The "Characteristic" class
**************************

A Bluetooth LE "characteristic" represents a short data item which can
be read or written. These can be fixed (e.g. a string representing the
manufacturer name) or change dynamically (such as the current
temperature or state of a button). Most interaction with Bluetooth LE
peripherals is done by reading or writing characteristics.


Constructor
===========

You should not construct "Characteristic" objects directly. Instead,
use the "getCharacteristics()" method of a connected "Peripheral"
object.


Instance Methods
================

read()

   Reads the current value of a characteristic as a string of bytes.
   For Python 2.x this is a value of type *str*, and on Python 3.x
   this is of type *bytes*. This may be used with the *struct* module
   to extract integer values from the data.

write(data[, withResponse=False])

   Writes the given *data* to the characteristic. *data* should be of
   type *str* for Python 2.x, and type *bytes* for Python 3.x.
   Bluetooth LE allows the sender to request the peripheral to send a
   response to confirm that the data has been received. Setting the
   *withResponse* parameter to *True* will make this request. A
   *BTLEException* will be raised if the confirmation process fails.

supportsRead()

   Returns *True* if the characteristic can be read (as indicated by
   its properties) and *False* otherwise.

propertiesToString()

   Returns a string describing the characteristic properties ('READ',
   'WRITE', etc).

getHandle()

   Returns the 16-bit integer value used to identify the
   characteristic in the underlying GATT protocol. This may be useful
   to distinguish between notifications from different characteristics
   (see Working with notifications for further information).


Properties
==========

All the properties listed below are read-only.

uuid

   The Bluetooth "UUID" for this characteristic.

peripheral

   The "Peripheral" object for the device to which the characteristic
   belongs.

properties

   A bitmask of properties for the characteristic.
