PAS 212:2016

What is this standard about?

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a growing network of devices that are connected to the internet. This has the potential to transform the way we live and work, by giving us the ability, for example, to control, our house via the internet, wherever we are.

For the IoT to reach its potential, however, it’s essential that software interfaces are standardized, so that there’s no need to re-write interfaces for each new application or service.

PAS 212:2016 provides a simple way for Internet of Things (IoT) applications and services to interoperate, without the need for intervention from a human programmer.

It specifies a protocol whereby any compliant software client can automatically discover data that is stored within any compliant software server, without either the client or server having to be written to be compatible with each other.

Who is this standard for?

PAS 212 should be used by software engineers for IoT (or web services more generally), who are seeking to write a software interface:

• For a client that does not need to be re-written every time it’s used with a new server
• For a server that does not need to be re-written every time it’s used with a new client

It should also be used by commissioners of software projects, who can promote open interoperability between the project parts, and therefore avoid vendor lock-in, by recommending compliance with this PAS.

Why should you use this standard?

PAS 212 aims to solve the problem of a lack of interoperability in IoT devices that is preventing the exponential growth in the number and combination of IoT clients and servers.

It covers a mandatory format for representing a catalogue of linked-data resources, annotated with metadata. It also provides conditional requirements for catalogue access in the following areas:

• Catalogue transport
• Security mechanisms to protect access and to prove provenance
• Search functions
• Subscription mechanisms
• Well-known entry-points
• Machine-readable hints to ease usability

It doesn’t cover implementation of the linked-data resource services themselves.

It applies to the design of services for IoT and the World Wide Web in general, and in particular to the design of applications intended to operate within broad ecosystems such as Smart Cities, as well as specific industry sectors. It intends to break down the vertically-integrated software silos that have previously existed within the IoT industry.

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