[Asterisk-Dev] Feature: assigned channel variables - is this reasonable?

[John Todd]

At 1:06 PM -0700 on 7/12/04, Chris A. Icide wrote:
>Feature Request:
>
>Each context should have a variables section that allows you to set 
>variables for that will be attached to any channel that enters that 
>context.
>
>For example:  Steven's vPBX problem
>
>
>sip.conf
>
>[vpbx1#user1]
>blah, blah, blah
>context=vpbx1-user
>
>
>extensions.conf
>
>[vpbx1-user]
>
>variable => vpbx,1
>variable => ld-nufone,0
>variable => playswithmonkeys,1
>
>include => one-plus-ld
>
>
>. . . .
>
>Now any channel entering vpbx1-user will have three variables 
>assigned to that channel, and in this case they would be
>
>vpbx1 = 1
>ld-nufone = 0
>playswithmonkeys = 1
>
>so later on in the dialplan we can always check these variables to 
>make any decisions needed.
>
>
>
>I know that we could use SetVar in an extension, but what if I have 
>a bunch of different extensions in my context, or my context is 
>merely a list of includes?  As in the above example, I have a 
>generic one-plus-ld context which handles 1 plus us long distance 
>dialing, but I handle users from different vpbxs differently, some 
>are sent via a nufone account perhaps (if the variable 
>ld-nufone=1)...
>
>I think this would definately work in steve s's issue about vpbx's 
>and would help me in a number of situations as well
>
>-Chris

The way to do this currently would be this:

[vpbx1-user]
exten => _X.,1,SetVar(vpbx=1)
exten => _X.,2,SetVar(ld-nufone=0)
exten => _X.,3,SetVar(playswithmonkeys=1)
exten => _X.,4,Goto(vpbx1-user2,${EXTEN},1)
exten => h,1,Hangup

[vpbx1-user2]
include => one-plus-ld
<etc. etc. etc.>


You could get risky and match with a "_." if you need to match on 
alpha as well as numeric, but then you run the risk of having a 
hangup during those routines, and "_." matches "h" so you'd get all 
kinds of nasty errors.

I think that the ability to assign variables from inside a channel 
configuration file would be ideal.  I think this has been discussed 
in the past on this or the -users list...

Hypothetical configuration in sip.conf:

[1234]
canreinvite=no
type=user
host=dynamic
secret=hongkongcavaliers
setvar=vpbx=1
setvar=ld-nufone=0
setvar=playswithmonkeys=1


JT