JavaScript on Things (JSoT) Glossary

This is an organic, motley, community-based assortment of terms relating to JavaScript on Things, the intersection of JavaScript and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The format of this glossary is modeled after HugoGiraudel/SJSJ. Wanna help? Great! Check out the CONTRIBUTING guidelines.

Glossary

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z

A

• AC: see alternating current
• AC/DC adapter: device that converts alternating current to direct current.
• Actuator: physical device that converts energy into motion, e.g. a motor
• Adafruit Industries: open-source hardware company and online store
• ADC: See analog-to-digital conversion
• Alternating Current: electrical current in which the direction of flow reverses periodically—the kind that comes out of the wall in homes and offices
• Ampere or amp: unit of current
• Analog-to-Digital Conversion: conversion of analog voltages to digital values
• Analog-to-digital (ADC) converter: device that can perform analog-to-digital conversion
• Anode: electrode through which conventional current enters (flows into) a polarized device
• Arduino (platform): open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software, intended for anyone making interactive projects and prototyping products
• Arduino (programming language):
• Arduino Compatible: microcontrollors and development boards that can be programmed by the Arduino IDE
• Arduino IDE: development environment for writing in the Arduino programming language and uploading sketches to Arduino devices
• ARM (company): British semiconductor company that licenses the ARM architecture
• ARM (architecture): family of RISC-based architectures for power-optimized processors, well-suited for (among other things) embedded applications
• ARM Cortex M: family of 32-bit RISC ARM processors widely used in embedded systems
• Atmel Corporation: American semiconductor manufacturer, known for embedded microcontrollers including AVR ATmega microcontrollers
• ATmega, or megaAVR : family of microcontrollers manufactured by Atmel, used widely in IoT electronics such as Arduinos
• AVR, or Atmel AVR: instruction set architecture (ISA) widely used in Atmel microcontrollers
• AVRISP:
• avrdude: command-line software utility to download, upload or manipulate the ROM and EEPROM contents of AVR microcontrollers
• avr-gcc: compiler that converts C/C++ code to binary code for uploading to AVR microcontrollers
• avrgirl: collection of several npm packages for interacting with AVR microcontrollers

B

• Backpack:
• BeagleBone: An open-source hardware single-board computer produced by the BeagleBoard.org Foundation with a Texas Instruments processor
• Binary: numeral system with base of 2, typically using 0 and 1
• Bipolar Junction Transistor:
• Bit: the smallest and most basic representation of data in a computer, with a value of 0 or 1
• Bit shift:
• Bitwise operator:
• BJT:
• Board: any PCB, but in hardware-hacking parlance, often a development board, breakout board or shield
• Bootloader:
• Breadboard:
• Breakout board: small PCB centered around a single electronic component, making the component more convenient to work with through easier access to the component's features like I/O pins, power inputs, etc.
• Byte: a segment of data containing eight bits

C

• Capacitor: passive two-terminal electrical component used to store electrical energy temporarily
• Capacitive:
• Cape:
• Cathode: electrode through which conventional current leaves (flows out of) a polarized device
• Charge:
• CISC:
• Conventional current: mental model envisioning current as running from positive to negative in a circuit
• Continuity: an unbroken path from one part of a circuit to another
• Coulumb:
• cylon.js: JavaScript framework for robotics, physical computing, and the Internet of Things
• Current: the movement of charged electrons, usually measured in Amperes and denoted as I in Ohm's Law
• Current divider:

D

• DAC:
• Datasheet:
• DC:
• Decoupling:
• Desolder:
• Development board: hardware prototyping board containing (potentially among other things) processor, memory, and I/O interfaces (pins); may be microcontroller-based or a single-board computer
• Digital-to-Analog Conversion:
• Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC):
• Diode:
• Direct current (DC): electrical flow in a single direction, e.g. from batteries
• DTR:
• Duty cycle: the percentage of one period in which a signal or system is active

E

• Eagle:
• Edison:
• EEPROM: Electrically-erasable PROM is a kind of non-volatile memory that can be written and erased repeatedly; Flash memory is a kind of EEPROM
• Electric Imp:
• Electrically-Erasable Programmable ROM: see EEPROM
• Electroluminescent wire:
• Element: Name for common electrical component such as a resistor, capacitor, inductor, etc.
• EL wire:
• Embedded:
• Embedded System:
• Energy:
• ESP8266:
• Espruino:

F

• Farad: unit for measuring electrical capacitance, named after physicist Michael Faraday
• FET:
• Field-effect transitor (FET):
• Firmware : semi-permanent software written to the non-volatile ROM of embedded hardware
• Firmata : protocol for communication between the software on a host computer and a microcontroller; the best-known implementation is for Arduino-compatible boards
• Flash (noun) : electronic non-volatile computer storage (EEPROM) medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed
• Flash (verb):
• Flux:
• FRAM:
• Fritzing:
• FTDI:

G

• Galileo:
• GND:
• General Purpose I/O (GPIO): general purpose pins that can be configured to perform input or output
• Genuino: Arduino's sister-brand sold outside of the US due to trademark disputes
• GPIO: See General Purpose I/O
• Ground:

H

• H bridge: an electronic circuit that enables a voltage to be applied across a load in either direction
• Harvard architecture:
• Header:
• Hexadecimal: numeral system with base of 16, using A-F to represent ten through fifteen

I

• I^2C: (or I2C) Inter-Integrated Circuit. A serial bus for communicating between (multiple) chips and/or devices using only 2 shared lines.
• ICSP:
• Inductor:
• Instruction Set:
• Intel Edison:
• Intel Galileo:
• ISA:
• ISP:

