HART selects code editor for integrated development environment

HART Communication Foundation (HCF) has announced that the Visual SlickEdit code editor will be the basis of the Foundation’s new Device Description Integrated Development Environment (DD-IDE) used by the consortium’s member companies.

By Control Engineering Staff October 9, 2003

HART Communication Foundation (HCF) has announced that the Visual SlickEdit code editor will be the basis of the Foundation’s new Device Description Integrated Development Environment (DD-IDE) used by the consortium’s member companies. The new DD-IDE will provide configuration templates for the 12 million plus HART-compatible process plant instrumentation devices in use worldwide.

Visual SlickEdit was chosen because it provides the same look and feel across Windows, LINUX, and UNIX platforms and over 40 programming languages, making it easier for development teams to program on different platforms using the same code editor.

Wally Pratt, Chief Engineer for the HART Communication Foundation says, ”HART uses a specialized language for modeling process instruments called Device Description Language (DDL).” Because of the DDL’s proven abilities over the past 10 years, it will become an international standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), according to Pratt. HCF members are now testing beta versions of the new DD-IDE, with the final release planned for December.

The HCF is an international consortium of 150 member companies, including multi-national automation suppliers ABB, Endress+Hauser, Emerson Process Management, Fuji, Honeywell, Invensys, Rockwell Automation, Siemens, Toshiba, Yokogawa and others who use the HART Protocol in their process instrumentation products.

—David Greenfield, Editorial Director, Control Engineering, dgreenfield@reedbusiness.com