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

An object that creates an interactive session to display the UI at runtime.

property

Indivisible variable of a node. In the context of C#, an inseparable element of a class.

Resource URI

Represents the path (URI - Uniform Resource Identifier) of a file or a resource inside or outside the project.

session

A runtime context of a FactoryTalk Optix Application in which a user runs read and write operations based on their permissions.

structured variable

A variable that contains other variables, for example an analog variable.

tag

A Controller variable.

target

Systems or devices on which you can run a FactoryTalk Optix Application. For example, an HMI panel, a web server, or an Internet of Things device.

type

Model that defines objects or variables through a collection of attributes and methods that can be shared by each instance.

Example

The Motor Type describes the Motor object structure and can expose attributes such as Speed and acceleration that can be used through instances to store their related value.

URI

A uniform resource identifier, a sequence of characters that uniquely identifies a resource.

UUID

A universally unique identifier.

variable

A Node that represents the value of a figure, which can contain other variables.

widget

A reusable graphical object, which can contain other objects and variables. For example, a panel for configuring users.