October 2016
Intermediate to advanced
266 pages
5h 45m
English
Content preview from Node.js for Embedded Systems
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Chapter 3. Espruino
Espruino is a “mini Node.js” for microcontrollers. It eliminates the need for a translation layer like Firmata with Arduino.
The Espruino project by Gordon Williams was funded via a Kickstarter campaign in 2014 and has been continuously improved since. To run JavaScript code on Espruino, you don’t need to install an IDE or specific device drivers. You can use the Espruino Web IDE or use a simple serial terminal to program a device.
Similar to Arduino, Espruino has both hardware and software components. Espruino boards have a strong microcontroller core (a 32-bit ARM Cortex processor), and are faster and provide more memory (64–96 KB RAM and 256–512 KB flash) than an Arduino Uno. The better MCU is needed in order to parse JavaScript and libraries.
Espruino is completely open source. A variety of ports of the Espruino runtime have been made to other boards and processors. For example, boards with an ESP8266 are now supported. Although boards with an ESP8266 are popular due to cost and performance considerations, in order to support further development of the Espruino project, it is a good idea to buy the Espruino directly from the Espruino website.
The Espruino Hardware
On the hardware side, there are two main flavors: the original Espruino board (Figure 3-1) and the Espruino Pico (Figure 3-2). To quickly get started, the Espruino Pico (around $30) is a good option. As you can see in Figure 3-1, there are several digital and analog pins. Compared to Arduino, ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
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I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.