Product category:
Fieldbus systems, Fibre-optic systems
News Release from: Fieldbus Foundation | Subject: Support for ISA SP104
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 May 2006
FF supports ISA committee standardising
EDDL
The Fieldbus Foundation announces its support for the ISA SP104 committee creating a harmonised version of the IEC 61804-3 international standard on Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL)
The Fieldbus Foundation today announced its support for an ISA committee creating a harmonized version of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61804-3 international standard on Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) The ISA SP104 committee will republish the IEC standard as an American National Standard Institute (ANSI) standard
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 18 Nov 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
HSE packet analyser receives award for excellence
The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that its High Speed Ethernet (HSE) Packet Analyser Toolkit PRO (AT-442) has received an "Automation Excellence Award" from IAN Magazine
FF, HART and PNO enhances capabilities of DDL
In an unprecedented collaborative effort, three leading organisations dedicated to control network technology have completed the initial phase of development for key extensions to EDDs defined by IEC
EDDL is a text-based language for describing the digital communication characteristics of intelligent devices and equipment parameters in an Operating System (OS) and Human Machine Interface (HMI)-neutral environment.
EDDL enables a host system manufacturer to create a single engineering environment that eliminates the need for custom software drivers for each device type.
The ISA SP104 committee will create a national standard adopting the generic language specified by IEC 61804 to describe the properties of automation system components.
Further reading
2004 General Assembly of the Fieldbus Foundation
The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that its 2004 General Assembly will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 18-19, to discuss the latest fieldbus technology developments
FF Interoperability Testing Kit automation tool
The Fieldbus Foundation has released an Interoperability Testing Kit automation tool, developed for device manufacturers to accelerate the process of preparing fieldbus products for registration
FF hosts end user events at Interkama 2004
End users, integrators, contractors and engineers should book now to guarantee participation in the Fieldbus Foundation European end user council or integrator workshop, planned for Interkama 2004
The specified language is capable of describing device parameters and their dependencies, device functions, graphical representations, and interactions with control devices.
FF vice president of standards, Martin Zielinski, said, "End users are continually asking for better integration, interoperability and even greater ease of use.
In doing so, robust implementation must also be a number one priority.
The foundation is focusing its resources on enhancement and standardisation of EDDL.
We are collaborating with the HART Communication Foundation, the Profibus Nutzerorganisation, the OPC Foundation and the IEC to speed enhancement and standardisation of this established technology toward the goal of an ever-strengthening User Interface.
The objective is to increase interoperability by enhancing EDDL to improve device integration and ease of use, independent of the manufacturer".
Terry Blevins, SP104 committee chairman commented, "The SP104 committee will create a standard that adopts the IEC 61804 Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL).
Modern control systems support advanced visualisation of intelligent devices that are documented using EDDL".
Ian Verhappen, ISA vice president of standards and practices, added, "ISA, as a global standards organisation, is working with IEC in a leadership capacity to develop this standard.
It is important that this committee will harmonise its work with that of IEC SC65C WG7".
In 2003, the Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation and Profibus Nutzerorganisation formed a cooperative joint working group to extend the capabilities of Electronic Device Description (EDD) technology.
The working group developed extensions enabling robust organisation and graphical visualisation of device data, and providing support for persistent data storage.
The extensions were made available to all three organisations to integrate within their respective control network protocols.
Device developers implementing EDDL do not need to deal with the burden of designing and programming a graphic display system to run under a variety of platforms and environments, from large HMIs to small handhelds.
Instead, they can utilise common graphic display capabilities provided by the standard.
Since many host systems today already implement EDDL-based graphic display systems, devices using the extended EDDL have a common look and feel with existing devices.
This permits uniform integration, configuration/setup, operation and diagnostics/maintenance - all very important in an interoperable, multi-vendor environment.
The EDDL operating system and platform independence also eliminates the need for special "plug-in" executable code that is costly to develop and can jeopardise the host's control over the human interface and operating environment.
Enhanced EDDL follows proven test and registration procedures, including the same strict revision control policies as today's EDDL, thus eliminating problems in the field.
Additionally, EDDL enables end users to achieve unsurpassed levels of interoperability and device integration.
It provides the freedom to choose "best-in-class" automation products from multiple suppliers, delivers the power to integrate devices to achieve optimum control strategies, and allows easy and efficient system upgrades.
• Fieldbus Foundation: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Processingtalk email newsletter
• Processingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
