Web of Things in a Nutshell
+WoT in a Nutshell
Web of Things in a Nutshell
communication protocols, differing data models, and varying security requirements. Applications built this way demand high effort for narrow use cases and become difficult to extend, maintain, or reuse over time. -
- WoT provides standardized building blocks that simplify IoT application development by applying the well-established Web paradigm. This approach boosts flexibility and interoperability—especially for cross-domain scenarios—while enabling reuse of proven standards and tooling. WoT unlocks the commercial potential held back by IoT fragmentation.
- - Read the WoT Architecture specification → -
+
WoT Interactions
+ +Use Cases
- WoT introduces a simple, universal interaction model based on - Properties, Actions, and Events. Any IoT network interface - can be described using this abstraction, giving applications a common way to discover an IoT service's metadata - and understand how to access its data and functions—regardless of the underlying technology. + Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore + magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo + consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla + pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est + laborum.
- - Learn about the interaction model → -WoT Building Blocks
+ +Members
++ Many W3C member organizations are involved in the Web of Things ecosystem across various groups. Click on any group + below to explore its active members. +
- -
- The WoT Thing Description (TD) is the central building block of the Web of Things. Much like an
- index.html serves as a website's entry point, a TD documents everything needed to interact with an
- IoT device: available data and functions, communication protocols, payload encoding, and security mechanisms.
- Expressed in JSON-LD, TDs can be served directly by devices or hosted in a TD Directory.
-
+
+
+ - WoT is protocol-agnostic. WoT Binding Templates define how specific protocols—such as MQTT, - HTTP, CoAP, or Modbus—map onto the Properties–Actions–Events abstraction. Each binding template provides a - guideline for clients to activate WoT interactions through the corresponding network interface. -
- - Read the Binding Templates specification → - + +Member Organizations
+
+ Why join?
- The WoT Scripting API defines an ECMAScript (JavaScript) API that mirrors the Thing Description
- specification and supports the WoT interaction model. It provides the interface between behavior implementations
- and a scripting-based WoT runtime. While the API is defined for JavaScript, equivalent APIs can be derived for
- Java, C/C++, or other languages.
+ We develop the Web of Things standards and guidelines to ensure long-term IoT interoperability.
+
+ By joining, you drive W3C standards that shape future device integration and build a cohesive connected ecosystem.
Recent Activities
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+ - WoT Security and Privacy guidelines help ensure the secure implementation and configuration of - Things. Security and privacy considerations are essential for any system implementing W3C WoT. -
- Read the Security and Privacy guidelines → +
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+W3C WoT – Events
- {% for event in sorted_events %} {% if event.date < today %} -Documentation
+Table of Contents
+ ++
Web of Things in a Nutshell
++ Typically, in classical IoT projects, developers have to face a challenging situation. They have to understand a + heterogeneous technology landscape consisting of diverse IoT systems and services from different vendors and + manufacturers. This diversity includes variations in communication protocols, data models for payload data + exchange, and security requirements. IoT applications are usually developed using high effort applied to a + narrow and specific use case. During their lifetime, such applications are difficult to extend, maintain or + reuse. +
+
+ +
+ + The Web of Things (WoT) provides a set of standardized technology building blocks that help to simplify IoT + application development by following the well-known and successful Web paradigm. This approach increases + flexibility and interoperability, especially for cross-domain applications, as well as enabling reuse of + established standards and tools. WoT unlocks commercial potential being held back by IoT fragmentation +
++ Please read the + WoT Architecture document to get more background on WoT + use cases and basic paradigms. +
++
WoT Interactions
++ WoT introduces a simple interaction abstraction based on properties, events, and actions. Any IoT network + interface can be described in terms of this abstraction. By using this abstraction, applications have a common + anchor to retrieve an IoT service’s metadata as well as way to understand what and how the data and an IoT + services' functions can be accessed. +
++ Please read here + to get more background about the properties-action-event paradigm. +
+
+ +
WoT Building Blocks
+
+ + An IoT device's metadata, including all information needed to enable this common abstraction, is documented in + what is called WoT Thing Description (TD). The TD is a central building block in the W3C Web of + Things and can be considered as the entry point of an IoT instance (much like the index.html of a Web site). It + provides information on which data and functions are provided, which protocol is used, how data is encoded and + structured, and security mechanism is used to control access, and further machine-readable and human-readable + metadata. A TD is expressed in JSON-LD and can be provided by an IoT device itself or hosted externally in a + repository such as a TD Directory. +
++ Please read + here + to get more background on the WoT Thing Description. +
++
+ In general, WoT is a protocol agnostic approach and provides a common mechanism to define how specific protocols + such as MQTT, HTTP, CoAP or Modbus can be mapped to the WoT’s interaction properties-action-event abstraction. +
++ This mapping and protocol specific metadata are provided by the WoT Binding Templates. A + binding template for a specific protocol provides a guideline how a client can activate each WoT interaction + abstraction through a corresponding network-facing interface for that protocol. +
++ Please read + here + to get more background on WoT Binding Templates. +
+
+ + The (optional) WoT Scripting API building block defines an ECMAScript (JavaScript) API that + closely follows the WoT Thing Description specification and supports the WoT interaction abstraction. It defines + the interface between behavior implementations and a scripting-based WoT runtime. Please note however that + implementations of WoT are not limited to scripting environments. Programming language APIs in Java or C/C++ can + also be derived from the WoT Scripting API. +
++ Please read + here + to get more background on the WoT Scripting API. +
++ The Web of Things also provides guidance on WoT Security and Privacy. WoT provides guidelines + for the secure implementation and configuration of Things. Security and privacy should be considered in any + system implementing W3C WoT. +
++ Please read + here + to get more background on WoT Security and Privacy. +
++
Further Reading
++ For further reading, please find below a set of links to a variety of additional material including + presentations and documents. +
+WoT Publications
+-
+
- + Normative Deliverables + + +
- + Informative Deliverables + + +
Introductory Materials (Explainers)
+-
+
- + Thing Description 1.1 + +
- + Discovery + +