Wow! What a great bit of software HA is. Coming from OpenHab this is a blessing. Great interface and reliable system.
First question, as a software dev myself albeit in less fashionable embedded realtime systems, I am getting confused with configruation.yaml content. Terms such as component and entiry and integration and platformseem to be used either in contradiction, intermittently, or both.
Take this example:
…called a component here, but switch is elsewhere referred to as an integration - oh, and also a service. When one sees switch in a configuration.yaml, which one is it and why?
And this example:
…mqtt is a platform here , but it also exists as an integration and in some docs - referred to as a component .
How to conceptualise this by reading a detailed configuration.yam is proving difficult.
There is devices,services,entities - how are these populated in the config.
it’s all quite confusing. Can someone clarify please what the syntax/glossary is for a configuration.yaml - and before you post a link to the docs, I’ve read them and that hasnt helped - I even used examples of doc pages in this post 
What would be really helpful is a syntax tree (something like Backus-Naur - or anything really) that would describe what the syntax is for a compound configuration.yaml consisting of
- Components
- Integrations
- Platforms
- Services
- Devices
- Entities
- Groups
- Parameters
etc etc
I dont know, maybe I’m thinking something like:
configuration.yaml = [ {entry } ]
entry = ( integration | component | service | device | entity )
integration = integration_name , colon_char, new_line , arguments_block
new_line = "\r\n"
arguments_block = {indent , argument}
indent = white_space_char , white_space_char
argument = { collection | key_value_pair }
collection = "-" , { argument }
and so on , you get the idea. forgive the BN correctness for HA , it’s just and example
I dont know what the syntax is but it would really help if I did and I guess others who want to craft their own configuration.yaml would also benefit.
help!
I’d write the tree and publish it on here if I could understand HA a bit more please.
