Product Functions

A product function is the abstraction of a feature that is provided by a smart device. You can use product functions to describe the features and parameters of smart devices. Based on the product functions, the Tuya IoT Platform generates things data models in the cloud to connect to and control the smart devices. This makes product functions and data interactions easy to understand.

What are products and product functions?

Tuya defines a product as a set of smart devices with the same configurations and properties. This simplifies your management of devices in bulk. You can create a product on the Tuya IoT Platform. The platform automatically assigns a product ID (PID) to identify the product. Then, you can get started with product development. The first step is to define the product functions.

These definitions describe the purpose of the product and how the cloud controls specific smart devices. Smart devices are controlled by your IoT applications in physical spaces. Product functions are the digital representation of these smart devices in the cloud and provide standard expressions of telemetry data reported by the devices.

Scenarios

Take strip lights as an example. Users can set an instantaneous status for this product by using an IoT app. Then, the cloud or edge gateway dynamically implements users’ settings. During the implementation, the values of the predefined product functions are changed to control the strip lights.

During the development of smart solutions or devices, you can design product functions for the devices and use embedded firmware to implement the functions.

IoT mobile apps and cloud apps are developed with the required programming languages to detect and control smart devices. This way, users can access all product functions of the devices.

Classification

Tuya provides the following types of product functions.

Expression formats

The following table lists the properties as digital representations of product functions on the Tuya IoT Platform.

Example

In the following sections, an electric pressure cooker is used as an example to describe the procedure to develop and use the product functions.

Step 1: Design product functions

Product functions can be designed as the following initial functions or iterated functions.

Step 2: Create product functions

Log in to the Tuya IoT Platform, create the designed product, and then add the following functions to the product. For more information, see Create Products.

Step 3: (Optional) Check the instruction set of the device

Product functions help you simplify solution development and smart device production. Similarly, device instruction sets in the cloud are useful when you develop IoT mobile apps or cloud apps. Tuya’s standard product categories are assigned standard instruction sets. Each standard product category provides a list of standard products for which you can query status with a standard status set.

The following JSON sample shows the properties of the electric pressure cooker created in the preceding steps. You can make API requests to use these properties. For more information, see Standard Instruction Set.

{
"result": {
	"category": "dylg",
	"functions": [
	{
		"code": "switch",
		"type": "Boolean",
		"values": "{}"
	},
	{
		"code": "start",
		"type": "Boolean",
		"values": "{}"
	},
	{
		"code": "appointment_time",
		"type": "Integer",
		"values": "{\"unit\":\"min\",\"min\":0,\"max\":1440,\"scale\":0,\"step\":1}"
	},
	{
		"code": "cook_time",
		"type": "Integer",
		"values": "{\"unit\":\"min\",\"min\":0,\"max\":6000,\"scale\":0,\"step\":1}"
	},
	{
		"code": "warm_time",
		"type": "Integer",
		"values": "{\"unit\":\"min\",\"min\":30,\"max\":1440,\"scale\":0,\"step\":1}"
	}
	],
	"status": [
	{
		"code": "switch",
		"type": "Boolean",
		"values": "{}"
	},
	{
		"code": "start",
		"type": "Boolean",
		"values": "{}"
	},
	{
		"code": "appointment_time",
		"type": "Integer",
		"values": "{\"unit\":\"min\",\"min\":0,\"max\":1440,\"scale\":0,\"step\":1}"
	},
	{
		"code": "cook_time",
		"type": "Integer",
		"values": "{\"unit\":\"min\",\"min\":0,\"max\":6000,\"scale\":0,\"step\":1}"
	},
	{
		"code": "work_state",
		"type": "Enum",
		"values": "{\"range\":[\"idle\",\"appointment\",\"cooking\",\"warm\",\"paused\"]}"
	},
	{
		"code": "warm_time",
		"type": "Integer",
		"values": "{\"unit\":\"min\",\"min\":30,\"max\":1440,\"scale\":0,\"step\":1}"
	}
	]
},
"success": true,
"t": 1630599813188
}

Step 4: Use product functions

After desired product functions are designed and added or the product has been configured, you can integrate the product functions into your application development backed by Tuya’s development solutions.

Concepts

Product functions provide the basis for interactions between your mobile app or cloud app and smart devices. Tuya’s state-of-the-art IoT techniques empower your development solution that combines smart devices with software applications. Traditional devices can be transformed into smart devices to enable scene automation and multi-device linkage. The following concepts are helpful for you to understand product functions.

Send and report

DP data can be reported or sent asynchronously in different directions. For example, in the microcontroller unit (MCU) low-code development, Tuya’s network module sends control commands to the MCU. Then, after DP data is parsed, the MCU implements the required product functions. If the device status is changed, the MCU reports the status changes to the network module. For example, the network module sends a command X and the MCU reports a command Y. The following figure shows this data transmission process.

Smart scenes

To meet your needs in smart scene configuration, Tuya IoT App SDK provides APIs that enable customized smart scenes. If the status of a smart device changes, or if an environmental condition changes, other certain smart devices have their switches or status changed. This is how a smart scene works. For more information, see Device Control.