Modbusclient as a console application, "Stuck in Connectingstate loop" - c++

Question

I'm trying hardly to convert the Modbusmaster example (qt example) which is a widget application to a console application. I wanted to build a connection between a local slave and my master. The problem I'm facing is that my code is changing its state to “Connecting state” ,gets stuck and doesn't want to build a connection. That's why, I recon that the Modbus library is limited and it's only compatible with the widget form.
Could someone tell me if my guesses are right.
down below you will find my code:
#include <QCoreApplication>
#include <QDebug>
#include <QModbusDataUnit>
#include<iostream>
#include <QTimer>// this bib was add to the 50ms Loop check
#include <string>
#include <QString>
#include <QThread>
#include <QModbusTcpClient>
#include <QModbusDataUnit>
#include <QUrl>
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
QCoreApplication a(argc, argv);
Mainmodbus T ;
T.modbusDevice = new QModbusTcpClient();
if (!T.modbusDevice) qDebug()<<"error 1";
if (T.modbusDevice->state() != QModbusDevice::ConnectedState) {
T.modbusDevice->setConnectionParameter(QModbusDevice::NetworkAddressParameter, "127.0.0.1");
T.modbusDevice->setConnectionParameter(QModbusDevice::NetworkPortParameter, 502);
T.modbusDevice->connectDevice();
while(true){
qDebug()<<T.modbusDevice->state();}
}
return a.exec();
}

Answer 1

I can be wrong but I think the QModbusDevice::ConnectingState you see actually means your server is up and running and waiting for a connection.
I guess what you are missing is opening a connection from a Modbus client. You can do that with different tools, I guess running the client example
would be a good idea. Otherwise, you can use QModMaster or any other tool you like.
Once you open the connection from the client the state on your server should change to QModbusDevice::ConnectedState.
Be aware that the server you built is just an empty shell, there is no register map defined so if you query the contents of any register from the client you will get an error.
At the very minimum, you should at least define a map with some default values or get them from command-line options. To do that you need to look at the server example a bit more carefully.
First you need to define the register map with something like this:
QModbusDataUnitMap reg;
reg.insert(QModbusDataUnit::Coils, { QModbusDataUnit::Coils, 0, 10 });
reg.insert(QModbusDataUnit::DiscreteInputs, { QModbusDataUnit::DiscreteInputs, 0, 10 });
reg.insert(QModbusDataUnit::InputRegisters, { QModbusDataUnit::InputRegisters, 0, 10 });
reg.insert(QModbusDataUnit::HoldingRegisters, { QModbusDataUnit::HoldingRegisters, 0, 10 });
modbusDevice->setMap(reg);
setupDeviceData();
And then for the setupDeviceData(); you can copy the function in the example but instead of taking the data from the widget, you will have to load default values or something from the command line.
In answer to your question: no, there should be no limitation and you should be able to run the server from the command line. I wonder why somebody on his/her right mind would want to do that when you have excellent alternatives like libmodbus. But honestly, I won't miss much sleep wondering.