Node Dev Guideline

This page is for discussing about how to make Node Dev Guideline.

You can check the original contents at HERE.

• Introduction
  • Purpose of node development and correspondence of this guideline
  • Terms
• Designing
  • Policy for designing original nodes
• Coding
  • Official documentation of Node-RED
  • Procedure of development
  • Describing code
• Style
  • Official documentation of Node-RED
  • Naming rule
  • Design
• Improving quality
  • Test
  • How to run the test
  • Static analysis
  • Manual test with operatig Node-RED
  • Automated test with test code
  • Original test items of node development
• Security and anonymity
  • How to write credential information
  • How to code obfuscation
• Appendix
  • Tips and Notes
  • Creating node definitions for Node-RED (node generator)

Introduction

There is possiblity that standard nodes of Node-RED can not deal with every use case. Node-RED allows users to develop their own original nodes. This guideline explains guideline and precautions for developing nodes.

Purpose of node development and correspondence of this guideline

Reuse and share general-purpose processing logic

How to use the system by Node-RED

Terms

Designing

This chapter explain the policy of designing nodes for developers who make original node.

Policy for designing original nodes

Designing related group of nodes

Node definition

Node setting

Designing node functions

Design of non-functional requirement

Coding

Official documentation of Node-RED

Firstly, there are documents about how to create a new node in the Node-RED official site. Therefore, the page should be given preference.

Procedure of development

1. Designing interface
2. Writing code
3. Test
4. Multilingualization
5. Packaging

Writing a code

Packaging

HTML code

JavaScript code

node-generator

Creating a simple node or template of node could be easy for using node-generator.

Style

The looks of nodes such as node's name, color, and icon affect the readability of the flow. This chapter give some tips to developers when they create multiple nodes.

Official documentation of Node-RED

The appearance of the node is explained in Node appearance. Therefore, the page should be given preference.

Naming rule

Basic policy

Node's name

Category's classification and name

Combination of category's name and node's name

Design

Node's icon

Node's color

Items that users can change

Improving quality

It is important to ensure the quality of it, because node could be used in every flow, and the quality of the node influences the quality of the flow. Therefore, this chapter explain about tests as quality improvement.

Test

How to run the test

Static analysis

Manual test with operatig Node-RED

Automated test with test code

Original test items of node development

Security and anonymity

If the developer includes the credential information in the flow data as the property value of the node, the credential information is shared with other people when sharing the flow. And it could cause an unintended operation. Also, when place the developed node in the repository, the contents of the source code could ve read by others. This chapter describes about handling of credential information and a method of code obfuscation to prevent these bad events.

How to write credential information

How to code obfuscation

Appendix

Tips and Notes

• Make state of the node can be grasped from the workspace
• Do not implement a server feature(Web server, etc.)
• If you need establishing a session with another server, do not discard the message arrived before establishing it
• Do not embed personal information
• Group the related function group of the original node into one node
• Do not assume the execution order of nodes
• Do not perform sequential processing for a long time in the node

Creating node definitions for Node-RED (node generator)

Flow for developing an original node from a Swagger file

1. Generate an original node by using a node generator command.

Module name

Node name

Version

Keyword

Category

2. Add a node description, test cases, etc.

Information about the nodes displayed in the information tab, and README

README

Test case

Support for multiple languages