To get the most out of this book

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.