes);
+
+        /*!
+         * Create a mac address from a string.
+         * \param mac_addr_str the string with delimiters
+         * \return a new mac address
+         */
+        static mac_addr_t from_string(const std::string &mac_addr_str);
+
+        /*!
+         * Get the byte representation of the mac address.
+         * \return a pointer to the internal byte array
+         */
+        const boost::uint8_t *to_bytes(void) const;
+
+        /*!
+         * Get the string representation of this mac address.
+         * \return a string with delimiters
+         */
         std::string to_string(void) const;
+
+    private:
+        mac_addr_t(const boost::uint8_t *bytes); //private constructor
+        boost::uint8_t _bytes[hlen]; //internal representation
     };
 
 } //namespace uhd