J

• JavaScript on Things (JSoT): muddled portmanteau of JavaScript and Internet of Things—you know, for fun!
• JerryScript:
• JLink:
• johnny-five:
• JSoT: see JavaScript on Things
• JST:
• JTAG:
• Jumper wire:

K

• Kinoma:

L

• LCD:
• LED: see Light-emitting diode
• Light-emitting diode: a two-lead semiconductor which emits light when activated
• LiPo:
• Lithium polymer:
• Load sensor:
• Logic level conversion:

M

• Magnetometer:
• Master Input, Slave Output: SPI input to master from slave device.
• Master Output, Slave Input: SPI output from master to slave device.
• MCU:
• Mesh network:
• Microcontroller:
• MISO: see Master Input, Slave Output
• Mosfet:
• MOSI: see Master Output, Slave Input
• Motor:
• Motor controller:
• MQTT:
• MSP-43x:
• Multimeter:

N

• NAND Flash:
• nibble: four bits, or, a single hexadecimal character (one hex character requires four bits to encode it)
• nodebots:
• NodeMCU:
• NPN transistor:

O

• Ohm: unit of electrical resistance (symbol Ω), represented in Ohm's Law as R
• Ohm's Law: foundational set of relationships between voltage, current and resistance
• OLED:
• Onion:
• Op amp:
• Open hardware:
• OpenOCD: provides communication with embedded targets that enables on-chip debugging as well as in-system programming
• OpenSDA: provides communication with many NXP/Freescale embedded targets (via USB) that enables debugging/programming

P

• Particle:
• Particle Photon:
• Particle Electron:
• Passive component: an electrical component that dissipates, stores or releases energy, but does not produce it
• PCB: Printed Circuit Board
• Perfboard:
• Photoresistor:
• The Physical Web:
• PIC:
• Piezo:
• Pinoccio:
• Pinout:
• Pins:
• PNP transistor:
• Potentiometer:
• Power:
• Printed Circuit Board: see PCB
• Program memory:
• Programmer:
• PROM: Programmable Read-only Memory (ROM)
• Prototyping board: see development board
• Proximity sensor:
• Pulldown resistor:
• Pullup resistor:
• Pulse-Width Modulation:
• PWM:

Q

R

• RAM:
• Raspberry Pi: A closed-source single-board computer produced by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with a Broadcom processor
• Raspbian:
• Read-only memory: see ROM
• Real-time clock:
• Reed switch:
• Relay:
• Reset (button):
• Resistor: passive two-terminal component that reduces current flow and lowers voltage levels in circuits
• Resistance:
• Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive: see RoHS
• RISC:
• RoHS: Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, adopted in 2003 in the EU, restricting the use of certain hazardous materials in the production of electronics
• ROM: Read-only memory. ROM is non-volatile, meaning that its contents are retained when the memory does not have power
• Rotary encoder:
• RX: shorthand for receive; used with UART/USART communication

S

• SBC: see Single-board Computer
• SCK: SPI clock signal
• Segment display:
• Sensor:
• Serial:
• Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI): synchronous serial interface that provides communication between electronic components and devices
• Servo:
• Shield: a board, typically focused on one functionality (e.g. WiFi), with a form factor is designed to fit and work well with a specific development board
• Shift register:
• Single-board computer (SBC): analogous to a tiny motherboard, a small board with general-purpose computing functionality; sometimes also a development board (e.g. Raspberry Pi)
• Single-pole dual-throw switch (SPDT):
• Single-pole single-throw switch (SPST):
• Sketch:
• Slave Select:
• Slide potentiometer or slide pot:
• SMD: see Surface-mount device
• SMT: see Surface-mount technology
• SoC:
• Software serial:
• Solder:
• Solder stencil:
• SparkFun:
• SparkFun RedBoard:
• Spec sheet:
• SPI: see Serial Peripheral Interface
• SPDT:
• SPST:
• SS: SPI "Slave Select": each SPI device in a circuit gets its own SS connection. Determines active device
• ST-Link:
• Surface-mount:
• Surface-mount Device (SMD): component that solders to pads on the surface of a PCB
• Surface-mount Technology (SMT): describes the production of circuits that utilize SMD.
• System bus:
• System on a Chip (SoC):

T

• Teensy:
• Tessel:
• Thermocoupler:
• Through-hole:
• TMP 36:
• Toggle switch:
• Transceiver:
• Transducer:
• Transformer:
• Transistor:
• TTL:
• TX: shorthand for transmit; used with UART/USART communication

U

• UART:
• USART:
• Universal Asynchronous Receive/Transmit (UART): basic asynchronous RS-232 serial communication.
• Universal Synchronous/Asynchronous Receive/Transmit (USART): basic synchronous or asynchronous RS-232 serial communication
• USB OTG:

V

• VCC: positive supply voltage
• VDD: positive supply voltage
• VSS: negative supply voltage
• Volt: unit for measuring electric potential, i.e. voltage, named after physicist Alessandro Volta, represented in Ohm's Law as V
• Voltage: the potential to produce current, measured as a difference between two points (unit: volts)
• Voltage divider: By connecting two elements (typically resistors) in series, the voltage available at their intersection can be reduced to a desired level.
• Voltage regulator:

W

• Wall wart:
• Watt:
• Web Bluetooth:
• Word: the size of the unit of data or instructions used in a given processor's design

X

• XBee:

Y

Z

• Zetta:
• ZIF socket:
• Zigbee: