IEC TR 61804-6:2012

IEC/TR 61804-6 ®
Edition 1.0 2012-04
TECHNICAL
REPORT
Function blocks (FB) for process control – Electronic device description
language (EDDL) –
Part 6: Meeting the requirements for integrating fieldbus devices in engineering
tools for field devices
IEC/TR 61804-6:2012(E)
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IEC/TR 61804-6 ®
Edition 1.0 2012-04
TECHNICAL
REPORT
Function blocks (FB) for process control – Electronic device description

language (EDDL) –
Part 6: Meeting the requirements for integrating fieldbus devices in engineering

tools for field devices
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
PRICE CODE
P
ICS 25.040; 35.240.50 ISBN 978-2-8322-0062-9

– 2 – TR 61804-6 © IEC:2012(E)
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Terms, definitions, abbreviated terms and acronyms . 6
2.1 Terms and definitions . 6
2.2 Abbreviated terms and acronyms . 8
3 Requirement analysis . 8
3.1 Conventions . 8
3.2 Investment safety (see 3.1 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 9
3.2.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 9
3.2.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 9
3.3 Version conflicts (see 3.2 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 9
3.3.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 9
3.3.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 10
3.4 Integration of devices (installation and removal) in configuration tools (see
4.1 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 10
3.4.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 10
3.4.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 10
3.5 User guidance (see 4.2 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 11
3.5.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 11
3.5.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 11
3.6 Display of devices (see 4.3 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 11
3.6.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 11
3.6.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 11
3.7 Standard profiles (see 4.4 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 12
3.7.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 12
3.7.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 12
3.8 Device descriptions (see 5.1 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 12
3.8.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 12
3.8.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 13
3.9 Licensing of device descriptions (see 5.2 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 13
3.9.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 13
3.9.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 13
3.10 Cross-platform compatibility (see 5.3 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 13
3.10.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 13
3.10.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 13
3.11 Full support of device functionality (see 5.4 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 13
3.11.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 13
3.11.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 13
3.12 Standardized data filing (see 5.5 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 13
3.12.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 13
3.12.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 13
3.13 Certification (see Clause 6 of NAMUR NE 105:2004) . 14
3.13.1 NAMUR requirement summary. 14
3.13.2 How EDDL meets this requirement . 14
Bibliography . 15

TR 61804-6 © IEC:2012(E) – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
FUNCTION BLOCKS (FB) FOR PROCESS CONTROL –
ELECTRONIC DEVICE DESCRIPTION LANGUAGE (EDDL) –

Part 6: Meeting the requirements for integrating
fieldbus devices in engineering tools for field devices

FOREWORD
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The main task of IEC technical committees is to prepare International Standards. However, a
technical committee may propose the publication of a technical report when it has collected
data of a different kind from that which is normally published as an International Standard, for
example "state of the art".
IEC 61804-6, which is a Technical Report, has been prepared by subcommittee 65E: Devices
and integration in enterprise systems, of IEC technical committee 65: Industrial-process
measurement, control and automation.

– 4 – TR 61804-6 © IEC:2012(E)
The text of this technical report is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
65E/212A/DTR 65E/239/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical report can be found in the
report on voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all parts of the IEC 61804 series, under the general title Function blocks (FB) for
process control – Electronic device description language (EDDL), can be found on the IEC
website.
Future standards in this series will carry the new general title as cited above. Titles of existing
standards in this series will be updated at the time of the next edition.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

