[DeviceExplorer] Timestamp corrupts the JSON payload about azure-iot-sdk-csharp

[tameraw]

@DanaEpp - Thanks for filing this issue.
As this pertains to the azure-iot-gateway-sdk, please file the issue under that repo:
https://github.com/Azure/azure-iot-gateway-sdk/issues

[tameraw]

From @olivierbloch on November 11, 2016 22:39

@tameraw
This actually pertains to the DeviceExplorer tool, not the the gateway SDK.
Edited the title and reopened the issue

[tameraw]

From @sergaz-msft on November 18, 2016 16:38

Hello @DanaEpp I will have a look at this. Just let me know the branch you are using and if when you use the compiled version (.msi) can you send the message to the device with the TimeStamp?

[tameraw]

From @DanaEpp on November 20, 2016 16:38

I was having this problem with both the shipping MSI as well as the custom build we had for the IoT Hackathon during MVP Summit.

The message I was sending was simply:

{"type": "write_once","characteristic_uuid": "F000AA65-0451-4000-B000-000000000000","data": "AQ=="}

But it would fail on any message I would send. If I checked the timestamp checkbox in the UI, it would inject it in the beginning of the message and screw up the JSON.

[tameraw]

From @sergaz-msft on November 25, 2016 14:23

Hi @DanaEpp, thanks for the details. That is a normal behavior from Device Explorer if you are using it as is. Have a look at Device Explorer Code and you can see the following in MainForm.cs

private async void sendMessageToDeviceButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            try
            {
                if (checkBox1.Checked)
                {
                    if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(textBoxMessage.Text))
                    {
                        cloudToDeviceMessage = DateTime.Now.ToLocalTime().ToString();
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        cloudToDeviceMessage = DateTime.Now.ToLocalTime() + " - " + textBoxMessage.Text;
                    }
                }
                else
                {
                    cloudToDeviceMessage = textBoxMessage.Text;
                }
...

Meaning that we are not sending the message in a JSON Format.

var serviceMessage = new Microsoft.Azure.Devices.Message(Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(cloudToDeviceMessage));

You can customize Device Explorer very easily and encode the message to a JSON format.
Let me know if that helps?

[tameraw]

From @DanaEpp on November 26, 2016 3:6

Have you actually tried it? If you select the timestamp button and look at the message firing across the wire, its blowing up on the line of code I showed. If you look at the JSON received in the SDK, it is indeed not in a format it can understand.

Maybe I am missing something, but I am not sure WHY injecting the timestamp should break what is being sent.

[tameraw]

From @olivierbloch on November 28, 2016 15:55

I agree with you @DanaEpp
@sergaz-msft , I've added a bug for resolving this in our backlog.

[asergaz]

The changes were committed on the master branch.
cde6403