MEDIA ALERT: IBM Unveils New Bluemix OpenWhisk Tools to Speed Development of IoT Apps on IBM Cloud

ARMONK, N.Y., June 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new advancements for Bluemix OpenWhisk, its event-driven programming model which utilizes Docker containers. The new tools will allow developers to build feature-rich, intuitive apps which easily connect into the Internet of Things, as well as tap into advanced services such as cognitive, analytics and more - without the need to deploy and manage extra infrastructure.

The new tools, NPM Module and Node-RED, will enable developers to more rapidly build event-driven apps, which automatically execute user code in response to external actions and events. IBM will also begin rolling out new updates to the OpenWhisk user experience to make it easier for developers to create these portable, intelligent apps, including step-by-step workflows, new wizards to configure third party services and feeds, and a new editor to manage sequences of actions. 

OpenWhisk, which runs on Bluemix, IBM's cloud platform, is one of the only serverless models which enables developers to deploy their code as Docker containers, transforming how containers and OpenWhisk can be used together to innovate. Unlike other platforms, developers can immediately begin building with containers on Bluemix, without the hassle of configuring and connecting prerequisite programs and code.  

As the emerging trend of serverless computing transforms the speed of development, these new tools and features will enable developers to use containers in new ways:

- Node-RED is IBM's open source IoT tool for creating event-driven apps. It enables developers to start prototyping their ideas without having to start by writing code. Node-RED can now be used to invoke triggers and actions within OpenWhisk, giving apps access to Watson analytics, the IBM IoT platform and a range of other Bluemix services. 

- IBM's NPM module provides a JavaScript client library for the OpenWhisk REST APIs. It provides an easy way for developers to call services on the OpenWhisk platform without manually constructing HTTP requests. Developers can now build apps which integrate with the OpenWhisk directly from Node.js, without having to learn the entire RESTful API endpoints for the platform. 

IBM announced the Bluemix OpenWhisk platform as an open and cloud-first event-driven programming service in February. The tool's compute model allows developers to quickly build microservices which execute code in response to events – such as the clicking of a mouse or the receipt of sensor data from an IoT device.

IBM Bluemix OpenWhisk is an initiative of developerWorks Open, IBM's community of more than 100 open source projects to help developers collaborate and build with innovations in IoT, analytics, and more, such as Apache Quarks and Apache SystemML.

With integrated Docker support, Bluemix draws more than 20,000 new developers each week, who are creating more than 120,000 apps every month. It has grown rapidly to become one of the largest open, public cloud deployments in the world. Based in open standards, it features over 140 tools and services spanning categories of big data, mobile, Watson, analytics, integration, DevOps, security and the Internet of Things. 

For more information on how developers can use OpenWhisk to manage Docker containers as serverless functions, visit: http://developer.ibm.com/openwhisk/?p=821 

To view a demo of the new OpenWhisk user interface, visit: http://bit.ly/28MnxjV  

Anyone can try the OpenWhisk service on Bluemix here: https://new-console.ng.bluemix.net/openwhisk/

Media Contact: Erin Lehr, IBM Media Relations, 1-212-671-9363, [email protected]

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SOURCE IBM