AUSTIN, Texas, June 21, 2005 ‹ The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that it is offering a comprehensive workshop helping FOUNDATION fieldbus device and system developers leverage new Electronic Device Description Language(EDDL) extensions. The course shows how EDDL delivers the power to integrate field devices to achieve optimum control strategies, and ensures consistency and ease of use when developing human interfaces across multiple systems and platforms.An underlying technology in millions of field instruments installed worldwide, 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.
The technology forms the engineering and operating foundation on which all major digital bus protocols construct parametric and device descriptions.The Device Description Workshop examines sophisticated Device Description Language (DDL) constructs and techniques that make Device Descriptions (DDs) feature-rich for end users.
Students will write DDs organizing parameters into rich dialogs with images and displaying complex data in graphical format, and learn how to preserve device data and retrieve it for later processing.According to Fieldbus Foundation President and CEO Rich Timoney, the new workshop shows automation suppliers how to deploy robust extensions to the industry¹s most widely accepted device description technology. ³EDDL is the process industry de facto standard for ensuring that information about intelligent field devices is consistently available for use by operators, engineers, and maintenance technicians,² said Timoney. ³By attending our workshop, device developers can learn advanced techniques for extending the concept of interoperability to the HMI and diagnostic data level with improved visualization and graphical capabilities.²The Device Description Workshop is intended for instrumentation developers implementing DD files for registered FOUNDATION fieldbus devices.
New and experienced developers will benefit from hands-on instruction in writing and testing actual DDs using the Fieldbus Foundation¹s DD Tokenizer and new DD Super Viewer tools.The DD Tokenizer converts DD source files into the DD binary file format, checks for syntax or logical errors in DD source files, and issues error messages that help trace and correct errors. It also restricts redefinitions of information imported from standard DDs to ensure interoperability. The DD Super Viewer simplifies the device development process by providing access to the generated DD binary for testing and verification.
The tool also supports rendering the new extensions, including enhanced dialogs, images, graphs, and charts.For workshop registration information, please contact the Fieldbus Foundation at (512) 794-8890 or visit our website at www.fieldbus.org .
About the Fieldbus Foundation
The Fieldbus Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation consisting of over 350 leading process and manufacturing automation companies worldwide whose major purpose is to provide an open and neutral environment for the development of a single, international, interoperable fieldbus. In this environment, end users, manufacturers, universities and research organizations are working together to develop the technology, provide development tools, support and training, coordinate field trials and demonstrations, and enable product interoperability. Visit their web site at www.fieldbus.org .