New Binding: Ina236 #2459

pgrawehr · 2025-12-20T11:05:42Z

Add a new Binding for INA236 voltage and current sensor. It's similar to the existing binding INA219 in functionality, but the registers are quite different, so that a common base class is not useful. Could think of a common interface, though.

Alarm features are not implemented as the breakouts from most suppliers don't seem to have the ALRT pin wired out.

Microsoft Reviewers: Open in CodeFlow

Generic implementation is difficult, one problem is the different argument sizes and the fact that the endianess on the bus may change.

Will make it easier in future.

raffaeler · 2026-01-08T16:26:47Z

Could you please split the PRs by differentiating the tasks? I see changes to the lang versions along with other stuff not related to the binding.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This pull request introduces a new device binding for the INA236 voltage and current sensor, along with significant improvements to the repository's testing infrastructure and language version standardization.

Key Changes:

New INA236 device binding with complete implementation including tests, samples, and documentation
Introduction of I2cSimulatedDeviceBase class to provide a reusable testing infrastructure for I2C devices
Standardization of C# language version to 12 across the entire repository
Refactoring of existing Tca955x tests to use the new simulated device infrastructure

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 79 out of 79 changed files in this pull request and generated 19 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/devices/Ina236/Ina236.cs	Main INA236 device implementation with voltage/current/power monitoring capabilities
src/devices/Ina236/Ina236OperatingMode.cs	Operating mode enumeration for device configuration
src/devices/Ina236/Ina236Register.cs	Register address definitions
src/devices/Ina236/README.md	Device documentation and usage examples
src/devices/Ina236/samples/Program.cs	Sample code demonstrating device usage
src/devices/Ina236/tests/Ina236Tests.cs	Unit tests for INA236 device
src/devices/Ina236/tests/SimulatedIna236.cs	Simulated device for testing
src/devices/Common/System/Device/I2c/I2cSimulatedDeviceBase.cs	New base class for simulating I2C devices in tests
src/devices/Tca955x/tests/Tca955xSimulatedDevice.cs	New simulated device using the base infrastructure
src/devices/Tca955x/tests/Tca9554Tests.cs	Refactored tests using new infrastructure
src/devices/Tca955x/tests/Tca9555Tests.cs	Refactored tests using new infrastructure
Directory.Build.props	Updated default LangVersion to 12
samples/Directory.Build.props	Updated default LangVersion to 12
Multiple .csproj files	Removed explicit LangVersion settings to use default
src/devices/Gpio/README.md	Fixed table formatting and typos
src/devices/Tca955x/README.md	Fixed spelling errors
samples/README.md	Updated .NET version requirements

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:06Z

src/devices/Common/System/Device/I2c/I2cSimulatedDeviceBase.cs

+    public override void WriteByte(byte value)
+    {
+        if (WriteRead([value], []) == 1)
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        throw new IOException("Unable to write a byte to the device");


The WriteByte method checks if WriteRead returns 1, but WriteRead returns the number of bytes read (from outputBuffer), not written. When writing a single byte with no read operation (empty output buffer), WriteRead should return 0, not 1. The condition should check for 0 or not check the return value at all.

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:07Z

src/devices/Tca955x/tests/Tca955xSimulatedDevice.cs

+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;


Several using directives appear to be unused: System.Linq, System.Text, and System.Threading.Tasks. These should be removed to keep the code clean.

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:07Z

src/devices/Ina236/Ina236OperatingMode.cs

+        ContinuousBusVoltage = 0b110,
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Continuously measure both bus and shut voltages.


There is a spelling error in the comment - "shut voltages" should be "shunt voltages".

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:08Z

src/devices/Ina236/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# INA219 - Bidirectional Current/Power Monitor


The title of the README incorrectly says "INA219" when it should say "INA236". The device being documented is the INA236, not the INA219.

