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EDDL Basics

Intelligent devices and handheld communicators brought about a quantum leap in the configuration of device parameters and diagnostics convenience. In the past it was very difficult for technicians to support a mix of different device types because devices from different manufacturers used different handheld communicators.

Intelligent devices eventually used the same protocol, and laptop interfaces and multiplexers permitted use of PC software, but many sophisticated devices still had its own unique specialized configuration software not supporting any other devices. Many applications had to be purchased and installed and every application had a different look and feel even when run in the Windows operating system.

Obviously it is important to be able to check a device from a maintenance workstation in the central control room, but also using a portable communicator while performing field service.

What EDDL is:

EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) is a device integration technology that uses an electronic file written in a common language to describe an intelligent device in a machine-readable format to a handheld communicator or to software applications such as a DCS configuration tool or intelligent device management software.

Writing DD

The language, EDDL, is used to create the Electronic Device Descriptions (EDD) file for the intelligent devices. The EDD file is written by the device developer and tailored to the exact needs of each specific device model. EDDL declares to the software how to communicate, decode, and display the information in the device. Manufacturer know-how is scripted into interactive "methods" in the EDDL coaching the technician through complex procedures such as calibration or setup through a step-by-step prompts. Graphics are used to distill the wealth of data in a device into easy to interpret condition information. Using EDDL, device manufacturers are given an unrestricted opportunity to provide technicians access to their devices, with the full scope of their functions, where all the menus and parameters appear as intended by the manufacturer. EDDL supports sophisticated graphics functions much like an HTML web page.

Electronic Device Description Language	Visually enhanced EDDL with sophisticated graphics

Technically it is possible for the device developer to write EDD using any text editor, but an Integrated Development Environment with integrated editor, tokenizer, and tester with simulation makes it easier.

Loading and Browsing DD

EDDL is a host system resident technology. It electronically describes the field device such that the control system, handheld communicator, or asset manager can correctly interpret the messages exchanged with the device. The Electronic Device Description files for each of the different devices are copied into the computer or handheld communicator. A single universal tool can configure commission, diagnose, calibrate, and fine tune all the different device types based on their respective Electronic Device Description. Handheld communicators and intelligent device management software used in the day-to-day maintenance and operation of the many different devices in the plant can visually display results from partial stroke testing of safety valves, as well as performance analysis such as hysteresis, step response, and valve signature etc. Likewise, diagnostics of plugged impulse lines for a pressure transmitter is made easy by the advanced visual display provided by EDDL graphics. In the handheld communicator or software the EDD is interpreted to generate the displays for the device information much like a web page as the technician browses through the menu system. EDDL is not dependent on a particular operating system or interface and therefore EDDL can be found in everything from portable handheld communicators to large client-server based intelligent device management software as part of asset management packages.

The same EDDL used in a handheld communicator can also be used in a stand-alone application on a laptop or for the intelligent device management software in asset management software. EDDL is used for devices communicating HART, FOUNDATION fieldbus, and PROFIBUS as well as their Ethernet varieties. It is applied for both wired and wireless devices. EDDL is used in for simple temperature transmitters, valve positioners, variable speed drives, and sophisticated machinery health monitors with more than a thousand parameters. EDDL is used to describe devices used for control as well as for devices used for functional safety. That is, a single device integration technology to integrate the plethora of device types from a variety of vendors found in a plant into a single tool.