Open Platform Communications

<p>Open Platform Communications (OPC) is a series of <a href="/facts/Standardization/vS9AhNMS">standards</a> and specifications for industrial <a href="/facts/Telecommunication/vxoj1cxR">telecommunication</a>. They are based on <a href="/facts/Object_Linking_and_Embedding/Eabu8Qnl">Object Linking and Embedding</a> (OLE) for <a href="/facts/Process_control/tmjQhchm">process control</a>.
An <a href="/facts/Industrial_automation/3YlF2K5q">industrial automation</a> task force developed the original standard in 1996 under the name OLE for Process Control. OPC specifies the communication of <a href="/facts/Real-time_computing/p9HxgL4L">real-time</a> plant data between control devices from different manufacturers.
</p><p>After the initial release in 1996, the <a href="/facts/OPC_Foundation/BTbvjVMu">OPC Foundation</a> was created to maintain the standards. Since OPC has been adopted beyond the field of process control, the OPC Foundation changed its name to Open Platform Communications in 2011. The name change reflects the applications of OPC technology for applications in <a href="/facts/Building_automation/57392A57">building automation</a>, <a href="/facts/Discrete_manufacturing/wgGex9y9">discrete manufacturing</a>, process control and others. OPC has also grown beyond its original OLE implementation to include other data transportation technologies including <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Corporation/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft Corporation</a>'s <a href="/facts/.NET_Framework/J6QDAUhP">.NET Framework</a>, <a href="/facts/XML/clNgUfWk">XML</a>, and even the OPC Foundation's binary-encoded TCP format.
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Open Platform Communications open-in-new

Open Platform Communications