asterisk users - Dec 2005 - Can't pass variables using Originate in PHPAGI 2.14

No matter what I try, I can't seem to pass variables to the local channel
when using the Originate command through PHPAGI.  Here is a small snippet of
the PHP code:

/***************************************************************************
**/
$channel = 'Local/warning@default/1';
$exten = '';
$context = '';
$priority = '';
$application = 'Meetme';
$data = '500|qt|1234';
$timeout = '20000';
$callerid = '';
$variable = 'minutes=5';
$account = '';
$async = true;
$actionid = rand();

$asm->Originate($channel, $exten, $context, $priority, $application, $data,
$timeout, $callerid, $variable, $account, $async, $actionid);
/***************************************************************************
**/

The Originate command succeeds and joins one leg of the call to Meetme and
the other leg to the local extension warning in the context default.  But,
the variable ${minutes} is not useable in the dialplan.  NoOp(${minutes})
does not return anything.  I added some echo statements in the
phpagi-asmanager.php so that I could see the commands being passed to the
Asterisk manager:

Action: Originate
Channel: Local/warning@default/1
Application: Meetme
Data: 500|qt|1234
Timeout: 20000
Variable: minutes=5
Async: true
ActionID: 20

The command sent to the manager seems to be fine, and I'm not trying to pass
multiple variables.  Has anyone had similar problems passing variables?

Thank you,
Anish Basu
Field Systems Engineer
Softel, Inc.
Phone: (732) 705-9202
Cell: (732) 312-6634

Not sure if this email actually went through before.

-----Original Message-----
From: Anish Basu [mailto:anish@softelinc.com] 
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2005 11:08 AM
To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com
Subject: Can't pass variables using Originate in PHPAGI 2.14

No matter what I try, I can't seem to pass variables to the local channel
when using the Originate command through PHPAGI.  Here is a small snippet of
the PHP code:

/***************************************************************************
**/
$channel = 'Local/warning@default/1';
$exten = '';
$context = '';
$priority = '';
$application = 'Meetme';
$data = '500|qt|1234';
$timeout = '20000';
$callerid = '';
$variable = 'minutes=5';
$account = '';
$async = true;
$actionid = rand();

$asm->Originate($channel, $exten, $context, $priority, $application, $data,
$timeout, $callerid, $variable, $account, $async, $actionid);
/***************************************************************************
**/

The Originate command succeeds and joins one leg of the call to Meetme and
the other leg to the local extension warning in the context default.  But,
the variable ${minutes} is not useable in the dialplan.  NoOp(${minutes})
does not return anything.  I added some echo statements in the
phpagi-asmanager.php so that I could see the commands being passed to the
Asterisk manager:

Action: Originate
Channel: Local/warning@default/1
Application: Meetme
Data: 500|qt|1234
Timeout: 20000
Variable: minutes=5
Async: true
ActionID: 20

The command sent to the manager seems to be fine, and I'm not trying to pass
multiple variables.  Has anyone had similar problems passing variables?

Thank you,
Anish Basu
Field Systems Engineer
Softel, Inc.
Phone: (732) 705-9202
Cell: (732) 312-6634

I finally figured it out...after painful trial and error.  The variable
being passed using the Originate command has to be preceded by an
underscore:

Action: Originate
Channel: Local/warning@default/1
Application: Meetme
Data: 500|qt|1234
Timeout: 20000
Variable: _minutes=5
Async: true
ActionID: 20

The underscore is stripped off and in the dialpan NoOp(${minutes}) outputs
5.  Any idea why this happens?

Anish Basu
Field Systems Engineer
Softel, Inc.
Phone: (732) 705-9202
Cell: (732) 312-6634