Node RED on Raspberry PI - langanjp/PI-NodeRED GitHub Wiki
Why Node-RED on Raspberry PI
Node-RED built in
Supports GPIO (i.e. the pins)
Supports PI add-ons like PI Sense Hat
Supports visualization (native dashboard, add-ins like Freeboard, http/WebSocket from any UI)
Compared to Python on Raspberry PI
There is nothing wrong with Python - depending upon your need, Node-RED may be a good alternative to Python - especially if you already know JavaScript or you don't know Python
Likewise you could use C, C++, JavaScript, Ruby, Scratch, PERL, Java (anything that can be compiled on ARMv7)
Python libraries for Raspberry Pi accessories are much more prevalent. You may still need to do Python to get data from many devices (and then import into Node-RED). Also, some Node-RED modules just act as bridges to a device's native Python library
Node-RED can make your device a server (http, etc)
Why Node-Red?
Multi device / platform: Raspberry PI, BeagleBone Black, PC (Linux and Windows), Android, Docker
With support for Arduino (via usb to supported host "serial"),
Cloud: IBM Bluemix (free for under 512mb), AWS, Azure
MQTT, AMQP, Modbus, OPC-UA (server or client) integrations possible (MQTT is supported out of box)