Terms dictionary

Terms related with
FactoryTalk Optix
.
alias
Variable that points to a source node featuring a specific Type defined in the Kind property. The Dynamic link pop-up window includes a folder with all of the aliases. These aliases allow access to the attributes of the object instance associated with the aliases.
Example
A project includes:
  • Three instances of a Motor object
  • A Motor widget exposing the Motor alias that accepts Motor Type objects
During runtime, you can change the Motor instance that is referenced by the alias, to display the attributes of the selected Motor.
application logic
Programming logic that determines the application behavior at runtime.
argument
Input and output parameters of a method.
DBMS
Database management system.
DSN
Data source name, which contains information that enables an application to connect to a database with a driver.
event
Methods and commands defined at design time to be executed if certain conditions are met during runtime.
FactoryTalk Optix Application or FTOptixApplication
An HMI or Internet of Things application generated by
FactoryTalk Optix Studio
that runs on a target system.
FactoryTalk Optix Studio
FactoryTalk® Optix Studio
integrated development environment (IDE) for designing and deploying HMI and Internet of Things applications.
headless device
Device without display. For example, a web server or an IoT device.
instance
An object or variable derived from an object type or variable type. It is created based on the inherited node Type and related properties. An instance of an object can have additional properties in addition to the inherited properties.
Example
Motor1 and Motor2 are two instances of a Motor Type. Motor1 and Motor2 inherit the attributes stated in the Motor Type.
information model
Organized structure of node elements that specifies relationships, constraints, and rules governing the nodes. In
FactoryTalk Optix
, this organized structure is represented in tree form in Project view.
interactive session
A session generated at runtime by a Presentation Engine if the application has a graphical interface.
kind
Property that states the alias Type.
locale
The country and language settings of a given user, represented by a
locale ID
label.
locale ID
A label (for example,
en-US
) composed of two segments (for example,
en
and
US
). The first segment identifies the language and country of the user interface. The second segment defines the measurement units and date and time format.
materialization
The process of loading optional object property values only after the user changes a default object property value or creates a dynamic link to an optional property. Optional properties appear as child nodes of the object. Materialization saves memory by not loading object default property values until required.
method
An action exposed by an object and or a NetLogic that is executable at design time or at runtime. When invoked, it runs a set of instructions.
node
Element that belongs to the Information model, organized in a linked list or tree data structure. Each node contains a data portion, or features, and a pointer to other object addresses. Data portion in all nodes are of the same Type.
A node can be:
  • An object type
  • A variable type
  • A variable
  • A method
nodeId
Unique identifier of a node in an OPC (Open Platform Communications) server address space. It includes a name space consisting of two digits.
nodeId variable
Variable that has nodeId as a DataType. The value of a nodeId variable contains the nodeId of the referenced target element.
nodePointer
Variable in the Information model list that contains the node location. The nodePointer variable allows the selection of both the nodeId Type and nodeClass properties.
Example
The nodePointer variable can filter drop-down menu content based on the nodeId Kind and the selection of Types or instances.
ODBC
Open Database Connectivity API for accessing database management systems.
object
A node that can contain objects and variables that represent either:
  • Physical objects. For example, a motor.
  • Abstract objects or features. For example, a recipe.
OPC UA
Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture, a smart manufacturing standard of machine-to-machine communication.
predefined type
Type of object or type of variable included by default in the development environment.
Presentation Engine