Software framework for evolving specifications in process control system
First Claim
1. A method of implementing an application in a process control system containing a plurality of field devices operable to implement desired control processes, each of said plurality of field devices having a corresponding one of a plurality of device descriptions indicating capabilities of the field device, said plurality of device descriptions being provided according to a set of specifications, said method comprising:
- providing a plurality of version objects, wherein each of said plurality of version objects respectively corresponds to a corresponding one of an ordered sequence of versions of a first specification and is designed to be instantiated by a corresponding one of a plurality of class factories, wherein each of said plurality of version objects is designed to process changes in a corresponding version compared to a prior version of said ordered sequence, said first specification being contained in said set of specifications;
forming a factory information representing the specific one of class factories which can be used to instantiate the corresponding version object;
receiving a version identifier and an input data that is to be processed for managing a first field device of said plurality of field devices, said version identifier corresponding to a first version in said ordered sequence of versions and said first field device having a first device description provided according to said first version of said first specification, wherein said input data represents a portion of said first device description, said first device description being contained in said plurality of device descriptions;
examining said factory information to select a first class factory corresponding to said first version, said first class factory being designed to instantiate a first version object which in turn is designed to process said input data;
instantiating a version instance of said first version object using said first class factory selected based on said examining; and
processing said input data using said version instance to identify device capability of said first field device, as a basis for management of said first field device.
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Abstract
A software application architecture based on object oriented concepts. According to an aspect, upgrading the application to support newer versions of a standard describing device description is simplified. According to another aspect, the application is designed to be tolerant to changes (additions or modifications) introduced by future/later versions not yet supported by the application. In an embodiment, the approaches are applied in the context of a parser designed to parse device descriptions of different versions.
12 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of implementing an application in a process control system containing a plurality of field devices operable to implement desired control processes, each of said plurality of field devices having a corresponding one of a plurality of device descriptions indicating capabilities of the field device, said plurality of device descriptions being provided according to a set of specifications, said method comprising:
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providing a plurality of version objects, wherein each of said plurality of version objects respectively corresponds to a corresponding one of an ordered sequence of versions of a first specification and is designed to be instantiated by a corresponding one of a plurality of class factories, wherein each of said plurality of version objects is designed to process changes in a corresponding version compared to a prior version of said ordered sequence, said first specification being contained in said set of specifications; forming a factory information representing the specific one of class factories which can be used to instantiate the corresponding version object; receiving a version identifier and an input data that is to be processed for managing a first field device of said plurality of field devices, said version identifier corresponding to a first version in said ordered sequence of versions and said first field device having a first device description provided according to said first version of said first specification, wherein said input data represents a portion of said first device description, said first device description being contained in said plurality of device descriptions; examining said factory information to select a first class factory corresponding to said first version, said first class factory being designed to instantiate a first version object which in turn is designed to process said input data; instantiating a version instance of said first version object using said first class factory selected based on said examining; and processing said input data using said version instance to identify device capability of said first field device, as a basis for management of said first field device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A machine readable medium storing one or more sequences of instructions for causing a system to parse device descriptions in the management of a plurality of field devices in a process control plant, said plurality of field devices operable to implement desired control processes, each of said plurality of field devices having a corresponding one of a plurality of device descriptions indicating capabilities of the field device, said plurality of device descriptions being provided according to a set of specifications, wherein each device description is in one of an ordered sequence of versions of a first specification and contains a plurality of sections, wherein execution of said one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors contained in said system causes said system to perform the actions of:
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providing a plurality of parser objects, wherein each of said plurality of parser objects respectively corresponds to one of a corresponding said ordered sequence of versions and is designed to be instantiated by a corresponding one of a plurality of class factories, wherein each of said plurality of parser objects is designed to parse at least a set of sections added or modified by a corresponding version compared to a prior version of said ordered sequence, said first specification being contained in said set of specifications; forming a factory information representing the specific one of class factories which can be used to instantiate the corresponding parser object; receiving a version identifier of a device description that is to be parsed for managing a first field device of said plurality of field devices, said version identifier corresponding to a first version in said ordered sequence of versions and said device description provided according to said first version of said first specification, said device description being contained in said plurality of device descriptions; examining said factory information to select a first class factory corresponding to said first version, said first class factory being designed to instantiate a first parser object which in turn is designed to parse said device description; instantiating a parser instance of said first parser object using said first class factory selected based on said examining; and processing said device description using said parser instance to identify device capability of said first field device, as a basis for management of said first field device. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A digital processing system operating in a process control plant containing a plurality of field devices operable to implement desired control processes, each of said plurality of field devices having a corresponding one of a plurality of device descriptions indicating capabilities of the field device, said plurality of device descriptions being provided according to a set of specifications, said digital processing system comprising:
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a secondary storage to provide a plurality of version objects and a plurality of class factories, wherein each of said plurality of version objects respectively corresponds to a corresponding one of an ordered sequence of versions of a first specification and is designed to be instantiated by a corresponding one of said plurality of class factories, wherein each of said plurality of version objects is designed to process changes in a corresponding version compared to a prior version of said ordered sequence, said first specification being contained in said set of specifications; a processor to form a factory information representing the specific one of class factories which can be used to instantiate the corresponding version object; an interface to receive a version identifier and an input data that is to be processed for managing a first field device of said plurality of field devices, said version identifier corresponding to a first version in said ordered sequence of versions and said first field device having a first device description provided according to said first version of said first specification, wherein said input data represents a portion of said first device description, said first device description being contained in said plurality of device descriptions, wherein said processor is operable to; examine said factory information to select a first class factory corresponding to said first version, said first class factory being designed to instantiate a first version object which in turn is designed to process said input data; instantiate a version instance of said first version object using said first class factory selected based on said examining; and process said input data using said version instance to identify device capability of said first field device, as a basis for management of said first field device. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification