The OPC Foundation webpages on OPC Compliance and Certification have got a face lift. One of the most important things about OPC is that is the specifications are much more than just paper documents. A standard is nothing more than words on a page unless there is some assurance that products developed against the specifications are truly interoperable and robust. That is why OPC Certification matters.Certification establishes credibility for OPC products. Determining that a product is certified is the first question that an end user should ask a vendor. Here's why:
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Ensures products are compliant to OPC Specifications
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Ensures products can successfully interoperate with OPC products from other vendors
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Ensures products remain robust and don't crash even in the toughest and most extreme situations
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Ensures vendors follow best-practice behavior in the design of their products
To that end, the OPC Compliance working group has the following objectives
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To define and continually refine "Compliance" to ensure OPC applications are interoperable and robust
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Define the standard and expected behavior for OPC Servers and Clients
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Define test-cases for vendors to use during their product testing and for Certification Test Lab personnel for official testing
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Develop tools for vendors to incorporate into their development life-cycle
There is a wealth of information in the new portal:
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Certification Road-map for OPC Classic
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Certification Road-map for OPC Unified Architecture
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How to Become Certified
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Certification Testing Tools
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How to join the Compliance Working Group
And much more. I encourage everyone to take a look around, and more importantly make sure you are developing and/or using OPC Certified products!