In a multi vendor system, engineering data needs to be exchanged between interacting parties. In a BACnet system, it is normally expected that engineering data, such as data point object properties is exchanged by means of BACnet online discovery which is supported by most server and client devices. However this data exchange by definition, can only be accomplished online and is also dependent upon the BACnet discovery functionality being available in both the server and client. When this functionality is unavailable, It has proved necessary to obtain the engineering data in an offline condition. It is also needed when the server device has to be setup with its engineering data before it is installed and operational on a BACnet site network or when the client devices are unavailable for online discovery.
It was with this in mind that in 1999, the BIG-EU began a project to define a data format so that BACnet engineering data could be made available. The original concept was to provide only the BACnet data-point list in a simple human readable form via a Comma-Separated Value (CSV) file. The general format actually consists of four different CSV sheets and collectively they are commonly known as the EDE (Engineering Data Exchange) files, after the BIG-EU description document which defines them and is called Engineering Data Exchange Template for BACnet Systems.
BIG-EU continued to develop the EDE concept and in February 2007 the BIG-EU Technical Working Group at the Milano-meeting, approved Version 2.2 of the EDE-layout and its description. This is the latest version of the EDE files definition. Over the years that the EDE definition has been available, many BACnet equipment vendors have adopted the EDE file format to define and distribute the point content of their devices and some vendors have included an EDE file import mechanism in their server device to provide offline engineering programming.
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