Echelon NodeBuilder FX - Manual (Page 32)

18 Introduction
A text device interface file with a .XIF extension is required by the LonMark Application Layer
Interoperability Guidelines. A text device interface file is automatically produced by the NodeBuilder
tool when you build an application. The NodeBuilder tool also automatically creates binary (.XFB
extension) and optimized-binary (.XFO extension) versions of the device interface file that speed the
import process for LNS tools such as the LonMaker tool.
Resource Files
Resource files define network variable types, configuration property types, and functional profiles.
Resource files for standard types and profiles are distributed by L
ON M ARK International. The standard
resource files define standard network variable types (SNVTs), standard configuration property types
(SCPTs), and standard functional profiles. For example, SCPT_location is a standard configuration
property type for configuration properties containing the device location as a text string, and
SNVT_temp_f is a network variable type for network variables containing temperature as a
floating-point number. The standard network variable and configuration property types are defined at
types.lonmark.org .
As new SNVTs and SCPTs are defined, updated resource files and documentation are posted to the
L
ON M ARK Web site. Standard functional profiles are included with the NodeBuilder tool, and their
documentation is also available on the L ON M ARK Web site. To view and download the latest resource
files and documentation, go to the L ON M ARK Web site at www.lonmark.org .
Device manufacturers may also create user resource files that contain manufacturer-defined types and
profiles called user network variable types (UNVTs), user configuration property types (UCPTs), and
user functional profiles (UFPTs).
You can create applications that only use the standard types and profiles. In this case, you do not need
to create user-defined resource files. If you need to define any new user types or profiles, you will use
the NodeBuilder Resource Editor to create them.
Targets
A target is a L ON W ORKS device whose application is built by the NodeBuilder tool. There are two
types of targets, development targets and release targets. Development targets are used during
development; release targets are used when development is complete and the device will be released to
production. Each NodeBuilder device template specifies the definition for a development target and a
release target. Both target definitions use the same source code, program ID, interface, and resource
files, but can use different hardware templates and compiler, linker, and exporter options. The source
code may include code that is conditionally compiled based on the type of target.