Echelon LonWorks Network XML - Manual (Page 21)

L ON W ORKS Network XML Programmer’s Guide 13
The applicable Action attributes and properties for each object element are detailed in the next section,
Setting Object Attributes and Properties Overview.
<xs:complexType name="objectType">
<xs:sequence />
<xs:attribute name="Handle" type="xs:integer" use="optional" />
<xs:attribute name="Action" type="xs:string" use="optional" />
</xs:complexType>
Name
The names of an object element and its properties generally match those in the LNS network database
(without the leading “Lca”). The names are different in instances where the LNS name is misleading,
obsolete, or not defined.
Handle Attribute
Most object elements contain an integer Handle attribute that corresponds to a unique, persistent
property of the object that can be used by LNS to access the object within the specified context. In
many cases, the Handle of the object element corresponds to the LNS handle for that object; however,
in some cases, the Handle corresponds to an index. For example, the Handle for functional blocks
and network variables corresponds to the object’s index number within the device or functional block,
respectively.
Action Attribute
Most object elements contain an enumerated, case-insensitive Action attribute that is applied upon
import. The Action attribute has seven possible values:
• CREATE. Creates the object if it does not exist already. If it does exist, the object and all of its
child objects are ignored.
• CREATE_UNIQUE. Forces the creation of a new object. In cases where the object name is not
unique, an instance number is appended (or incremented) to make the name unique.
• UPDATE. Creates the object if it does not already exist; updates the object if it does exist. This
is the default.
• MODIFY. Ignores the object if it does not already exist; updates the object if it does exist.
• DELETE. Deletes the object if it exists.
• IGNORE. Ignores the object and all of its dependents.
• COMMISSION. Indicates that the commissioning-related attributes of application devices or
routers are to be updated. You can specify this action for subsystems, application devices, or
routers. If you specify this action for any other object, the behavior is the same as if you had
specified the MODIFY action: the object is ignored if it does not already exist or updated if it
does. The commissioning action and related attributes are detailed later in this chapter.
Setting Object Attributes and Properties Overview
You can set the attributes and properties for the following object elements that may be included in a
LonMaker network XML file (listed in order of level in the XML file):
• Networks
• Routers
• Subsystems
• Application devices
• Functional blocks
• Network variables
• Message tags