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:08Z

src/devices/Ina236/Ina236.cs

+            // set a value in the buffer representing the register that we want to read and send it to the INA219
+            _i2cDevice.WriteRead(new ReadOnlySpan<byte>(ref registerNumber), buffer);
+
+            // massage the big endian value read from the INA219 unto a ushort.
+            return BinaryPrimitives.ReadUInt16BigEndian(buffer);
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Read a register from the INA236 device
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="register">The register to read.</param>
+        /// <returns>A signed short integer representing the regsiter contents.</returns>
+        private short ReadRegisterSigned(Ina236Register register)
+        {
+            Span<byte> buffer = stackalloc byte[2];
+
+            byte registerNumber = (byte)register;
+            // set a value in the buffer representing the register that we want to read and send it to the INA219
+            _i2cDevice.WriteRead(new ReadOnlySpan<byte>(ref registerNumber), buffer);
+
+            // massage the big endian value read from the INA219 unto a ushort.
+            return BinaryPrimitives.ReadInt16BigEndian(buffer);


The comments in the ReadRegisterUnsigned and ReadRegisterSigned methods reference "INA219" instead of "INA236". These should be updated to match the actual device being implemented.

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:10Z

src/devices/Ina236/tests/SimulatedIna236.cs

+using System.Buffers.Binary;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Device.I2c;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;


Several using directives appear to be unused: System.Collections.Generic, System.Linq, System.Text, and System.Threading.Tasks. These should be removed to keep the code clean.

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:11Z

src/devices/Common/System/Device/I2c/I2cSimulatedDeviceBase.cs

+using System.Linq;
+using System.Numerics;
+using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using UnitsNet;


Several using directives appear to be unused: System.Linq, System.Runtime.InteropServices, System.Text, System.Threading.Tasks, and UnitsNet. These should be removed to keep the code clean.

Suggested change

using System.Linq;

using System.Numerics;

using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

using System.Text;

using System.Threading.Tasks;

using UnitsNet;

using System.Numerics;

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:11Z

src/devices/Tca955x/tests/Tca9555Tests.cs

            Assert.Equal(PinValue.High, value);
-            pin8.Dispose();
+            pin0.Dispose();
            Assert.False(tcaController.IsPinOpen(8));


The assertion checks if pin 8 is closed after closing pin 0. This appears to be a copy-paste error - it should check if pin 0 is closed instead.

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:11Z

src/devices/Common/System/Device/I2c/I2cSimulatedDeviceBase.cs

+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="inputBuffer">Buffer with input data to the device, buffer[0] is usually the command byte</param>
+    /// <param name="outputBuffer">The return data from the device</param>
+    /// <returns>How many bytes where read. Should usually match the length of the output buffer</returns>


There is a spelling error in the XML comment - "where read" should be "were read".

Suggested change

/// <returns>How many bytes where read. Should usually match the length of the output buffer</returns>

/// <returns>How many bytes were read. Should usually match the length of the output buffer</returns>

Copilot · 2026-01-08T16:50:12Z

src/devices/Ina236/Ina236OperatingMode.cs

+        SingeShuntVoltage = 0b001,
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Generate s single measurement of the shunt voltage value, then wait for a command again


There is a spelling error in the comment - "Generate s single" should be "Generate a single" (lowercase 's' should be 'a').

pgrawehr added 14 commits December 13, 2025 14:37

A first draft

0a8dcfd

Compiles successfully

2ba620c

Calibration calculation now seemingly correct

3c836fa

Add additional properties

2190d8b

Some first test cases

af2d061

Add generic helper classes to simulate I2C devices

674d8af

Complex simulation infrastructure - but it has issues

dfba4bb

Generic implementation is difficult, one problem is the different argument sizes and the fact that the endianess on the bus may change.

Tests are now passing

9adc5af

Use new interface for this binding, too

e5ec99d

Will make it easier in future.

LangVersion set globally go 12.0

a89ed2a

Update README.md

f0ff9b8

Small update, remove outdated link

2b4f333

Fix some markdown issues

165b77c

Update firmware link to try to reproduce the error

81b13d2

joperezr requested a review from Copilot January 8, 2026 16:39

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of joperezr January 8, 2026 16:40 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jan 8, 2026

View reviewed changes

		@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
		# INA219 - Bidirectional Current/Power Monitor

	/// <returns>How many bytes where read. Should usually match the length of the output buffer</returns>
	/// <returns>How many bytes were read. Should usually match the length of the output buffer</returns>

New Binding: Ina236 #2459

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New Binding: Ina236 #2459

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