TR 61804-6 © IEC:2012(E) – 5 –
INTRODUCTION
The information contained in this part of IEC 61804 is provided for information only and is not
part of the IEC 61804-3 requirements.
NOTE 1 ANSI/ISA-61804-3 (104.00.01):2007 is an equivalent to IEC 61804-3:2006.
The need for device integration has grown significantly in recent years. The combination of
open systems, growth and mix of bus protocols, more intelligent devices and more
sophisticated and complex devices has increased the requirements for integrating these
devices in a single tool.
The purpose of this technical report is to investigate if the IEC 61804-3 technology meets the
requirements of NAMUR NE 105. NAMUR is an international users association of automation
technology in the process industries (www.namur.de). Recommendation NE 105 prepared by
working group 2.6: Fieldbus, contains requirements for device integration technologies such
as the electronic device description language (EDDL).
From experience, control system manufacturers and plant operations do not permit third-party
software to be installed on DCS server, engineering station, or operator consoles – but rather
only on separate application stations. One of the objectives of the EDDL standard is to reduce
or minimize the need for third-party software to be installed. The question this technical report
addresses is if EDDL can meet device integration requirement without the need for software
drivers.
Most NAMUR NE 105 requirements are concerned with the long-term viability of the system
and the ease of managing the system. A few requirements are concerned with consistency
between different protocols, device types, and manufacturers.
EDDL meets all requirements of NAMUR NE 105. Most requirements are met by virtue of the
fact that an EDD file is a compressed text, not a software.
Early EDDL, before enhancements were specified in IEC 61804-3:2006, met most but not all
of the NAMUR NE 105 requirements.
NOTE 2 A system combining EDDL with other technologies that do not meet NAMUR NE 105, overall will not
meet the requirements of NAMUR NE 105.
EDDL is a language to write the electronic device description (EDD) files. An EDD file
describes how an engineering software can integrate a fieldbus device. EDD files provides
information which command to send to a field device to read or to write information, how to
decode the response, and how to display the information.
The main focus is on investment protection in the face of modern information technology
because automation technology users cannot tolerate constant upgrades, updates, and
releases – that is, long-term viability for systems and devices without undue maintenance
effort. Other major points include ease of keeping systems up to date with new device types
and versions, robustness, and uniform display of devices from different manufacturers, for a
human interface that is intuitive and easy to learn.
The NE 105 recommendation provided important input for developing the enhancements
made to EDDL.
– 6 – TR 61804-6 © IEC:2012(E)
FUNCTION BLOCKS (FB) FOR PROCESS CONTROL –
ELECTRONIC DEVICE DESCRIPTION LANGUAGE (EDDL) –

Part 6: Meeting the requirements for integrating
fieldbus devices in engineering tools for field devices

1 Scope
This Technical Report (TR) provides an evaluation and assessment of electronic device
description language (EDDL) technology. It provides guidance to device and system
manufacturers for how EDDL technology can help them meet user requirements. It provides
guidance to system integrators, as well as instrumentation and maintenance practitioners at
end-user companies, on how EDDL technology can help them integrate systems and
incorporate device management in their work processes.
This TR gives examples of requirements from the NAMUR NE 105 recommendation. It is the
intent of this TR to illustrate how EDDL technology and products based on EDDL technology
meet these requirements.
This TR provides a current assessment of the capability of the EDDL technology and the
features and capabilities it enables in devices and tools such as handheld field
communicators, distributed control system (DCS) engineering software, DCS operator
software, device management software as part of plant asset management solutions, as well
as stand-alone software for use in laptop or tablet computers.
2 Terms, definitions, abbreviated terms and acronyms
2.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
2.1.1
EDD developer
individual or team that develops an EDD
2.1.2
audit trail
log of changes made to and events occurring to devices such as configuration change,
calibration, and failures
2.1.3
backwards compatibility
capability of a new version of a product to interoperate with the same products as its earlier
version
2.1.4
content and structure
information and how it is organized
Note 1 to entry: That is, what information is displayed and where, and what functions are provided. Note the
distinction from look and feel.

TR 61804-6 © IEC:2012(E) – 7 –
2.1.5
distributed control system
process control system or basic process control system, responsible for control of the process
and operator interface
2.1.6
development toolkit
set of software applications used by device developers to write, test, and tokenize EDD files
for their devices
2.1.7
device management
setup (configuration and calibration) and diagnostics of field instruments
Note 1 to entry: Compare to plant asset management.
2.1.8
device management software
software used for device management
Note 1 to entry: Often an integral part of plant asset management solution.
2.1.9
forward compatibility
ability of an existing version of a product to interoperate with the same products as the next
version
2.1.10
interoperability
ability of products to work together
2.1.11
interpreter
software engine that analyzes script statements in an EDDL method and carries them out
without giving direct access to memory, database, underlying file system, and the like
Note 1 to entry: The interpreter is often referred to as "sandbox".
2.1.12
integrated host
integrated system of DCS and device management software where, for example, device
diagnostics can be called up on operator display or device configuration on engineering
display
2.1.13
look and feel
appearance of and interaction with controls such as buttons and parameters
Note 1 to entry: Look includes, for example, background and foreground color, size, shape, font, and icons and
how these change depending on status. Feel includes single-click, double-click, selection, typing, expanding from a
list, and the like. This is particularly pertinent for functions shared by all devices. Note the distinction from ‘content
and structure’.
2.1
...