Control Configurators, Languages, and Graphics - IMEKO 2001

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Industry thinking for computer control standards and documentation emphasizes concepts and graphics derived from an earlier era when they were needed to trace circuit implementation. A digital world can rely on the computer to compile and error check. Instead its documentation should emphasize the application intent and readability, permitting a much higher level of understanding and checking. For many years, the author has been describing a general control application language, based, to the extent possible, on such an Intent representation. The discussion is based on the language Idiom concept and traditional continuous control practice as a best available example of a practice supporting a recognizable Intent based representation. The paper illustrates the Idiom concept with a web site available continuous control documentation tool recently put together to develop wide community
exposure. Beyond documentation, the larger language allows automatic integration the controls with other operational dimensions. Most obviously these include the automatic structuring of the operator interface. But the paper also extends this to show how the application information embedded in the control design can be used to support automatic failure accommodation and maintenance support.

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