Node definitions are specified using tables (see Table 2).
Attributes are defined by providing the Attribute name and a value, or a description of the value.
References are defined by providing the ReferenceType name, the BrowseName of the TargetNode and its NodeClass.
- If the TargetNode is a component of the Node being defined in the table the Attributes of the composed Node are defined in the same row of the table.
- The DataType is only specified for Variables; “[<number>]” indicates a single-dimensional array, for multi-dimensional arrays the expression is repeated for each dimension (e.g. [2][3] for a two-dimensional array). For all arrays the ArrayDimensions is set as identified by <number> values. If no <number> is set, the corresponding dimension is set to 0, indicating an unknown size. If no number is provided at all the ArrayDimensions can be omitted. If no brackets are provided, it identifies a scalar DataType and the ValueRank is set to the corresponding value (see OPC 10000-3). In addition, ArrayDimensions is set to null or is omitted. If it can be Any or ScalarOrOneDimension, the value is put into “{<value>}”, so either “{Any}” or “{ScalarOrOneDimension}” and the ValueRank is set to the corresponding value (see OPC 10000-3) and the ArrayDimensions is set to null or is omitted. Examples are given in Table 1.
- The TypeDefinition is specified for Objects and Variables.
- The TypeDefinition column specifies a symbolic name for a NodeId, i.e. the specified Node points with a HasTypeDefinition Reference to the corresponding Node.
- The ModellingRule of the referenced component is provided by specifying the symbolic name of the rule in the ModellingRule column. In the AddressSpace, the Node shall use a HasModellingRule Reference to point to the corresponding ModellingRule Object.
Table 1 – Examples of DataTypes
Notation |
DataType |
ValueRank |
ArrayDimensions |
Description |
0:Int32 |
0:Int32 |
-1 |
omitted or null |
A scalar Int32. |
0:Int32[] |
0:Int32 |
1 |
omitted or {0} |
Single-dimensional array of Int32 with an unknown size. |
0:Int32[][] |
0:Int32 |
2 |
omitted or {0,0} |
Two-dimensional array of Int32 with unknown sizes for both dimensions. |
0:Int32[3][] |
0:Int32 |
2 |
{3,0} |
Two-dimensional array of Int32 with a size of 3 for the first dimension and an unknown size for the second dimension. |
0:Int32[5][3] |
0:Int32 |
2 |
{5,3} |
Two-dimensional array of Int32 with a size of 5 for the first dimension and a size of 3 for the second dimension. |
0:Int32{Any} |
0:Int32 |
-2 |
omitted or null |
An Int32 where it is unknown if it is scalar or array with any number of dimensions. |
0:Int32{ScalarOrOneDimension} |
0:Int32 |
-3 |
omitted or null |
An Int32 where it is either a single-dimensional array or a scalar. |
If the NodeId of a DataType is provided, the symbolic name of the Node representing the DataType shall be used.
Note that if a symbolic name of a different namespace is used, it is prefixed by the NamespaceIndex (see3.4.2.2).
Nodes of all other NodeClasses cannot be defined in the same table; therefore only the used ReferenceType, their NodeClass and their BrowseName are specified. A reference to another part of this document points to their definition. Table 2 illustrates the table. If no components are provided, the DataType, TypeDefinition and Other columns may be omitted and only a Comment column is introduced to point to the Node definition.
Each Type Node or well-known Instance Node defined shall have one or more ConformanceUnits defined in 11.1 that require the Node to be in the AddressSpace.
The relations between Nodes and ConformanceUnits are defined at the end of the tables defining Nodes, one row per ConformanceUnit. The ConformanceUnits are reflected in the Category element for the Node definition in the UANodeSet (see OPC 10000-6).
The list of ConformanceUnits in the UANodeSet allows Servers to optimize resource consumption by using a list of supported ConformanceUnits to select a subset of the Nodes in an Information Model.
When a Node is selected in this way, all dependencies implied by the References are also selected.
Dependencies exist if the Node is the source of HasTypeDefinition, HasInterface, HasAddIn or any HierarchicalReference. Dependencies also exist if the Node is the target of a HasSubtype Reference. For Variables and VariableTypes, the value of the DataType Attribute is a dependency. For DataType Nodes, any DataTypes referenced in the DataTypeDefinition Attribute are also dependencies.
For additional details see OPC 10000-5.
Table 2 – Type Definition Table
Attribute |
Value |
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Attribute name |
Attribute value. If it is an optional Attribute that is not set “--” is used. |
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|
|
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References |
NodeClass |
BrowseName |
DataType |
TypeDefinition |
Other |
ReferenceType name |
BrowseName of the target Node. If the Reference is to be instantiated by the server, then the value of the target Node’s BrowseName is “--”. |
DataType of the referenced Node, only applicable for Variables. |
TypeDefinition of the referenced Node, only applicable for Variables and Objects. |
Additional characteristics of the TargetNode such as the ModellingRule or AccessLevel. |
|
NOTE Notes referencing footnotes of the table content. |
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Conformance Units |
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Name of ConformanceUnit, one row per ConformanceUnit |
Components of Nodes can be complex, that is containing components by themselves. The TypeDefinition, NodeClass and DataType can be derived from the type definitions, and the symbolic name can be created as defined in 3.4.3.1. Therefore, those contained components are not explicitly specified; they are implicitly specified by the type definitions.
The Other column defines additional characteristics of the Node. Examples of characteristics that can appear in this column are shown in Table 3.
Table 3 – Examples of Other characteristics
Name |
Short Name |
Description |
0:Mandatory |
M |
The Node has the Mandatory ModellingRule. |
0:Optional |
O |
The Node has the Optional ModellingRule. |
0:MandatoryPlaceholder |
MP |
The Node has the MandatoryPlaceholder ModellingRule. |
0:OptionalPlaceholder |
OP |
The Node has the OptionalPlaceholder ModellingRule. |
ReadOnly |
RO |
The Node AccessLevel has the CurrentRead bit set but not the CurrentWrite bit. |
ReadWrite |
RW |
The Node AccessLevel has the CurrentRead and CurrentWrite bits set. |
WriteOnly |
WO |
The Node AccessLevel has the CurrentWrite bit set but not the CurrentRead bit. |
If multiple characteristics are defined they are separated by commas. The name or the short name may be used.