Tibbo > Linux Ecosystem > Node.JS API

Why Node.js ?

Node.js® is an event-driven JavaScript runtime featuring a non-blocking I/O model that makes Node.js lightweight and efficient. Node.js is not a toy programming language with limited capabilities (as is the case with HTML), but a trendsetting and sophisticated open-source engine that comes with many thousands of packages written by four million developers... and the community keeps growing! As far as JavaScript goes, this language is, by a large margin, the leading programming language in the world.

JavaScript is perfect for IoT Projects

An asynchronous in nature, widespread, well-understood, and functional JavaScript language is a perfect choice for IoT projects and industrial applications.

JavaScript is a true full- stack development tool

JavaScript is versatile enough to facilitate the full-stack development of IoT systems — from IoT nodes in the field all the way up to the cloud services, with mobile apps and web interfaces in between.

Node.js Support on LTPS

With Linux Tibbo Project System (LTPS) devices, we went "all in" on supporting Node.js. We use Node.js...

...for developing LTPS management applications, such as the board's web configuration interface;
...for developing complex IoT and integration-ready (adaptive) projects utilizing LTPS functionality;
...for handling industrial automation and SCADA tasks, such as:
- -automation control;
- -machine automation;
- -conveyor automation;
- -process automation;
- -remote control;
- -robotic systems;
- -remote home monitoring.

Also, Linux is widely used for creating a robot operation system, while LTPP3 makes Linux programming easier. Here is what we did to improve Node.js support and ease the use on LTPS and make the LTPS + Node.js combination a perfect application platform for your IoT projects and automation solutions.

Hardware Support Modules

We have developed a complete set of open-source Node.js modules facilitating the access to and the use of the board's resources and Tibbit blocks. Serial ports, environmental sensors, AD and DA converters, and even PIC and FPGA Tibbits are supported, and it only takes a few lines of code to utilize them in your project. For more details see our NPM and GithHub repositories.

Comprehensive Tutorials with Clear, Thoughtful Code

We have created a set of tutorials. Most of our tutorials are well-documented, real-life sample applications that can be used as templates for your project. You can find the tutorials here.

Support for IoT and Cloud Services

We certified LTPS for use with Microsoft Azure IoT Suite. This means that LTPS devices were found to support cloud databases, cloud data storage, event hubs, BI services, and machine learning API offered by Microsoft. LTPS devices have also been tested with IBM's Watson IoT, Amazon's AWS IoT, as well as the Google Cloud Platform which makes them perfect for industrial solutions. Enable access to these popular IoT platforms, services, and other Linux cloud servers by installing corresponding Node.js modules.

Node-Red Support

We polished our system for use with Node-RED. Sponsored by IBM, Node-RED is a flow-based visual programming tool. You create an app by "wiring flows together," no coding required.

Our contributor, Peter Oakes of the Breadboard Youtube Channel has used our open-source Node.js modules to create Node-RED "flows" for his projects. He published them here. Thanks, Peter. We appreciate your work!

Enabling Modular Software on top of the Modular Hardware!

Node.js is easy, and we don't mean that in any demeaning sense of the word. Node.js is easy in a way that will make you feel good about yourself. It allows you to erect your application from myriad available modules, just like LTPS allows you to configure your hardware with Tibbit blocks.

To get the sense of the possibilities available to you, see this comprehensive video from Peter Oakes. The video is also a review of the LTPS platform:

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