How difficult would it be to change the data an existing module receives?

[Tippon]

I’m currently using the fantastic MMM-Fitbit2 module to display some of my fitness data. As I have a third party smart band though, Fitbit doesn’t accept all of my data. This then means that the module doesn’t have anything to pull for certain categories.

How difficult would it be to tell the module to pull my steps and sleep from Google Fit, and my blood sugar readings from a spreadsheet? Would I be better off trying to create my own module so that I don’t break anything when MMM-Fitbit2 updates?

I can’t do much in the way of programming, but I’m looking for a project to help me learn.

[sdetweil]

@Tippon you can clone (fork) the module and add on what you want…

there are two parts of the module… the browser/ui part MMM-Fitbit2.js
and the helper, node_helper.js

the MMM-Fitbit2.js cannot access hardware or files directly, so it has to call the helper

so, you could add on access to the spreadsheet (csv)
and send that data back as part of the response… the front end would never know

one of my modules uses a csv

in the node_helper
(you have to npm install csvtojson in the module folder to be able to use it)

const cvt = require("csvtojson");

and then

                               cvt().fromFile(payload.tmpfile) // input xls  // changed to tmpfile
     				.subscribe((jsonObj, index) => { 
                                       // handle each row
                                   })

[Tippon]

@sdetweil said in How difficult would it be to change the data an existing module receives?:

@Tippon you can clone (fork) the module and add on what you want…

Sorry, I should have clarified - I know that I can fork the module, but I don’t have the skills or knowledge to keep up with any changes that might be made to the original. If there was a security update, for example, I wouldn’t know how to integrate that into my fork. Considering the dates of the last changes though, that might not be an issue in this case.

@sdetweil said in How difficult would it be to change the data an existing module receives?:

there are two parts of the module… the browser/ui part MMM-Fitbit2.js
and the helper, node_helper.js

the MMM-Fitbit2.js cannot access hardware or files directly, so it has to call the helper

so, you could add on access to the spreadsheet (csv)
and send that data back as part of the response… the front end would never know

one of my modules uses a csv

in the node_helper
(you have to npm install csvtojson in the module folder to be able to use it)

const cvt = require("csvtojson");

and then

                               cvt().fromFile(payload.tmpfile) // input xls  // changed to tmpfile
     				.subscribe((jsonObj, index) => { 
                                       // handle each row
                                   })

So, ignoring any possible updates for now, I could edit the node_helper.js and basically trick the rest of the module into using my chosen data instead? That sounds great, thanks :)

I’ve found some apps that share data between Fitbit and Google Fit, so depending on how well they all work together, this might be a bit easier than I thought.

I’ve just discovered a problem with the Fitbit data though. Until recently, MMM-Fitbit2 would pull a lot of my data and display it on my mirror. Today though it’s not displaying my calories in figure. Google has taken over Fitbit, and recently forced a change of login, from Fitbit’s old system to a Google login. I’m not sure if this problem started at the same time, or if there’s been a change in the API. I’m pottering around trying to figure it out, but it might take me a while to figure out what I’m doing, never mind what Fitbit / Google are doing >.<

Thanks as always for your help :)

[sdetweil]

@Tippon you don’t have to contribute back, or take any other changes…

so don’t worry about those

yes changes keep rolling along, non stop

[Tippon]

I found a post by @greenza21 on Reddit that suggested Health Sync for Android

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.appyhapps.healthsync

I’ve tested Health Sync over the last few days, and it’s successfully transferred my Steps, Activities, Sleep, and Weight data from Google Fit in to Fitbit. It can also transfer Nutrition and Water Intake directly, but I already input those directly into Fitbit. It can export some other data too, but Fitbit doesn’t accept those inputs.

I’ve got everything I want other than my blood sugar / glucose readings showing up in the MMM-Fitbit2 module just from using Health Sync, so when I get a bit more time over the next few days, I’m going to try to replace the floors entry with my blood glucose data, then maybe look at exporting my heart rate or oxygen levels from my smartwatch, depending on whether they can be pulled from the watch app. Not everything gets pulled to Google Fit, so they may be a dead end.

[sdetweil]

@Tippon so, summary

you use the app to push data to fitbit,

where the existing Fitbit2 module can get the data from the existing fitbit api…

[Tippon]

@sdetweil That’s right, yes :)

It’s ideal for me, and I have suspected ADHD, and don’t always remember to do things. I can just put the shortcut to this app next to my other health apps, and it acts as a reminder.

I’ve decided to remove one of the MMM-fitbit2 default categories and replace it with a modified copy of the calorie goal category instead. The default shows the calories remaining until your calorie goal, but I also want to see how many calories I’ve consumed. I just had a quick play and it seems easy enough, but I need to make sure that it doesn’t break the existing categories too.

Time for a break though, my kid’s about to get home from school, so any chance of peace and quiet is gone for the next few hours :D

[Tippon]

Just to double check before I break anything, if I forked the repo and replaced the installed version of MMM-Fitbit2 with my own, would I need to change anything in my config.js? I’m assuming that if I kept the same repo name it would just work, but I want to make sure.

[sdetweil]

@Tippon no changes to config unless you added something

[Tippon]

@sdetweil Brilliant, thank you :)