Chapter 10. JavaScript and constrained hardware
This chapter covers
- How JavaScript-capable embedded hardware platforms compare with host-client and single-board-computer (SBC) platforms
- Steps for familiarizing yourself with a new development platform
- Examining two representative embedded JavaScript platforms: Espruino Pico and Kinoma Element
- Developing projects with the Espruino Pico
- Crafting text and shapes with Nokia 5110 LCD displays and the Espruino Graphics library
- Reusing trusty components: using the BMP180 multisensor and HMC5883L compass in new ways on different platforms
- A case-study view of the Kinoma Element
In the first half of this book, electronics fundamentals were demonstrated by using a tethered Arduino Uno—a host-client setup. In the past few chapters, though, you’ve met the Tessel 2, which has the oomph to run Node.js natively within its OpenWrt operating system—that’s a single-board-computer (SBC) setup.
Now we’re going to take a look at a third class of JavaScript-controlled platforms: constrained embedded hardware with native support for JavaScript (or, often, something that’s JavaScript-like). To accomplish this feat with such limited hardware resources, these platforms tend to rely on highly optimized custom JavaScript engines.