Documents/Terms - OpenSCADAWiki

# Documents/Terms

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### 1 Terms and definitions

- Blocking — conditional border of value the technological parameter at which overcome there performed a preset algorithm to prevent the emergency. In some modes of TP (starting) according to the regulations, you can be needed in disabling the blockings — deblocking.
- Deblocking — process of the blockings disabling on time of TP working in some modes for which the operation reserved in the regulations. Deblocking the technological parameters is strictly reporting operation and it must be performed by the operative personal in an appropriate order!
- Complex parameter-tag or object-tag of the signal — detailed signal of the data source as a complex parameter-tag, which for analog one usually contains:
  - signal value in the engineering-real measurement unit;
  - name of the measurement unit;
  - scale-range of physical changing the signal value — minimum and maximum borders;
  - borders of signalling — usually it is the upper and lower boundaries for warning and alarms;
  - filter parameters;
  - parameters of the scale specifics, determining the authenticity, format of representing and more.
- Data model — organisation and structuring the TP data or other automation object in layer of the SCADA data source, protocol or PLC. By default it means the OpenSCADA data source layer with the structure "Controller object"->"Parameter, Level 1"->...->"Parameter, Level N"->"Attribute of value - signal".
- Generic Storage — primary storage of OpenSCADA (pointed early as "*.*" and next indirectly as "<gen>"), which designed for combination the Configuration File and the work Data Base in single storage of the generic OpenSCADA data. Where the Configuration File is primary for the data already existing there, ie their changes, and everything new is created in the Data Base.
- Project — the term has many meanings and, depending on the context, may imply:
  - OpenSCADA project (program) — free software, documentation of which you are reading now.
  - Specified set-folder of the configuration and data, which is created by the user of OpenSCADA, where configuration is stored in the configuration file (required) and one or more DB files (optionally and maybe online). For example — demonstration project, simulator of the TP "AGLKS". That is, the author of the project is the user of the program — the engineer-developer or programmer of the SCADA system.
  - VCA project — component of area of the visualisation and control (VCA) created in the module UI.VCAEngine through UI.Vision and contains a set of VCA frames.
- Qt — software development tool with which in particular the QTStarter (starter of OpenSCADA modules on the library Qt), QTCfg (GUI configurator of OpenSCADA) and Vision (editor and executant of the working user interfaces of VCA) modules are created. It may be encountered in the form of QT, which is an early entry used by OpenSCADA developers for the Qt library.
- Quietance — process of confirming the fact that operational personnel have paid attention to violations in the TP operation. The process mostly means of take actions for the violation eliminating and pressing to the button of the alarm quieting.
- Alarm setting — conditional border of value the technological parameter which overcoming means as abnormal situation. The following borders are usually provided:
  - Upper and bottom alarm borders — borders of alarm values of the technological parameter.
  - Upper and bottom warning borders — warning borders — regulatory borders on the technological parameter going beyond the working range.
  - Failure — points to the parameter value out the hardware borders of the technological equipment. Usually characterises the failure of the sensor, interruption of the communication channel with the sensor or PLC.
- Signal (in relation to the data source) — element of the data source in the form of measured or calculated value of the technological parameter or sensor. Represents scalar of the discrete, integer or real type, which is often encoded by scaling the parameter scale to the integer dimension. The signal for identification is often simply indexed or encoded at the address of its value on the map of the exchanging protocol and the meaningful name appears in the SCADA data model.
- Signalling — process of notification the operative personal about violation of the technological process or the automation equipment work. The notification methods can be different types of influence to the human senses for take it attention. There often provided next types of signalling:
  - Light signalling — it is typically performed by changing colour of the graphical object (blink) for the emerging events and by setting the static alarm colours (red and yellow) for events have quietance-confirmation.
  - Sound — it is performed by sound signal out in moment of the event emerge. The sound signal type can be both as monotonic and the speech synth message with information about the violation.
- VCA frame — derived visualisation element, consisting of the basic elements and able to serve functions of the project page of VCA.
- VCA widget — visualisation element of VCA.

### 2 Used abbreviations

- API — Application Programming Interface of OpenSCADA modules or extensions on internal language of OpenSCADA — User API.
- AWP — Automated Work Place. Usually it is system unit of computer system, display, mouse "manipulator" sometimes with keyboard, and other peripheral equipment, which serves to visualise data of the technological process, as well as issuance of control actions on TP.
- DAQ — Data Acquisition.
- DB — Database.
- DCON — name of one of the communication protocols used in industry.
- EVAL — Error VALue, used in dynamic data and the internal language for specifying a specific value-sign of the data missing or error, which is different one for different value types, but they are transparently converted one to other. As a useful synonym to EVAL in the internal language is currently used null.
- FS — File System.
- GPL — General Public License under the conditions of which OpenSCADA distributed and may be used.
- GUI — Graphical User Interface.
- HMI — Human-Machine Interface.
- HTTP — HyperText Transfer Protocol.
- MOD — Matching to Object Device. Number of devices or PLC modules to whose being directly connected signals from sensors of TP for followed converting from analog to digital form and back. The conversion performs with goal of following processing of the technological parameters in PLC.
- ModBus — Modicon BUS is a serial communications protocol, in the variants RTU and ASCII, originally published by Modicon in 1979 for use with its PLCs. Later it was expanded to work over TCP-IP and this variant was named ModBus/TCP.
- OS — Operation System.
- PLC — Programmable Logic Controller.
- QT — look for QT in the list of terms, it is not an acronym.
- SCADA — Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition.
- SO — Signal Object. Letters in the abbreviation have been rearranged to eliminate confusion with the abbreviation OS (see above)
- TP — Technological Process. Whole complex of technological equipment of the technological process.
- TUI — Terminal(Text) User Interface.
- UI — User Interface.
- VCA — Visual Control Area.

Documents/Terms/en - GFDL | July 2026 | OpenSCADA 1+r3070