OPC Programmers' Connection - OLE for Process Control

2009-Jun-19

UA SDK Release Candidate - a further update
The UA SDK and Sample Code have been updated to Release Candidate version 1.00.238.1. As well as bug fixes, the Alarms & Conditions functionality now matches the recent A&C RC Specification update. The downloads are available to OPC Foundation Corporate Members only.

2009-Jun-18

New site for OPC vendor Prosys
Prosys has long been known for Sentrol - an excellent client/server SDK for Delphi. More recently, the company has supported OPC UA through the development of a Java SDK. The company now has a new OPC website at www.prosysopc.com, highlighting its full range of OPC products and services, including some useful free downloads.

2009-Jun-16

UA Alarms and Conditions RC Specification Available for Review
A new Release Candidate version of the Unified Architecture Alarms and Conditions Specification is now available for download and review by OPC Foundation members. Written comments are sought by July 20 to be considered for the final version.

2009-Jun-02

Updated UA SDK Release Candidate
The UA SDK and Sample Code have been updated to Release Candidate version 1.00.235.0. This build includes various fixes, plus an updated Alarms & Conditions information model. The downloads, as well as new help drafts, are available to OPC Foundation Corporate Members only.
Note: OPCconnect.com has an RSS feed for updates to OPC Foundation downloads.

2009-May-31

UA Developers' Workshops announced: North America and Europe
OPC Foundation will hold two UA Developers' Workshops during fall of 2009. These will be in Frankfurt, Germany on September 22-24 and New Orleans, LA on October 27-29. All-inclusive cost for either event is 1800 USD, and numbers are limited to 40 attendees in each case. These workshops are the best way to get developers up to speed quickly, and early booking is recommended.
The OPC Foundation site has more information including registration details.

2009-May-06

New UA SDK Release Candidate
The UA SDK and Sample Code have been updated to Release Candidate version 1.00.232.5. As well as bug fixes, the new version includes updated client and server samples that implement all of the features supported by a typical COM DA client and server. The downloads are available to OPC Foundation Corporate Members only.

2009-May-04

OPC Foundation newsletter
The May 2009 issue of OPC Foundation's "OPConnect" newsletter has been distributed by email, and published as a web page.
Past editions of the newsletter remain available.

2009-Apr-29

Asian Interoperability Workshop 2009 - Tokyo
OPC Foundation will run an Interoperability Workshop in Tokyo, Japan, from Tuesday, June 16th through Thursday, June 18th. This event will include UA testing alongside OPC classic (COM) testing, and participation is free of charge. See OPC Foundation for full details and registration.

2009-Apr-07

New OPC issue analyzer from MatrikonOPC
Free Utilities: MatrikonOPC has announced OPC Analyzer, a free utility for finding OPC problem areas and backing up key OPC-related files.

2009-Apr-01

OPC UA book now available

The first OPC Unified Architecture textbook is now published. Written by Wolfgang Mahnke, Stefan-Helmut Leitner and Matthias Damm (representatives of ABB and ascolab), the book is intended for IT architects, developers, project managers, engineers and system administrators. It describes OPC UA and what it can accomplish, and also looks at migrating from OPC to OPC UA.
See our bookshelf page for information on this and other OPC-related publications.

2009-Mar-27

UA Java SDK beta
The first beta for the OPC UA Java SDK is now available for download (OPC Foundation members only). This release includes an implementation of the UA Native Binary stack profile, plus simple client and server applications. Java 1.6 is required.

2009-Mar-23

OPC Foundation newsletter
The March 2009 issue of OPC Foundation's "OPConnect" newsletter has been distributed by email, and published as a web page. Highlights include information on a new Certification Lab in Scottsdale, AZ, plus a feature on embedding OPC UA.
Past editions of the newsletter remain available.

2009-Mar-23

Updated UA SDK Release Candidate
The UA SDK and Sample Code have been updated to Release Candidate version 1.00.232.4. This build includes bug and compatibility fixes, plus full source code for the NodeState classes and ConfigurationTool application. The downloads, including new help drafts, are available to OPC Foundation Corporate Members only.
Note: OPCconnect.com has an RSS feed for updates to OPC Foundation downloads.

