7 Standard VariableTypes

7.21 VectorType

This abstract VariableType is used as base to define multi-dimensional vectors. Subtypes need to define the concrete number of dimensions. It reflects the semantic of its DataType, defined in 12.23. Subtypes shall expose the structure of their structured DataTypes as Variables. Additionally, it can define a unit for each dimension of the vector (Property VectorUnit). The VariableType is formally defined in Table 79.

Table 79 – VectorType Definition

Attribute	Value
BrowseName	VectorType
IsAbstract	True
ValueRank	Scalar
DataType	Vector

Subtype of the BaseDataVariableType defined in 7.4

References	NodeClass	BrowseName	DataType	TypeDefinition	Modelling Rule
HasProperty	Variable	VectorUnit	EUInformation	PropertyType	Optional
Conformance Units
Base Info Spatial Data

VectorUnit defines the unit of each dimension of the vector. The DataType EUInformation is defined in OPC 10000-8. Note that the Property EngineeringUnits is intentionally not used, as it would have to define the engineering unit of the full vector, not its individual dimensions.