Particle Xenon IoT Development Kit

Jargon buster

Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.

API

An API (application programming interface) is a defined set of commands or functions that lets one piece of software interact with another, such as a library, operating system, hardware driver or online service. When something offers API support, it means you can control or query it from your own code rather than only through its built-in menus or buttons.

IoT

Short for Internet of Things, meaning physical devices that connect to networks or the internet to send data or be controlled remotely. It matters if you want projects such as connected sensors, remote controls or classroom data-logging activities.

JTAG

JTAG is a hardware debugging and programming interface used to inspect and control chips at a low level. It matters for advanced development because it can help diagnose firmware problems that are hard to see through normal serial output.

LED

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a small electronic component that emits light when current flows through it in the correct direction. Because it only conducts one way, its polarity matters, and a through-hole LED must be soldered the correct way around to light up.

LiPo

A LiPo (lithium polymer) battery is a rechargeable lithium battery widely used in portable projects because it is light and compact. LiPo cells need correct charging circuitry and careful handling to stay safe, so equipment that supports LiPo generally includes charging or protection hardware suited to that battery type.

nRF52840

The nRF52840 is a Nordic Semiconductor system-on-chip built around a 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4 processor, with built-in Bluetooth Low Energy and native USB. It is widely used in maker and wearable boards, where it offers BLE and USB support along with broad library coverage in common maker toolchains.

PCB antenna

A PCB antenna is an antenna pattern built directly into the circuit board rather than a separate metal antenna. It matters because placement, nearby metal and enclosure design can affect wireless range.

photodiode

A photodiode is a light-sensitive component that produces a small electrical signal, a current or voltage, when light falls on it. When a sensor uses several photodiodes, each can be tuned to a different part of the spectrum so the chip can measure several wavelength bands separately.

RGB

Short for red, green and blue, the three primary colours of light that are mixed in varying amounts to make a wide range of colours. In electronics RGB can refer to an LED or pixel that blends these three colours, or to a colour signal or interface that carries separate red, green and blue channels.

SWD

Serial Wire Debug (SWD) is a two-wire programming and debugging interface used with many ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers. It provides low-level access to program, recover or debug the microcontroller.