SparkFun Inventor's Kit for Edison Experiment Guide

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Contributors: Shawn Hymel
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Installing the Intel® XDK IoT Edition

The Intel® XDK is Intel's integrated development environment (IDE) for creating, testing, and deploying mobile apps. We will be using the XDK IoT Edition, which was specifically designed to help users develop Node.js and HTML5 applications for the Intel® Edison and Intel® Galileo.

XDK Project view

NOTE: You will need to sign up for an Intel® Developer Zone Account to use the XDK. If you would prefer not to use the XDK, you can program Node.js applications directly in the Edison (you will just miss out on cool things like code completion, and you might have to skip some of the phone app exercises.). Visit Appendix B: Programming Without the XDK to learn how.

Download the Installer

The easiest way to install the XDK is to use the Intel® Edison Integrated Installer. This contains the XDK, drivers, and Flashing Tool (to update the Edison Firmware). Follow the link below and download the Installer for your operating system:

WARNING: Make sure you do not have any Edisons plugged in to your computer for the installation!

Windows

Run the Installer that you just downloaded. You will see a splash screen as it unzips and prepares to install.

XDK Splash Screen

Once you get the "Welcome to Intel® Edison" screen, click Next. You might get a screen telling you to install "Java SE Runtime." Just ignore it, as we will not be developing in Java (JavaScript is not the same as Java!).

Ignore the warning about installing Java

Click Next to continue the installation process. The ubiquitous License Agreement will pop up. Feel free to read it (or not).

Eek! A EULA!

Select I accept the terms of the license and click Next. You will then be presented with options to install. Deselect Update Image (we will do that separately in the next section), deselect Arduino Software, and select Intel® XDK IoT Edition.

We want to install the XDK IoT Edition

Click Next. On the next screen, make sure that you have enough space to install the programs. Leave the installation directory as default.

Installation directory for the XDK

Click Next, verify that the installation summary looks correct, and click Next again. Wait a few minutes while the installation completes.

NOTE: The installation process might attempt to install other drivers and programs. Accept all the defaults and choose to install additional programs. This is especially true on Windows where the Installer will want to install drivers, which are necessary for deploying code to the Edison. This includes things like "FTDI Drivers" and the "Phone Flash Tool Lite." Also, if the installation seems to have frozen, check for new windows that may have been opened.

Once the installation process is done, you will see a "Complete" window.

XDK installation is complete

Click Finish. If the Intel® Phone Flash Tool Lite opened during the process, you can leave it open if you wish (we will use it in the next section).

The installer or drivers may ask you to restart your computer.

OS X

The OS X Installer link will download a .tar.gz file. Double-click on that file to extract it. Double-click on the extracted file to run the installer.

Downloaded XDK IoT Edition

Follow the prompts, clicking Next to advance to the next screen. Accept the End User License Agreement when prompted. On the Installation summary screen, click Customize Installation.

Customize XDK IoT Edition install

Keep the destination folder (/Applications) at the default and click Next. You will be presented with the option to select the components to install. Deselect Arduino Software, and select Intel® XDK IoT Edition.

Select the right options for the Edison installer

Click Next and deselect Update firmware image (we will do that manually in the next section).

Do not update the Edison firmware now

Click Next and then Install. Wait while the installer downloads. You will then be prompted to install the Phone Flash Tool Lite.

Install the Phone Flash Tool Lite

Click Continue and follow the prompts. Once the XDK has finished installing, the XDK can be found under Applications.

The XDK can be found in Applications in OS X

Linux

Download the installer, double-click on the file to extract it, and navigate into the directory that it creates.

Install script for XDK

Double-click on the install.sh script (select Run if prompted) to begin the installer.

Install as root for XDK

If you want the XDK to be available to all users, select Install as root. Otherwise, select Install as root using sudo. Accept the terms of the End User License Agreement, and accept all defaults until you are presented with a summary screen.

Customize installation on XDK

Click Customize installation, and accept the default installation directory on the next screen. You will be presented with some installation options.

Select to install the XDK

Deselect Arduino Software, and select Intel® XDK IoT Edition. Click Next.

Do not update firmware for the Edison

Deselect Update firmware image, and click Next. There is a chance that your system might be missing some dependencies (e.g. "Dependencies not resolved").

Phone Flash Tool Lite dependencies not resolved

If so, you will need to open a command prompt and install them using apt-get. For example, I am missing fping, gdebi, and p7zip-full. So, I entered the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install fping gdebi p7zip-full

Wait for those to finish installing, and click Re-check on the missing dependencies screen. You should be good to install.

XDK Installer summary

Click Install and wait for the installation to complete (clicking to accept any defaults on prompts). The XDK IoT Edition can be found in /usr/share/applications when the installation is complete.

XDK in installation directory

NOTE: If the Phone Flash Tool Lite failed to install, you can install it manually by following these instructions.