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Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

tessel.io

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Re: Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

#71

Post by LandoCalrissian »

goodbyegti wrote: post #13

It's absurdly expensive, even more so the modules. Looking at the BT module, the BLE112 can be purchased for $15 in quantities of 1. So you pay $35 for a small PCB, some pin headers and probably a wrapper around a UART.

You can kind of achieve the same results with an Arduino board and https://github.com/rwaldron/johnny-five, but you do have to have a computer connected. I think you could probably hook up a raspberryPi with a usb network adapter and an Arduino for the for the same or less cost than the main unit.

Still interesting all the same, if they can get the cost down it would open the micro controller world up to a completely new group of people.

Re: Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

#72

Post by tlrobinson »

mschuster91 wrote: post #63
asdfs wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the BLE112 already certified? Or does integrating it into a product require you to get the entire product certified?

In Europe, the one who imports the device must submit a certification document for the device ... so even if you just stick already-approved products together you have to do a complete recertification. This, sadly, also includes selling a "Raspberry Pi computer" with you as distributor packing a Pi and a Wifi stick in a case. Only if you ship the individual components to the customer to self-assemble, you don't need…

Where is the "individual components" line drawn?

Re: Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

#73

Post by DrewAllyn »

EpicEng wrote: post #48
jonknee wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume you're using a computer you made yourself from materials you mined out of the Earth? Running software you programmed in hardware of your own design? Higher level abstractions in computing are of obvious value. Many more people know Javascript than know HDL, an assembly variant or even C. It's pretty obvious why this would be helpful. If you know a little bit of Javascript you can get out of the browser and h…

Yiur first paragraph is simply absurd, so I'll ignore it. So what is one to do once they have designed a system using this platform? Do you want to turn it into a product? Great! Go redesign the entire thing from the ground up because what you made is a toy. It can't be manufactured at a reasonable cost. The code will have to be completely rewritten. The hardware has to be completely re-specced. What a waste of time.…

> Do you want to turn it into a product?

Probably, they don't want to turn it into a product. Probably, they just want to use it themselves. In this case it makes total sense to improve speed of development despite increasing unit cost.

Re: Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

#74

Post by bruce_one »

justincormack wrote: post #14

Actually, a microcontroller that runs Lua. They released the source for the JavaScript to Lua compiler today https://github.com/tessel/colony-compiler

It could be a really interesting tool for porting (some) javascript npm modules to luvit (a nodejs reimplementation with lua instead of js) as well :-)

Just seems like an interesting way to bolster the ecosystem :-)

Re: Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

#75

Post by EpicEng »

noodle wrote: post #68
EpicEng wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yiur first paragraph is simply absurd, so I'll ignore it. So what is one to do once they have designed a system using this platform? Do you want to turn it into a product? Great! Go redesign the entire thing from the ground up because what you made is a toy. It can't be manufactured at a reasonable cost. The code will have to be completely rewritten. The hardware has to be completely re-specced. What a waste of time.…

Dude. You need to get some perspective on this. People are not going to buy a Tessel to build a production-grade hardware project. It is for hobbyists.

Fine; it's the paint by numbers of the hardware world. Oh, and it's really expensive to boot. Raspberry Pi's and Arduinos are for hobbyists; this is a child's toy.

Re: Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

#76

Post by pling »

eudox wrote: post #6

You win, please, just stop the pain.

As someone who does a bit of embedded stuff here and there (professionally), this.

I cannot fathom why anyone would even poke this with a stick other than to appease the maker crowd who to be honest scare the shit out of me. And the price. Kill me now.

Re: Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

#78

Post by justincormack »

sdegutis wrote: post #61
justincormack wrote: post #14

Actually, a microcontroller that runs Lua. They released the source for the JavaScript to Lua compiler today https://github.com/tessel/colony-compiler

That's pretty awesome. I love Lua lately, for its simplicity both in design and implementation, and it's great to see that I can use it in an MCU! That said, it's pretty dumb that it has to have a JS transpiler in order to get popular.

Lua has actually had a microcontroller project for years see http://www.eluaproject.net/ but without the nice slick deployment that tessel has.

Re: Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

#79

Post by dkersten »

bsder wrote: post #69
dkersten wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> First, C++ compilers are not available everywhere. Neither is javascript. If both are available for this micro, then his statement is as valid as yours. > Second, C++ compilers do not always implement all corners of the language on embedded systems. I've done a good bit of embedded programming in C and I wouldn't need all of C++ to make life a lot easier. > Third, C++ is better than Javascript? That's going to take…

> Neither is javascript. If both are available for this micro, then his statement is as valid as yours. Hrm, I stand corrected. I thought that at least some of the Javascript implementations were C-only, but it looks like they all require C++. > I've done a good bit of embedded programming in C and I wouldn't need all of C++ to make life a lot easier. Templates, exceptions, and memory allocation all interleave and yo…

Do they not support templates? I'd be happy with "C with classes, templates and RAII". But point taken regardless.

I completely agree - I'm also much more interested in Rust for low level and embedded programming!

Re: Tessel: A microcontroller that runs JavaScript

#80

Post by batmansbelt »

pmontra wrote: post #23
batmansbelt wrote: post #8

Espruino is a similar device (without the cool plugins though, so expect to use a soldering iron). Much cheaper too.

I got one and I'm starting to experiment. I discovered that soldering can be a problem. First, I had to buy a solder. Second, physics is merciless and a mistake can toast your card (didn't happened to me yet) vs the run-fail-debug loop we're used to in sw development. Anyway, some hw modules have been tested with Espruino and the web site explains how to use them. My understanding is that you can plug almost anything…

Yep, lots of good tutorials, and the creator of the board is quite helpful on email.
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