Application programming interface alternatives

The system reference architecture in OSACA (Fig. 5) consists of three modules (Brecher et al. 2010) the communication system, the reference architecture, and the configuration system. Due to lacking alternatives, a separate communication system was developed. It allows the so-called Architecture Objects (AO), which encapsulate the function area of the NC kernel, to communicate and thus to exchange data in different ways. This is possible due to the standardized communication interfaces of the communication platform. The reference architecture of OSACA decides into which functional modules the NC kernel is divided. Further, it defines the application programming interfaces of the individual modules. These are manufacturer-independent interfaces agreed upon by several major control manufacturers. The configuration system permits to determine which AOs will be started for each control system and on which hardware platform they are to be run. In addition, the communication secures a coordinated and synchronized run-up of the individual modules for the respective control system. 

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