There are several examples of hardware design and coding examples in this book. Most of the coding examples are pseudo-code based on Python syntax. Working examples are also based on Python 3.4.3 that is usable on Mac OS X, Linux, and Microsoft. In areas (such as Chapter 9, IoT Edge to Cloud Protocols, libraries such as MQTT (such as Paho) are freely available for use in Python.

Having familiarity with some foundational calculus, information theory, electrical properties, and computer science can only help us gain a deeper insight into IoT from an architectural perspective.

Some examples show scripting within Chapter 10, Cloud and Fog Topologies, use OpenStack or Amazon AWS/Greengrass. In those cases, acquiring a cloud account is helpful but not strictly needed to understand the architectural goals.

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it from https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/downloads/InternetofThingsforArchitects_ColorImages.pdf.

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

CodeInText: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: "The insert operation places a modification in the working memory."

A block of code is set as follows:

rule "Furnace_On"
when
Smoke_Sensor(value > 0) && Heat_Sensor(value > 0)
then
insert(Furnace_On())
end

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

rule "Furnace_On"
when
Smoke_Sensor(value > 0) && Heat_Sensor(value > 0)
then
insert(Furnace_On())
end

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

aws greengrass create-function-definition --name "sensorDefinition"

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For example, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. Here is an example: "Internet Key Exchange (IKE) is the security protocol in IPsec."