Problem with esp8266 sending large JSON Document via MQTT - c++

Question

I developed a little application that read data from a sensor, store them in SPIFFS memory of my wemos D1 mini (esp8266) and then create a JSON Document and send it via MQTT to my topic. The problem is that as long as I send a JSON Doc with 10 object everything works great, but when I increase the size of the doc over 10 object nothing works. Eventually I need to send a JSON doc with 100 object inside.
What have I already done?
I'm using PubSubClient and I already set the MAX_PACKET_SIZE to the correct value
Using arduinojson assistant I found out the size of my JSON Document (8192 bytes)
I tried to use mqtt.fx to test if the problem was the esp8266 or the mqtt broker. Using mqtt.fx I'm able to send a JSON doc with 100 objects
As soon as I increase the size of the JSON doc I get a wdt error from the serial monitor of my arduino IDE.
I search the internet for wdt error but I don't get what they are and how to solve my problem
Last things I already tried to show on the serial monitor the file.txt in the SPIFFS where I store the data and I can store and then read the 100 object
So in the end I think it's an esp8266 problem and not PubSubClient or MQTT. Am I right?
Does anyone of you here ever encountered this problem before or have some other test I can run?

Answer 1

I search the internet for wdt error but I don't get what they are and how to solve my problem
WDT stands for a Watch Dog Timer. https://os.mbed.com/cookbook/WatchDog-Timer#:~:text=A%20watchdog%20timer%20(WDT)%20is,a%20software%20or%20hardware%20fault.
A watchdog timer (WDT) is a hardware timer that automatically generates a system reset if the main program neglects to periodically service it. It is often used to automatically reset an embedded device that hangs because of a software or hardware fault. Some systems may also refer to it as a computer operating properly (COP) timer. Many microcontrollers including the mbed processor have watchdog timer hardware.
Let's paint a better picture with an example. Let's say that you setup a WDT with a time of 10 seconds. Then the WDT starts counting down from 10 seconds. If it reaches 0 the processor will reset. "Feeding" the WDT will reset the countdown to the original value in this case 10 seconds. So if the WDT has counted down to 4 seconds remaining and you feed it, it resets the countdown back to 10 and starts counting down again.
Does anyone of you here ever encountered this problem before or have some other test I can run?
It looks to me like sending a larger JSON object takes a longer period of time than what the WDT is set for. One possibility would be to break up the JSON object into multiple pieces and send it in smaller chunks instead of one large one. This way the time between WDT "feedings" is reduced. I have no idea if this would be possible for you to change. But this should at least give you a better idea of what's happening.

Answer 2

OK in the end the problem was that sending a large JsonDocument triggered the WDT and the only way I found to overcome this problem was, as suggested by adamvz, to create a main file with all the 100 object, then call a function to split that file in 10 smaller one and send each of them over the internet through an HTTP request or Mosquitto.
Supposing you already created the main file in the spiffs memory, then:
This to split the main file:
void WritePacks() {
sourceFile = LittleFS.open("/file.txt", "r");
if (!sourceFile) {
Serial.println(F("Error: file.txt open failed"));
} else {
Serial.println("File open w/ success");
for (byte idx = 0; idx < outputCount; idx++) {
String aLine;
aLine.reserve(capacity);
if (sourceFile.available() == 0) break;
destinationFile = LittleFS.open(outputFileNames[idx], "w");
if (!destinationFile) {
Serial.print(F("can't open destination "));
Serial.println(outputFileNames[idx]);
break;
} else {
int lineCount = 0;
while (sourceFile.available() && (lineCount <= 10)) {
aLine = sourceFile.readStringUntil('\n');
destinationFile.println(aLine); // double check if the '\n' is in the String or not (--> print or println accordingly)
lineCount++;
}
outputIndex = idx;
Serial.println(outputIndex);
destinationFile.close();
}
} // end for
sourceFile.close();
}
}//end WritePacks
This to publish:
//------ HTTP Publish ------
void httpPublish(){
const char * outputFileNames[] = {"/out1.txt", "/out2.txt", "/out3.txt", "/out4.txt", "/out5.txt", "/out6.txt", "/out7.txt", "/out8.txt", "/out9.txt", "/out10.txt"};
const byte outputCount = sizeof outputFileNames / sizeof outputFileNames[0];
byte outputIndex = 0;
File sourceFile;
File destinationFile;
//Serial.println(capacity);
for (byte idx = 0; idx < outputCount; idx++) {
DynamicJsonDocument doc(capacity);
DynamicJsonDocument globalDoc(capacity);
StaticJsonDocument <1024> localDoc;
String aLine;
aLine.reserve(capacity);
destinationFile = LittleFS.open(outputFileNames[idx], "r");
if (!destinationFile) {
Serial.print(F("can't open destination "));
Serial.println(outputFileNames[idx]);
break;
} else {
Serial.print("Reading: ");
Serial.println(outputFileNames[idx]);
//int lineCount = 0;
while (destinationFile.available()) {
aLine = destinationFile.readStringUntil('\n');
DeserializationError error = deserializeJson(localDoc, aLine);
if (!error) globalDoc.add(localDoc);
else{ Serial.println("Error Writing All files");}
}//while
JsonObject Info = doc.createNestedObject("Info");
Info["Battery"] = battery;
Info["ID"] = id;
Info["Latitudine"] = latitudine;
Info["Longitudine"] = longitudine;
JsonArray Data = doc.createNestedArray("Data");
Data.add(globalDoc);
HTTPClient http;
//Send request
http.begin("yourURL");
char buffer[capacity];
size_t n = serializeJson(doc, buffer);
http.POST(buffer);
Serial.println(buffer);
http.end();
destinationFile.close();
}
}// end for
}//end httpPublish