It's a Jungle Out There – IoT and MRuby
- 1. It's a Jungle Out There Matúš Tomlein PhD Fellow at Aarhus University @matus_tomlein Aarhus.rb meetup, 5.1.2015
- 2. The Internet of Things Is • A buzzword • Connecting every-day devices to the Internet • Washing machines, doors, shoes, ...
- 3. Charts From Every Talk About IoT
- 4. The Old Internet twitter.com spotify.com Clients Servers POST /tweet GET /songs/next
- 5. The New Internet twitter.com Clients Servers POST /tweet FE80::0202:B3FF :FE1E:8329 GET /fuel POST /activate AB78::1378:F3B B:FE1E:8329 GET /status
- 6. Well, actually... twitter.com Clients Servers POST /tweet FE80::0202:B3FF :FE1E:8329 GET /fuel POST /lamps/12/activate AB78::1378:F3B B:FE1E:8329 GET /status
- 7. What is the development for the IoT like?
- 8. We, Web developers, Are Spoiled • Deploying/updating our apps is easy • Only have to care about a few of servers in the production • We can always SSH into a server and see what's wrong • Our servers run in the comfort of the cloud • Testing/debugging also easy • We have all the computing power we want • We can use any technology we want
- 9. Meanwhile on Embedded Devices • Deploying/updating is a nightmare • There can be dozens/thousands of embedded systems running your app • Little power, sometimes constrained battery life • Testing/debugging on the device takes effort • You have no control of the environment they are in • The added trouble of communication with and between devices • Security... • You are stuck with C, C++, maybe Java (unless you run on Unix)
- 10. At least the last point is not true
- 11. MRuby • Another interpreter for Ruby • The other ones won't run without OS or on RTOS • Also a compiler and VM • Very lightweight (<128kb) • Compatible with Ruby 1.9 syntax • Runs on anything that can run C
- 12. MRuby is Lightweight • Only platform independent functionality • Everything else is a gem (mrbgem) • e.g. IO, threads, require
- 13. mrbgems • Defined in build_config.rb • Can be: • Pure Ruby – Defines the extension class in Ruby • Pure C – Builds the class in C • C and Ruby – Defines some methods in C and some in Ruby
- 14. MRuby is Embeddable • Can be run inside other applications • Great for scripting, configuration *.rb /usr/bin/ruby C/C++ app *.rb bytecode libmruby.a Source: http://www.slideshare.net/yamanekko/rubyconf2013?qid=dd845db4-dda5-44a5-81c3-0fa63ca520f2&v=qf1&b=&from_search=8
- 15. 4 Ways to Run MRuby 1. Interpreted 2. Interactive shell 3. Bytecode 4. Generating C code Source: http://blog.mruby.sh/201207020720.html
- 16. Interpreted • Just like any other Ruby app $ mruby hello_world.rb Hello World • Good for testing • Overhead
- 17. Interactive Shell • Just like irb $ mirb mirb - Embeddable Interactive Ruby Shell > puts "Hello" Hello => nil
- 18. Bytecode $ mrbc hello_world.rb • Will produce platform independent bytecode in hello_world.mrb $ mruby -b hello_world.mrb Hello World • Will run the bytecode in a VM • Less overhead – no parsing • Still need the mruby program to run it
- 19. Generating C Code • Integrate Ruby code in a C application • Generates C files containing the Ruby code • A standalone app – without any requirements • The user doesn't see the source code
- 20. Performance • Performance of C compared to MRuby is about 100 : 1 • Probably slower than the latest Ruby
- 21. But That's OK • There is a trend in IoT: • Dumb devices that only provide resources/ services • Most of the application logic in the cloud • MRuby fits this use case well despite performance issues • Besides it's very young and will improve
- 22. One Less Issue • Deploying/updating is a nightmare • There can be dozens/thousands of embedded systems running your app • Little power, sometimes constrained battery life • Testing/debugging on the device takes effort • You have no control of the environment they are in • The added trouble of communication with and between devices • Security... • You are stuck with C, C++, maybe Java (unless you run on Unix)
- 23. So, now we have the MRuby, we just need the MRuby on Rails
- 24. My PhD Project • A platform/framework for deploying apps to embedded devices • Define some conventions and architecture • App Store like software ecosystem • Secure environment for apps • Open interfaces and communication • I'm just starting my PhD • Any feedback is very appreciated