Data vs. Events
SimpleIOT's simple key/value model allows data to be exchanged to/from the cloud in real-time across different types of devices.
Each device communicates with the cloud via one or more named Datatype. These Datatypes are associated with a Model definition of a device, each with a unique name.
When a Device is created (aka instantiated or provisioned), it is based on a Model definition and is given a unique serial number. All its Data elements are also based on the corresponding Datatypes.
When setting a value, you would reference it via its Project > Device > Data reference. When changing the value via REST API or MQTT, events are triggered to update databases and publish monitor events.
On the device side, if the Client SDK is used, any changes in values trigger an onDataChange handler. This means that the same Datatype can be used for both exchanges of data as well as sending/receiving commands!
In the above example, the data can send temperature and light_on status values to the cloud. Conversely, by setting the command Data value to ON, the device will be notified and can turn on or off.
This mechanism makes it easy to pass events and data between devices and the cloud.
SimpleIOT does not currently set restrictions on Datatype names or values. However, it is recommended that names starting with punctuation symbols such as $name or _name be avoided. These are reserved for future internal use.