Windows Shell Scripting

Windows shell scripts can be incredibly useful. Used like MS-DOS batch files, the shell-scripts can use the OPCData.NET to perform any number of automated tasks.

Combine the shell scripts with other utilities, like the “At” command (scheduler built into NT, 2000, XP and 2003 operating systems) and you can schedule specific actions to occur at specific dates/times of the day/week etc. which eliminates the need to develop specific applications.

What can I do with Shell scripts?

• Browsing
• Computers on the network
• OPC Servers available on a local/remote computer
• OPC Items (Tags) within a local/remote OPC Server.
• Retrieve the properties of the OPC Server and OPC Items.
• Subscriptions
• Subscribe and unsubscribe to one or more items (Tags)
• Control active status of each tag
• Reads
• one or multiple items
• synchronously or asynchronously from the OPC Servers Cache or Device
• Writes
• to one or multiple items
• synchronously or asynchronously to the OPC Servers Cache or Device

Which components can I use?

• OPCData.NET (the ActiveX in particular) can be used by the shell scripting engine.

How do I deploy what I have made?

Shell scripts would typically reside on a centralized server/computer, such as a network file server or web-server. In which case, there is nothing to deploy - simply install the OPC Web Client software.

Where can I download example source-code?

We have a number of examples of shell scripts here.