What is new in Reliance 4

New names for some modules
New format for storing visualization projects
Managers
Unicode and support for multi-language visualization projects
Data structures, structured tags, window templates and the Container component
Importing OPC items
Alarms/Events
Scripts
Actions
Pictures
Designing visualization windows
Components
Custom reports
Logging data and alarms/events
Visualization project diagnostics
Reliance View, Reliance Control, Reliance Control Server
Reliance Server, Reliance Control Server
Thin clients
Communication drivers
License policy
Other

New names for some modules

• Reliance View (previously Reliance Runtime View)
• Reliance Control (previously Reliance Runtime Control)
• Reliance Control Server (previously Reliance Runtime Server)
• Reliance Web Client (previously Reliance J)

New format for storing visualization projects

  Storing non-visual objects (e.g. devices, tags, alarms/events)

• new format (RDT)
• reliable
• supports Unicode
• space-efficient
• very fast (reading data is up to 20x faster than from the format used in previous versions)
• secure (provides encryption by a 128-bit key)
• can be viewed and edited using an editor provided as part of Reliance 4 (RDT File Editor)

  Storing visualization windows

• XML standard
• UTF-8 encoding (easy editable through an external tool)

  Storing scripts' source code

• Unicode-enabled text files

Manager

• operations with multiple objects selected in the tree view
• improved Drag & Drop operations support
• improved sorting and filtering
• automatically connecting an object (e.g. device) to a computer(s) in the Project Structure Manager

Unicode and support for multi-language visualization projects

• Unicode support throughout a project
• defining unlimited number of languages (including Asian) in a project
• String Manager (for managing text strings and translating them into defined languages)
• possibility to repeatedly use a text string on multiple places (centrally editing or localizing a string)
• possibility to configure a language for a user and/or computer
• possibility to switch language at design-time (in Reliance Design) and runtime (in the runtime software)

Data structures, structured tags, window templates and the Container component

Speeds up the development of visualization projects containing repeated graphics linked to a group of tags.

  Data Structure Manager

• defining data structures (i.e. structured data types) for different device types
• nesting data structures within one another (the number of nesting levels is not limited)

  Device Manager

• defining structured tags (instances of structured data types)
• automatic synchronization of structured tags with data structures

  Window template

• special kind of visualization window linked to a data structure (contained components are linked to data structure fields)
• embedding a window template into a regular visualization window using the Container component linked to a structured tag -> repeated embedding the same template, possibility to centrally modify the template at a later time
• embedding a window template into one another (the number of levels is not limited)

Importing OPC items

• improved OPC Browse dialog (dialog for importing items from an OPC server)
• browsing through the network for an OPC server
• importing item properties as stand-alone tags
• defining folders, filtering items, many other options

Alarms/Events

• generating an alarm/event by a tag value in a specified range
• logging alarms/events to SQL databases
• all alarm/event types (alerts, command, etc.) stored in a single table

Scripts

• improved Script Manager
• storing scripts' source code in Unicode-enabled text files (easy editable through an external tool)
• searching for/replacing text in multiple scripts (support for regular expressions)
• checking syntax at design-time
• source code templates (frequently used programming statements - e.g. for-next loop)

Actions

• Action - new object type, represents a centrally defined action (e.g. activating a visualization window, displaying a trend)
• new Action Manager
• actions can be triggered by the same events as scripts (e.g. on component click, on activate window)

Pictures

• improved Picture Manager
• centrally managing all pictures in a project (pictures are no longer divided into Shared and Window pictures)
• centrally configuring transparency
• storing pictures' graphical data in files using the original format (easy editable through an external tool)
• optimized loading of pictures into memory (loading only the pictures that currently need to be displayed)
• support for the PNG format (including an alpha-channel - partial transparency)
• new library of 3D graphics

Designing visualization windows

• rotating components (statically, dynamically - controlled by a tag)
• modifying properties of multiple windows at a time
• defining window folders
• defining window templates and linking them to data structures
• aligning components to edges (optional margins and overlays)
• anchoring components
• guidelines for aligning components precisely
• visual (Drag & Drop) linking components to tags
• indicating visible area bounds in windows
• fast switching between windows

