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EDICTvb.Net™ is a
process calculation framework for OSI-PI and Rockwell
Factory Talk Historian (FTH) data.
Built with over 20 years of calculation engine design experience,
Exele EDICTvb.Net allows those with process knowledge to quickly create robust
calculations. EDICTvb.Net's flexible framework makes it the ideal
solution for implementing PI calculations regardless of the
logic complexity or number of calculations you need to create.
Solid performance, unmatched
flexibility, and reliable results are why some of the world's
largest companies reliably use Exele's
process calculation products.
Try
EDICTvb.Net
for free
Current release:
3.5.0 |
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Quick links:
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Product Overview |
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EDICTvb.Net allows you to easily
create process calculations that use PI tags as equation inputs and outputs.
EDICTvb.Net handles all of the "plumbing" for
your equations, letting you concentrate on your calculation logic.
Users create and build their calculations with the built-in Equation
Editor; under-the-hood, our calculation products use the Microsoft.Net Frameworks and/or Visual Basic.Net to build
high-performance calculation libraries.
EDICTvb.Net is an open calculation
"framework", shielding calculation authors from the complexities of
custom programming, yet giving users the option to access and use
all features of Visual Basic.Net (variables, loops, if..then..else,
user functions) and the .Net Framework (relational databases, file
read/write, Web Services, XML etc.).
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Programmers and non-programmers can easily use
our Equation Editor to define
the logic and arithmetic needed for their
equations. EDICTvb.Net will
then build a compiled Microsoft Visual
Basic .Net program
that contains the
necessary PI calls,
scheduling, and error handling required to execute
your equations on a
configured interval, outputting the
results to other PI tags.
Each equation library contains one or more equations (outputs) and
can communicate with tags on multiple
PI
Servers. Our Equation
Scheduler allows you to configure, start, stop and monitor your
equations.
Once started, you can easily view the details of running
equations (inputs, outputs, errors) with EDICTvb.Net's built-in Library
Snapshot utility.
Example
EDICTvb.Net logic in the Equation Editor:
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Visual Basic (optional)
EDICTvb.Net uses the .Net Framework's
compiler "under the hood" to
create the calculation executables.
Although Visual Basic.Net 2005/2008 is not required for building
EDICTvb.Net
equations, some features require that you have a version of Visual Basic.Net 2005/2008 installed on the
EDICTvb.Net
computer.
EDICTvb.Net supports the
following versions of Visual Basic.Net:
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Requirements |
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Operating
System: Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista
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Compiler:
.Net Framework 2.0 (installed by EDICTvb.Net installation if
not present), .Net Framework 3.5
Optional, but recommended: Visual Basic.Net 2005/2008 (VB Express 2005/2008 free edition supported)
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PI Server(s):
PI 3 Server or Rockwell Factory Talk Historian
EDICTvb.Net can communicate with
PI Servers located locally or across the network.
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Product Components |
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EDICTvb.Net consists of
the following components
Equation Editor
with built-in functions for tag access, aggregates (avg, min,
max, ...)
Equation
Scheduler for configuring and monitoring equation libraries
Equation Server
Service responsible for starting and stopping libraries
Equation
Database allows you to to search equations based on various
criteria
Equation
TestMode Viewer to monitor the output of libraries running in
test mode
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Why use EDICTvb.Net? |
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EDICTvb.Net allows you
to read and write data to one or more PI Servers with minimal
effort. You simply enter the logic in a VB.Net-like syntax using the
PI tag names directly in your equations.
Normally, you would
use a programming language (such as C, C++ or Visual Basic) and
underlying PI
calls to develop such equations. Using
EDICTvb.Net, you
only need to provide minimal information for the equation including:
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Name of the
PI
tag to receive the result of the equation
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Name of
PI
tags, variables, functions and constants used in the equation
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Associations to
be made between the PI
tags, variables functions and constants
The above
information is stored in one or more text files called
EDICTvb.Net
libraries. Once you have provided this information in a library,
EDICTvb.Net
builds a compiled Visual Basic .NET executable that will
perform the calculations and output the results to PI
tags on the
PI Server.
EDICTvb.Net
will
dramatically cut your development time and easily allows
non-programmers to create complex calculations that read and write
PI data.
Standardizing:
EDICTvb.Net
gives you a standard method for
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Connecting to
one or more PI
servers
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Accessing
current and historical PI data
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Handling lost
connections
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Retrieving tag
values
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Writing tag
values
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Providing
application error handing
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Scheduling
execution
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Performing
aggregate function calls (average, min, max, ...)
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Code
documentation
Advantages:
Using EDICTvb.Net offers many advantages:
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Can
significantly reduce the number of lines of code
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Accepts
PI
tag
names directly in logic
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Automatically
codes equation run-interval and startup logic
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Generates
uniform and easy to maintain program
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Multiple debug
options including built-in snapshots of running equation
inputs and outputs
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Built-in
functions for current, historical and aggregate PI
tag values
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Support for
user-defined functions and subroutines
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Local variables
that retain their values between executions (allows you to
reference values from previous runs)
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Order-of-execution control for all equations in a library
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Equation results
can be tested over multiple executions before equations are
deployed
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Built-in
calculation diagnostics (latest completed execution and
execution times)
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Remote
monitoring, starting, and stopping of calculations
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Access to the
entire VB.Net language (math function, language structure,..).
Because you can
easily move data into and out of one or more PI
Servers, EDICTvb.Net
can be used to quickly create interfaces to/from/between
PI
Servers
and other data sources (relational databases, etc).
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EDICTvb.Net and Visual Basic.Net |
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Exele's calculation products do not
require Visual Basic.Net to build calculations, although certain
functions may require it (i.e. creating user functions, Visual
Studio debugging). If you require Visual Basic.Net, we support all
Visual Basic.Net 2005/2008 versions including the free "Express"
versions available from Microsoft.
Because EDICTvb.Net
creates a VB.Net
executable, you can take advantage of this rich language within your
equation logic. This includes things such as
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Access to the
entire Visual Basic language
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Support for
user-defined functions and subroutines
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Ability to call
external assemblies and Web Services
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Use of Visual
Basic constructs (If..Then..Else, Arrays, Variables)
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Retrieval of
values from relational databases (Oracle, SQL Server, Access,
...)
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Outputting of
data to relational databases
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Reading and
writing of files
Download Visual Studio Express 2005 (free)
Download Visual Studio Express 2008 (free)
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