More smartphones and tablets were sold last year than PCs and this, coupled with the recent growth of activity in the M2M (Machine to Machine) space (sensors and sensor gateways) is making the much talked about Internet of Things a reality. Many of the devices used in these systems have to deal with intermittent connections, and the possibility of network disruption. In addition, minimal data costs are crucial if networks are going to cope with millions and billions of connected devices.

MQTT is a simple event-driven messaging protocol designed for use by devices and edge-of network gateways. It provides reliable transport, when needed, coupled with low network overheads and a small implementation footprint that makes it suitable for embedding in devices with limited processing capabilities or low power budgets. It can be used either natively over TCP/IP or across a WebSocket connection.

In this session you will learn more about what MQTT is, and how it compares with HTTP. I will look at how to program to it in Java and the various Java client libraries and server implementations available today, focusing on the Open Source Eclipse Paho project specifically the Java client libraries. I will also discuss the progress being made in standardizing MQTT at OASIS.