Open & Standard

Seemlessly connect to everything

Open and Standard development ensures that products can receive updates and maintain stability. Through the power of open source and ECMA standards, developers are unlocking new possibilities when bringing IoT products to market.

Open Source

The web runs on open source. It isn't by coincidence that the web has been rapidly evolving for years on scalable, robust, high-performance, secure software foundations. To innovate at web speed and scale, open source has been shown to be the only choice. The best embedded platforms for software developers have adopted the open model. And when a platform is easier for software developers, they spend less time wrestling with tools and more time creating better products.

Open Standards

IoT products exist to connect with products from other manufacturers. To interoperate, those products have to agree on how they communicate. Today this almost always done using open standards like MQTT, BLE, HTTP, TLS, etc. They need to share data in common formats, like JSON.

IoT software is usually locked to one manufacturer's silicon because all the APIs are provided by the manufacturer. That means switching to another microcontroller can mean a near total software re-write. Over time, this prevents companies from adopting the best silicon available for their products - resulting in higher costs, lower performance and a competitive disadvantage.

Moddable is changing the game by creating an open standard API for embedded software. This API specification is called ECMA-419 (ECMAScript embedded systems API specification) and it consists of a set of vendor-neutral JavaScript APIs specifically designed to make IoT software portable.

IoT products, ranging from light bulbs to ovens, are installed in homes and typically remain there for many years. As a result, manufacturers need to ensure that their products can still receive software updates even a decade after they were installed. Open standards can guarantee this level of stability, something that vendor-specific APIs cannot. The JavaScript language itself is an open standard that has provided backwards compatibility for the web for over two decades, offering the type of longevity that manufacturers need for their IoT products. This has been made possible through a commitment to compatibility that is not controlled by a single manufacturer but rather by open standards.

Open licensing terms

Too often commercial licensing terms embedded software are hidden behind a sales process. Organizations creating a product can't even estimate their costs without first engaging with a sales team.

Moddable makes its software available with two distinct licensing options. The first is a pure open source option that companies can adopt simply by honoring the obligations of the open source licenses. The second is a commercial license at a remarkably low cost. Both options are explained in plain English on our public web site with no NDA or sales call required.

Open support

We provide support to our developer community through public channels, including GitHub, that are open to all. This is a great way to ensure the knowledge is shared with all developers and that everyone has an opportunity to contribute to solutions. The expertise in our community often leads to better solutions.

If you're an independent developer, we recommend you start a discussion or join us in our Gitter chatroom if you have a question or want to talk about your projects. If you have trouble getting started or find any bugs, please open an issue. We'll respond as quickly as practical, and other developers can benefit from the answers to your questions.

We understand that not all organizations are at the same place in their journey to embracing open development processes.

Moddable works with clients that range from fully open development models to more traditional internal-only development processes. No matter how our clients choose to develop the software for their products, they will reap the benefits of Moddable's embrace of open from open source to open standards.

Open Source Benefits:
1	Flexibility: Open Source software provides flexibility in terms of customization and integration. Developers can modify the code to meet their specific needs, rather than being restricted by proprietary software.
2	Cost-effectiveness: Using Open Source software can save money on licensing fees, and Open Standards can reduce the cost of developing custom integrations.
3	Security: Open Source software is transparent and can be audited by developers for security vulnerabilities. This allows for faster identification and remediation of security issues.
4	Community: Open Source software communities are often very active, with developers contributing code, fixing bugs, and providing support. This can be a valuable resource for IoT developers who are looking for help or guidance.
5	Innovation: Open Source software encourages innovation by allowing developers to experiment with and build upon existing code. This can lead to new features and functionality that may not have been possible with proprietary software.