IoT Industry Terminology
IaaS Infrastructure-as-a-Service provides managed services for compute, storage, and networking
PaaS Platform-as-a-Service includes IaaS, plus a complete application development and deployment service in the cloud. PaaS is designed to support the complete web application lifecycle: building, testing, deploying, managing, and updating.
SaaS Software-as-a-Service includes PaaS, and allows users to connect to and use cloud-based apps over the Internet. The availability, updating, and security of the applications are managed by the provider.
Firmware usually sits in device flash memory between hardware components and a microprocessor. Firmware acts as a bridge between OS drivers and hardware. Once it is working, it is not typically updated. (sometimes incorrectly referred to as 'Embedded Software').
Embedded Software provides higher-level functionality over a wider scope than firmware. Typically the code is loaded from a device file system when called upon to execute in device RAM. It can include an operating system (OS) and the functionality of interfacing directly with hardware (like firmware). Embedded Software may be updated often to accommodate changes in the hardware it connects to.
Microcontroller (MCU) contains the CPU (microprocessor), memory, and I/O integrated into a single chip.
Microprocessor is the chip that consists only of the Central Processing Unit (CPU) that uses an external bus to interface with RAM, ROM, and other peripherals. A microprocessor has more computing functionality as part of it's parent system t
OTA Over-The-Air wireless remote update of the firmware on a device.
Gateway - a device that receives information from multiple points on one network and then provides connectivity for communication with another network.
Quality of Service (QoS) - manages network connectivity and resources to provide a reliable resource to IoT connected devices.
API or Application Programming Interface is a set of functions and procedures that permit one system to communicate with another. At a minimum it provides data connectivity between two software systems, and it is well documented, and includes versioning. The interaction is typically in the form of a request to the API host, and then a response is returned by the API host. APIs adhear to broadly understood standards such as HTTP, REST, SOAP, etc.
SDK or Software Development Kit provides development tools in the form of software for building applications for a specific platform, service, or language. It will often include an API, debugger, compiler, and possibly and IDE. An SDK often contains one or more APIs for communication with another system.
IDE an Integrated Development Environment is a software application that assists in the development of software.
Under Development
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