Making Things Talk

20 MAKING THINGS TALK

The fourth group of computers is a mixed bag: mobile

phones, music synthesizers, and motor controllers, to

name a few. Some of them will have fully developed

physical interfaces, some of them will have minimal

physical interfaces but detailed software interfaces, and

most will have a little of both. Even though you don’t

normally think of these devices as computers, they are.

When you think of them as programmable objects, with

interfaces that you can manipulate, it’s easier to figure out

how they can all communicate with each other, regardless

of their end function.

X

Good Habits

Networking objects is a bit like love. The fundamental problem in both is that when

you’re sending a message, you never really know whether the receiver understands

what you’re saying, and there are a thousand ways for your message to get lost or

garbled in transmission.

You may know why you feel the way you do, but your

partner doesn’t. All he or she has to go on are the words

you say and the actions you take. Likewise, you may know

exactly what message your local computer is sending,

how it’s sending it, and what all the bits mean, but the

remote computer has no idea what they mean unless you

program it to understand them. All it has to go on are the

bits it receives. If you want reliable, clear communications

(in love or networking), there are a few simple things you

have to do: ...