Components

• uniform behavior, security and events of components
• new Container component for embedding internal objects (window template, current alarm/event view, ...) in a window
• new components for working with IP cameras (support for AXIS and Vivotek, controlling connection with a camera, controlling recording the video, support for external inputs/outputs)
• new standard components: Track Bar, Check Box, Edit Box, Notepad, Internet Explorer, improved Media Player (support for Windows Media Player)
• new intelligent components: Data Grid (for displaying and editing array-type tags), Data Tree (for displaying and editing tree-type data), Time Program, Equithermal Curve
• components for working with the system of INELS/Teco
• additional new components: Analog Clock, Level Fill Picture (e.g. for indicating filling a tank of any shape)
• improved Gauge component

Custom reports

• Report Designer that can be opened from the Custom Report Manager
• creating reports in an internal format based on XML
• possibility to use localizable text strings defined in a project
• possibility to access external data stored in various types of databases
• possibility to use scripting languages
• possibility to send a report via E-mail in HTML or PDF format

Logging data and alarms/events

  SQL databases

• centrally managing SQL servers to be used in a project
• easily defining a connection to an SQL server using ADO DB (possibility of testing connection with an SQL server at design-time)
• support for Microsoft SQL Server (MSDE and MS SQL Server 2005, for free - part of the Reliance 4 installation) and other in the future (Oracle, ...)

  Internal format (RDT)

• sequential (non-SQL access)
• identical with the format used for storing project-defined objects
• intended for cases when an SQL Server cannot be used (e.g. some embedded devices)

Visualization project diagnostics

• tool designed for checking a project
• detecting invalid and missing links to objects (e.g. tags), invalid and missing property values, invalid paths to files and directories, invalid data types
• checking project consistency
• finding object usages (e.g. tags)

Reliance View, Reliance Control, Reliance Control Server

• switching language at runtime

  Project Manager

• displaying the list of all project-defined objects (devices, tags, etc.) including their properties
• displaying the current status for objects of certain types (e.g. value, quality and time stamp for tags)
• displaying the dump of communication packets for objects of type Communication channel (possibility to analyze communications with devices)

Reliance Server, Reliance Control Server

• built-in Web server (Internet Information Services or another Web server is no longer needed for Web clients)
• management of a running project using the server's Web page
• generating historical and custom reports (in HTML and PDF format) for clients
• secured access to the server's Web page, using a whitelist/blacklist

  Communication with thin clients (Reliance Web Client, Reliance Mobile Client)

• communication with thin clients using the HTTP/SOAP protocol on a single TCP port
• encrypting transferred data by a 128-bit key, data compression
• possibility to exchange data with third-party applications using the SOAP protocol
• Reliance Server runs as a Windows Service

Thin clients

  Reliance Web Client (web client)

• based on the Sun Java platform (JRE 6.0/JFC-Swing)
• independent of operating system (support for Windows, Linux, Unix, MacOS, etc.)
• independent of Web browser (support for IE, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Konqueror, etc.)
• intelligent automatic update of program files and project files, caching on the client side
• displaying project-defined historical trends (including trends with multiple series)
• displaying project-defined historical and custom reports (using a Web browser)

  Reliance Mobile Client (mobile client)

• software for running a visualization project on mobile devices (PDAs, etc.)
• designed for Windows CE and Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 2.0
• the same functionality as Reliance Web Client

Communication drivers

• new architecture of communication drivers
• each driver is a DLL hosted by Reliance Driver Server
• Reliance Driver Server can run as a Windows service
• the dump of communication packets is available for objects of type Communication channel in the runtime software's Project Manager

License policy

• Reliance View and Reliance Control can no longer be used as a data server for other instances of the runtime software
• price of the license for Reliance Server and Reliance Control Server includes a license for 1 thin client
• license policy has been adjusted in order to be favorable for any project type or topology
• quantity discount system

Other

• 100% backward compatibility with visualization projects created using older versions (a converter is available to convert older projects)
• defining internal tags within devices of all types
• using relative paths to files and directories in a project
• optional alias (alternative name) for all object types
• optional name synchronization for some object types (e.g. database field name based on the linked tag name)
• creating a project's backup in Reliance Design
• locking (encrypting) a project in Reliance Design
• support for Windows Themes, partially transparent tool windows in Reliance Design
• possibility of opening a manager for certain object type from a selection dialog (e.g. Picture Manager from the Select Picture dialog)
• improved Color selection dialog
• many other improvements reducing the time needed to create, debug and deploy an application