Using applications

The application is the most powerful class of things supported by Platform Service.

Use applications to do the following tasks:

• Send events on behalf of devices.
• Send commands to devices.
• Receive commands that are sent to devices.
• Interact with with Platform Service through the REST APIs.

For more information about the official SDKs that support application development, see SDKs for Platform Service.

Authentication

Applications authenticate to IBM Maximo Asset Monitor using an API key and authentication token. You use the access section of the dashboard to create new API keys.

To create a new API key and authentication token pair:

1. In the Platform Service dashboard, go to Apps > API Keys.
2. Click Generate API Key. Important: Make a note of the API key and token pair. Authentication tokens are non-recoverable. If you lose or forget this token, you will need to re-register the API key to generate a new authentication token.
   • An example of an API key is a-organization_id-a84ps90Ajs
   • An example of a token is MP$08VKz!8rXwnR-Q*
3. Add a comment to identify the API key in the dashboard, for example: "Key to connect my application".
4. Click Finish.

Applications as gateways

Applications can function as gateways to the IBM Maximo Asset Monitor service.

If you associate the central point of contact with IBM Maximo Asset Monitor as a specific piece of hardware, best practice is to implement it as a gateway.

Important: Use applications as gateways only if you view the gateway as an abstract device in your solution rather than something physical to be managed onsite.

Application capabilities

The capabilities of applications vary depending on the permissions that you grant the application by the API key that it uses to connect.

It is important to align the role that is granted to the API key used by the application to the capabilities of the application. For more information about API keys, see API key connection.