2009-Mar-05

MatrikonOPC offers free HDA Explorer client
MatrikonOPC Explorer has for many years been one of the leading free OPC DA clients. The company has now followed this up with a new HDA Explorer tool for testing and troubleshooting connectivity to HDA servers.
See our Free Stuff page for comprehensive listings of other free OPC software.

2009-Feb-26

ascolab OPC UA training
ascolab has long been a significant contributor to the development of OPC UA and has run in-house UA training for over 2 years. The company has now begun a regular UA training program, including 2-day introductory seminars and 2-day developer workshops. See our training page for links to this and other OPC training.

2009-Feb-10

Unified Architecture reaches full Release status
An occasion that's been long anticipated. Congratulations to the OPC Foundation team and the many volunteers who've toiled long and hard to reach this milestone! Here's the announcement from OPC Foundation in full: -
Final Release of Unified Architecture Phase I Deliverables
New released versions of Part 1-8 of the Unified Architecture Specifications have been posted along with matching UA SDK and sample code for member download. This represents a maintenance release for Parts 1-5 and 8 plus a first release for Parts 6 and 7. The code distribution has reached release candidate stage having undergone extensive QA lab testing and beta testing by Early Adopter Members. The final release for the code is only awaiting the approval of the License and Distribution Agreement by the Technical Advisory Council. With this major release OPC vendors are assured stable specifications and the ability to ship UA code components that are tested and fully supported.

2009-Feb-05

Core Components update
Updated versions of the OPC core components and .NET API have been made available. These updates fix a problem with the installers and UAC on Vista, plus an IPv6 incompatibility in the .NET API.

2009-Feb-03

UA SDK Help - member access not needed
A minor update to the previous post: access to online help for OPC Foundation's UA SDK is available to all users, and not just Foundation members. A caveat: this won't work if you follow the link from the Downloads page. Instead, you should go straight to the online help at http://opcfoundation.org/uasdk/Help/. Online help for the UA SDK is a work in progress.

2009-Feb-03

Updated UA SDK Testing version
The UA SDK and Sample Code have been updated to testing version 1.00.232.0. This release includes bug and compatibility fixes, plus the HDA wrapper code is now part of the source distribution. The downloads, including new help drafts, are available to OPC Foundation Corporate Members only.
Note: OPCconnect.com has an RSS feed for updates to OPC Foundation downloads.

2009-Feb-02

MatrikonOPC offers online OPC training
MatrikonOPC has announced a new paid-for eLearning program for automation professionals. The first module in the series, "Introduction to OPC", is now available. We've updated our list of OPC Training providers.

2009-Jan-22

OPC Foundation launches developer blog
OPC Foundation's Randy Armstrong has begun a new blog aimed at OPC developers. Anticipating the imminent release of UA, Randy starts with a series geared at getting developers up to speed with implementing UA, without having to read the numerous specification parts cover to cover. The complete sample code is already available. Subscribed!

2009-Jan-12

North American Interoperability Workshop 2009 - Boca Raton
OPC Foundation will run an Interoperability Workshop in Boca Raton, Florida, from Monday, March 2nd through Friday, March 6th. This event will include UA testing alongside OPC classic (COM) testing, as well as interop between the two. See OPC Foundation for full details and registration.

2009-Jan-12

New UA SDK Testing version
The UA SDK and Sample Code were last week updated to testing version 1.00.231.1. This release includes changes to the node manager and the server diagnostics API. The downloads are available to OPC Foundation Corporate Members only.

2009-Jan-07

OPC News blog
A new OPC News blog started in December, hosted by the anonymous "OPC Guy" (please let us know if you're happy to be identified OPC Guy). The first few posts hint at a good mix of content, including UA backgrounders, howtos, and programming features. Added to our Useful Links list - keep up the good work!
OPC News linked to a Sample OMAC HMI OPC Client, with a useful tutorial (with source code) for simple C++ HMI programming. This is now included in our Free Source Code listings.

Archive - 2009