UCOS Connectivity Options

Multiple UCOS connectivity options allow it to share real-time and historical data seamlessly with external systems and applications.

Real-time data can be exchanged with systems external to UCOS using any of the following industry standards:

OPC (server and/or client)
Application Programming Interface (API) via ActiveX
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)
Microsoft Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)

Details

Although UCOS supports a wide range of I/O with built-in I/O drivers, support of the data exchange standards listed above allows UCOS to exchange both real-time and historical data with virtually any external system.

UCOS users have access to a large library of standard DDE, OPC, and ActiveX protocol drivers available from hardware manufacturers or third-parties. These proven protocol drivers provide read-write access to UCOS process data.

OPC

Essentially, OPC eliminates the need for separate, proprietary drivers and installation routines in order to connect devices with client applications.

OPC provides a common interface for communicating with diverse process control devices and requires a single approach to connecting them. As long as communications between entities flows through an OPC server and client, those entities need not know anything about each other. Thus, UCOS is able to communicate with any OPC-enabled device or software.

UCOS can be configured as an OPC server, an OPC client, or both. This allows data to move to and from UCOS, including global I/O data values (float) exchanged with real-world devices and local I/O data values (float, integer, string) that originate within UCOS, not in real-world devices.

UCOS exposes all process point values to OPC via tag names. To read and/or write UCOS data, the project developer simply identifies those tags that will be available for reading, writing, or both. This is accomplished through fill-in-the-blank dialogs and pop-up tag lists.

OPC Configuration

Application Programming Interface (API)

UCOS includes an ActiveX DLL and OCX that enables programmers to read/write real-time tag data. For example, using Microsoft Access, Excel, or Visual Basic, a program can be written that incorporates the DLL or OCX and processes UCOS data per the program's design.

This makes it possible to:

Create custom reports
Perform calculations outside of UCOS
Insert real-time data into memos and other word processor documents
View data in a format not directly supported by the UCOS Operator Workstation

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)

In addition to providing access to real time data, UCOS also provides access to historical archive data.

The UCOS Process Historical Archiver (PHA) uses standard, Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)-compliant relational databases to store historical process information. As such, standard Structured Query Language (SQL) calls can be used to query the PHA's database.

Microsoft Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)

DDE is a method of exchanging data among otherwise incompatible software applications that support DDE and run on a Microsoft Win32 operating system.

In UCOS, DDE can be used to exchange tag values between the system and third-party applications — such as spreadsheets, databases, and custom applications — as well as with DDE protocol drivers that, in turn, communicate with I/O subsystems or with external computer systems.

As a client, a UCOS Operator Workstation can initiate a DDE conversation with another application and request tag data from that application at run time.

As a server, a UCOS Operator Workstation sends tag data to any DDE client application that requests it. No configuration within UCOS is required to allow an Operator Workstation to act as a server. All configuration is done in the client application because all UCOS tag values are exposed to DDE via tag names.