Github user queeniema commented on a diff in the pull request:
https://github.com/apache/incubator-edgent-website/pull/97#discussion_r155386576
--- Diff: site/docs/faq.md ---
@@ -4,51 +4,74 @@ title: FAQ
## What is Apache Edgent?
-Edgent provides APIs and a lightweight runtime to analyze streaming data
at the edge.
+Edgent provides APIs and a lightweight runtime enabling you to easily
create event-driven flow-graph style applications to analyze streaming data at
the edge.
+ Check out [The Power of Edgent](power-of-edgent) to help you guickly gain
an appreciation of how Edgent can help you.
## What do you mean by the edge?
The edge includes devices, gateways, equipment, vehicles, systems,
appliances and sensors of all kinds as part of the Internet of Things.
-## How is Apache Edgent used?
+It's easy for for Edgent applications to connect to other entities such as
an enterprise IoT hub.
-Edgent can be used at the edge of the Internet of Things, for example, to
analyze data on devices, engines, connected cars, etc. Edgent could be on the
device itself, or a gateway device collecting data from local devices. You can
write an edge application on Edgent and connect it to a Cloud service, such as
the IBM Watson IoT Platform. It can also be used for enterprise data collection
and analysis; for example log collectors, application data, and data center
analytics.
+While Edgent's design center is executing on constrained edge devices,
Edgent applications can run on any system meeting minimal requirements such as
a Java runtime.
## How are applications developed?
-Applications are developed using a functional flow API to define
operations on data streams that are executed as a graph of "oplets" in a
lightweight embeddable runtime. The SDK provides capabilities like windowing,
aggregation and connectors with an extensible model for the community to expand
its capabilities.
+Applications are developed using a functional flow API to define
operations on data streams that are executed as a flow graph in a lightweight
embeddable runtime. Edgent provides capabilities like windowing, aggregation
and connectors with an extensible model for the community to expand its
capabilities. Check out [The Power of Edgent](power-of-edgent)!
-## What APIs does Apache Edgent support?
+You can develop Edgent applications using an IDE of your choice.
-Currently, Edgent supports APIs for Java and Android. Support for
additional languages, such as Python, is likely as more developers get
involved. Please consider joining the Edgent open source development community
to accelerate the contributions of additional APIs.
+Generally, mechanisms for deploying an Edgent Application to a device are
beyond the scope of Edgent; they are often device specific or may be defined by
an enterprise IoT system. To deploy an Edgent application to a device like a
Raspberry Pi, you could just FTP the application to the device and modify the
device to start the application upon startup or on command. See [Edgent
Application Development](application-development).
+
+## What environments does Apache Edgent support?
+
+Currently, Edgent provides APIs and runtime for Java and Android. Support
for additional languages, such as Python, is likely as more developers get
involved. Please consider joining the Edgent open source development community
to accelerate the contributions of additional APIs.
## What type of analytics can be done with Apache Edgent?
-Edgent provides windowing, aggregation and simple filtering. It uses
Apache Common Math to provide simple analytics aimed at device sensors. Edgent
is also extensible, so you can call existing libraries from within your Edgent
application. In the future, Edgent will include more analytics, either exposing
more functionality from Apache Common Math, other libraries or hand-coded
analytics.
+The core Edgent APIs makes it easy to incorporate any analytics you want
into the stream processing graph. Its trivial to create windows and trigger
aggregation functions you supply. It's trivial to specify whatever filtering
and transformation functions you want to supply. The functions you supply can
use existing libraries.
+
+Edgent comes with some initial analytics for aggregation and filtering
that you may find useful. It uses Apache Common Math to provide simple
analytics aimed at device sensors. In the future, Edgent will include more
analytics, either exposing more functionality from Apache Common Math, other
libraries or hand-coded analytics.
## What connectors does Apache Edgent support?
-Edgent supports connectors for MQTT, HTTP, JDBC, File, Apache Kafka and
IBM Watson IoT Platform. Edgent is extensible; you can add the connector of
your choice.
+Edgent provides easy to use connectors for MQTT, HTTP, JDBC, File, Apache
Kafka and IBM Watson IoT Platform. Edgent is extensible; you can create
connectors. You can easily supply any code you want for ingesting data from
and sinking data to external systems. See
[EDGENT-368](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/EDGENT-368) for a full code
sample of publishing to Elasticsearch.
+
+## Does Edgent have a Sensor Library?
+
+No, Edgent does not come with a library for accessing a device's sensors.
The simplicity with which an Edgent application can poll or otherwise use
existing APIs for reading a sensor value make such a library unnecessary.
## What centralized streaming analytic systems does Apache Edgent support?
-Edgent supports open source technology (such as Apache Spark, Apache
Storm, Flink and samza), IBM Streams (on-premises or IBM Streaming Analytics on
Bluemix), or any custom application of your choice.
+Edgent applications can publish and subscribe to message systems like MQTT
or Kafka, or IoT Hubs like IBM Watson IoT Platform. Centralized streaming
analytic systems can do likewise to then consume Edgent application events and
data, as well as control an Edgent application. The centralized streaming
analytic system could be Apache Spark, Apache Storm, Flink and samza, IBM
Streams (on-premises or IBM Streaming Analytics on Bluemix), or any custom
application of your choice.
+
+## Is there a distributed version of Edgent?
+
+The short answer is that a single Edgent Application's topologies all run
in the same local JVM.
+
+But sometimes this question is really asking "Can separate Edgent
topologies communicate with each other?" and the answer to that is YES!
+
+Today, multiple topologies in a single Edgent application/JVM can
communicate using the Edgent PublishSubscribe connector, or any other shared
resource you choose to use (e.g., a java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue).
+
+Edgent topologies in separate JVM's, or the same JVM, can communicate with
each other by using existing connectors to a local or remote MQTT server for
example.
## Why do I need Apache Edgent on the edge, rather than my streaming
analytic system?
-Edgent is designed for the edge, rather than a more centralized system. It
has a small footprint, suitable for running on devices. Edgent provides simple
analytics, allowing a device to analyze data locally and to only send to the
centralized system if there is a need, reducing communication costs.
+Edgent is designed for the edge. It has a small footprint, suitable for
running on constrained devices. Edgent applications can analyze data on the
edge and to only send to the centralized system if there is a need, reducing
communication costs.
## Why do I need Apache Edgent, rather than coding the complete
application myself?
-Edgent is a tool for edge analytics that allows you to be more productive.
Edgent provides a consistent data model (streams and windows) and provides
useful functionality, such as aggregations, joins, etc. Using Edgent lets you
to take advantage of this functionality, allowing you to focus on your
application needs.
+Edgent is designed to accellerate your development of edge analytic
applications - to make you more productive! Edgent provides a simple yet
powerful consistent data model (streams and windows) and provides useful
functionality, such as aggregations, joins, and connectors. Using Edgent lets
you to take advantage of this functionality, allowing you to focus on your
application needs.
--- End diff --
nit: "acce**l**lerate" --> "accelerate"
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