What is configuration? The concept and development trend of configuration

What is configuration? In short, the use of industry-based application software (monitoring configuration and control configuration), the requirements of the project, software and hardware configurations, so that they meet the needs of users.

In the use of industrial control software, we often refer to the word configuration, the configuration of English is "configuration", what is the meaning of it? To put it simply, configuration is the process of using the tools and methods provided in the application software to complete a specific task in the project.

As opposed to hardware production, configuration and assembly are similar. If you want to assemble a computer, in advance to provide a variety of models of motherboards, chassis, power, CPU, display, hard disk, CD-ROM, etc., our job is to use these parts to piece together into their own needs of the computer. Of course, the configuration of the software is more than the hardware assembly has more space, because it is generally more than the hardware "parts" more, and each "part" is flexible, because the soft parts have internal properties, by changing the properties can change its specifications (such as size, character, color, etc.).

Before the configuration concept occurs, the implementation of a task is accomplished by writing a program (such as using Basic,c,fortran, etc.). Writing a program is not only a heavy workload, long cycle, but also easy to make mistakes, can not guarantee the duration. The appearance of configuration software solves this problem. For the past few months of work, the configuration can be completed in a few days.

The configuration software is professional in nature. A configuration software is only suitable for applications in a certain field. The concept of configuration was first seen in industrial computer control. such as DCS (Distributed control System) configuration, PLC (programmable Controller) ladder diagram configuration. Human-machine interface generation software is called industrial configuration software. In fact, in other industries there are also the concept of configuration, people just do not call it. such as Autocad,photoshop, Office software (PowerPoint) has similar operations, that is, software-provided tools to form their own works, and data files to save the work, not to execute the program. Configuration-formed data visualization can only be identified by its manufacturing tools or other specialized tools. But the difference is that the configuration results formed in industrial control are used in real-time monitoring. The interpretation engine of the configuration tool to run in real time based on these configuration results. On the surface, the configuration tool runs the program to perform its own specific task.

Although it is said that the configuration is not necessary to write a program to complete a specific application. But in order to provide some flexibility, the configuration software also provides programming means, generally is built-in compiler system, provide the basic language, and some even support VB.

The configuration software functions, the current situation and the future development trend.

1. General development trends

Configuration software is an integral part of industrial application software, and its development is restricted by many factors. In the final analysis, the application of the impetus to its development plays a key role in promoting.

The future of sensors, data acquisition devices, controllers more and more intelligent, real-time data browsing and management of the growing demand, and some buyers even require in their own offices to supervise the manufacturing process of orders. Some devices directly embed "Web Server", the process of real-time data can be directly accessed via Ethernet. Even then, it is not considered necessary to configure the software anymore.

The diversification of user requirements, determines that there is no possibility of a product to cover all the requirements of all users, direct users of the monitoring system human-machine interface requirements can not be fixed to a single mode, so the direct user monitoring system is always required "configuration" and "Custom". This leads to the impossibility of the configuration software exiting the market, as demand is present.

The emergence of an organization like OPC, as well as the rapid development of fieldbus, especially industrial Ethernet, greatly simplifies interconnection between heterogeneous devices and the workload of developing I/O device driver software. I/O driver software is also gradually developing in the direction of standardization.

2. Changes in configuration software functions

From a single man-machine interface toward the data processor direction, the management of the data volume is increasing. The earliest configuration software was used to support the hardware of the automation system. At that time, hardware systems without the support of the configuration software is very difficult to play a role, and even do not work properly. Now the situation has changed a lot. On the one hand, the software is partially separated from the hardware, most of the automation system hardware and software is not provided by the same manufacturer, so as to provide the development of automation software can play a full role in the stage.

The role of the real-time database will be further enhanced. Real-time database storage and retrieval is continuous change of process data, its development is inseparable from high-performance computer and large-capacity hard disk, now more and more users through the real-time database to analyze production, summary and statistical production data, as a command, decision-making basis.

In the end user's eyes, the configuration software plays an increasing role in an automation system, even some systems can not lack configuration software at all. The main reason for this is the powerful software, the user also has a common demand, the vast number of users in the manufacturers of powerful propaganda offensive to gradually recognize the value of the software.

3. Driving the development of configuration software

Demand is the first impetus to promote its development, the market will gradually expand. The rise of the configuration software market, on the one hand, saves the system investment for the end user, and also solves the practical problem for the user. Now the user purchase configuration software although also need a certain investment, but compared with the previous, the investment has been greatly reduced. Using configuration software, users can "spend a small amount of money, to do a big thing."

