.NET Framework and Web Services: A Profit Combination to Implement and Enhance the IEEE 1451.1 Standard

In 1999, the 1451.1 Standard, which defines a common object model and interface specification to develop open multivendor distributed measurement and control systems, was published. However, despite the well-known advantages of the model, there have been a few initiatives to implement a commercial version of the standard. In this paper, we describe the implementation of a Network Capable Application Processor (NCAP) in a well-known and well-proven infrastructure, i.e., the Microsoft .NET Framework. The use of a commercial framework increases productivity because it handles low-level programming details and provides good development tools, which allows us to produce a reusable and robust code. In addition, a solution to enhance the 1451.1 Standard is presented by proposing a new format for interNCAP communication based on eXtended Markup Language (XML) Web Services. This approach promotes interoperability because any device with a compatible Web Service middleware can locate and communicate with our prototype.