Our Ongoing Open Control Programming Language Discussions

All started with my original rant August 2011

A call to the industry to speed their evolution to open protocols for control languages created a lot of interest, was the most read article, and generated some great responses.

This page is a link library to the accumulating resource and ongoing discussion on this important topic for our industry.  We will update monthly.

Added for Janaury 2012

Predictions for Smart Buildings in 2012

The Automation Campaign In 2012 Will Be About Open Source Programming Languages, and Standards For Naming Conventions, Building Systems and Integration. The movement is a “bottoms up” grassroots campaign. Part of it is driven by BMS owners and facility personnel that want an open source programming language for controls so they can have some flexibility and choices as to how to setup and maintain their BMS. The push for standardized naming conventions is a reaction to many situations in existing buildings, especially portfolios or campuses of existing buildings where multiple naming conventions are used, creating chaos, wasted time and inefficiencies. While the movement is grassroots some large organizations have entered the “standards” fray. Organizations such as the International Society of Automation have initiated the development of a standard titled ISA 111 Unified Automation for Buildings. In addition, NIST has a project that will provide the technical basis for improved industry standards for automation and controls and is also heavily invested in the interoperability standards between buildings and the smart grid. The standardization of technology aspects in the automation industry reflects the penetration of IT in building systems, the increased complexities in high performance buildings and the increased need for data and data management. It’s an initiative that will transform the industry over the years to come

Collaborating Services The Challenges of Interoperability

The European Community has established a Global Interoperability Test Bed (GITB) initiative with a view to fostering better information exchanges between systems using XML.  Clearly at the heart of enabling comfort, energy and environmental solutions is the accurate and timely exchange of information and notifications across a diverse ecosystem of devices and communications channels both within and outside a building.

Keeping the costs of achieving this so that consumers can afford the resulting products is therefore a challenge.  What is needed is a selection of capabilities to test and verify the correct operations and information exchanges.  Fortunately new tools are emerging from an open source initiative that is government focused, sponsored by Oracle and is also contributing to the GITB work.  The focus is primarily toward facilitating the government National Information Exchange Model [NIEM] adoption (http://www.niem.gov) however all the same needs apply to building automation.  These include the ability to establish a common domain vocabulary of terms and definitions along with a set of core components that implement those as XML content and mechanisms.  Then common exchange packages based on those components that allow consistent and reusable handling and processing of the information and actions to occur.  Allied to this is the need for an XML validation framework that is context and rule based not just rigid and brittle structure and content model validation.  Having an adaptive framework allows templates to be published that express the information about particular exchanges and actions that provide for the formation of test suites.  These test suites enable a community to develop common interoperable systems through a shared open source resource that can be freely utilized to align each individual solution to.   This is the focus of the CAM project that is publicly available on Sourceforge.net (http://www.cameditor.org) and is an implementation of the OASIS Content Assembly Mechanism (CAM) public open standard (http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/cam).

[an error occurred while processing this directive]Articles and LinkedIn group links for November 2011

Controls Spring What if the controls contractor had a standard open programming language?  When they are building DDC code they are actually generating the O&M manual and graphics by definition and the code is vendor independent. When the new controls contractor walks into the building, they see all the data digitally about the building. They can actually query the system.  - Alper Uzmezler, BAS Services & Graphics, LLC

Critical Mass The unstoppable momentum for open and integrated building systems. - Jim Sinopoli PE, RCDD, LEED AP, Managing Principal, Smart Buildings LLC

BACnet Linkedin group Now 59 comments
Who Cares About A Common Programming Language?

AutomatedBuildings.com Online Magazine Forum Now 36 comments
How can we achieve an Open Programming Language for Building Automation Systems?

Articles and LinkedIn group links for October 2011

Criteria for BAS Open Programming  Forget about what you do now, and think about what you should be able to do. What is our wish list, or maybe our “must have” list, for BAS programming? David Fisher, President, PolarSoft®

What is Sedona -- a language, a protocol, a framework, a town in Arizona? Brian Frank, Founder, SkyFoundry

Compelling Reasons for Common Programming Language (CPL)  Do you have any?  Winston Hetherington, Owner, B.A.S.S. Consulting Services

BACnet Linkedin group
Who Cares About A Common Programming Language?

CABA Linkedin group
Discussion: How can we achieve an Open Programming Language for Building Automation Systems? 

AutomatedBuildings.com Online Magazine Forum
How can we achieve an Open Programming Language for Building Automation Systems?

Summary of articles and responses for September 2011

I provide a quick summary in this review Open Control Language Discussions of the over 40 comments received on Linkedin Groups plus emails accross my desk.

These five articles provide great insight and are in response to my request for input.

Open Programming Language for Building Automation David Fisher, PolarSoft®

Roadmap to Open Programming Language Continued Nirosha Munasinghe, Open General

Open access to vendor control languages Nino Kurtalj, Elma Kurtalj Ltd

An Open, Standardized Control Language Brian Frank, SkyFoundry

The Challenge to Legacy Building Management Systems Jim Sinopoli, Smart Buildings LLC

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