China's modernization is on the rise, the new project on the horse, infrastructure reconstruction of a large number of configuration software needs, on the other hand, the transformation of traditional industries, the upgrading of the original system and expansion of the configuration software needs to support.

The acceleration of social informatization is a powerful impetus for the growth of the configuration software market. With the improvement of economic development level, the information society will bring more market opportunities for the configuration software.

4. Changes in user requirements for configuration software

The proportion of dedicated systems is increasing. Configuration software flexibility and efficiency is a pair of contradictions, although the configuration software provides a lot of flexible technical means, but in most cases, users only use a small part of it, and the complexity of the use of methods to familiarize users with the software brings a lot of unnecessary trouble. This is also still a lot of users in their own use of VB to write automated monitoring system, the main reason. In some applications, automatic monitoring of the target and its characteristics are relatively single (or can be enumerated, or can be self-defined by a template, add, delete, edit) and a large number of users want to automatically generate most automatic monitoring system, such as in the elevator automatic monitoring, power equipment monitoring, railway signal monitoring and other application systems. This application system has some "fool" type of software features, users only need to use configuration software to do some of the system hardware and its parameters, you can automatically generate a specific mode of automatic monitoring system, if the user is not satisfied with the graphical interface of the auto-generated monitoring system, can also be arbitrarily modified and edited, This satisfies both the user's requirement of simplicity and the more perfect editing tools.

Configuration software should be expanded and penetrated into more application areas. The current configuration software is generated in the process industry automation, many features do not consider other application areas of demand. For example: laboratory analysis (chromatography, infrared, etc., including on-line analysis), virtual instruments (for example, LabVIEW is the slogan of the software is the instrument), testing (such as logging, mechanical performance test, collision test, such as data recording and playback, etc.), Signal processing (such as recording and displaying voyage data of a ship: Radar signal, GPS data, rudder angle, wind speed, etc.). These areas are heavily used in real-time data processing software and require human-machine interfaces, but because existing configuration software is too small for these applications to adequately meet the requirements of the system, these areas are still dominated by proprietary software. With the rapid development of computer technology, configuration software should be more to summarize these areas of demand, design the application requirements of the development tools to better meet the needs of these industries to software, and further reduce these industries in automated testing, data analysis of software costs, improve the openness of the system.

Embedded applications are further developed, and the sales of industrial PCs and their associated data acquisition and monitoring system hardware have continued to grow at a high rate over the past decade. Industrial PC growth is due to the rich software development tools, relatively easy to get started, and users accept industrial PC is the main reason for the cost of disposable hardware has been reduced, but the subsequent maintenance and upgrade costs are significantly high, often bring some indirect losses. Commercialization of embedded configuration software can effectively solve the industrial PC monitoring System work efficiency, maintenance and upgrade problems, completely out of the shackles of personal behavior, so that industrial PC monitoring system strode into the high-end automation system market.

5. Factors that affect the development of configuration software

Software quality is the main factor that affects product development. In the increasing competition today, the size of the enterprise, research and development of investment, quality system construction of the configuration software has a great impact on the quality.

6. Future Technology trends

Many new technologies will continue to be applied to the configuration software, the configuration of the total amount of software installed to promote the emergence of special software in some areas of specialization, the market is automatically subdivided. For this reason, a technology called "soft Bus" will be widely adopted. In this architecture, the application software is "installed" on the bus in the form of middleware or plug-ins, and supports hot-swappable and plug-and-play. The advantage of this is: all plug-ins adhere to the unified standard, plug-in strong specificity, each plug-in developers do not need coordination, a plug-in failure will not affect the operation of other plug-ins. XML technology will be used by configuration software vendors to change the existing architecture, and its promotion will also change some of the existing configuration software usage patterns, to meet more flexible application needs.

7. Internationalization and the impact of WTO accession

For a long time, China's configuration software market is dominated by foreign products, China's native configuration software into the international market has a long way to go, need to have a comprehensive advantage. China's engineering companies, automation equipment manufacturers in the international market to gain advantages of the configuration of software into the international market also has a certain role in promoting. Believe that the rise of the national configuration software is a matter of sooner or later.

Compared with other software products, cloud configuration software and it-like software, has its own particularity, with the concept of a system, the scope of use is not very wide, the international competition is no other similar office software or operating system as fierce, so China's native software is easy to rise. But after all, we are with the development of foreign products, in order to fully surpass foreign competitors, we must adhere to the path of their own, to minimize the follow-up, highlighting the characteristics of customer demand as the center, positive innovation. Only in this way can local software have a solid foundation.

From multi-ratio software: http://duobee.com/portal/article/index/id/1262.html

What is configuration? The concept and development trend of configuration