Glossary

AI-Native Architecture
An architecture where AI access is built into the platform rather than added as an external tool. FrameworX ships three MCP servers plus an in-process AI agent spine, so an AI client connects to the live engineering environment with knowledge of the project, its tags and its running data.
Alarm Management
The practice of defining, prioritising, presenting and recording abnormal conditions so operators act on what matters rather than on noise. It covers limits and deadbands, priority, grouping by area, acknowledgement, shelving and an audit trail. FrameworX provides all of these, with alarm items, groups and areas, and history retained in the historian.
Analytics-Ready SCADA
A SCADA system whose data is structured and accessible enough to be analysed without being exported and reshaped first. In practice that means a consistent namespace, a historian that answers range queries, and open interfaces. FrameworX provides SQL datasets, scripting in C#, VB.NET and Python, a REST API, and connectors to external historians and time-series databases.
Asset Modeling
Describing equipment as reusable object templates that carry their own tags, logic, graphics and alarms, so that a hundred pumps are configured once and instantiated rather than built individually. FrameworX implements this with UserType templates and an AssetTree, which also forms the basis of its Unified Namespace.
Cloud-Enabled SCADA
A SCADA architecture where part of the system runs in a cloud environment, typically for aggregation, reporting or remote access, while control remains on site. FrameworX runs on Windows, Linux and Docker, deploys to AWS, Azure or a private cloud, and connects through AWS IoT Core, Azure IoT Hub and MQTT. Plant operation does not depend on the cloud link.
Cross-Platform Deployment
Building an application once and running it on more than one operating system or client type. In FrameworX the runtime and the HTML5 web and mobile clients are cross-platform across Windows, Linux, Docker and macOS. The Designer engineering environment is Windows-only, so engineering happens on Windows and the result runs anywhere.
C#
A general-purpose programming language on the .NET platform. FrameworX supports it natively for tasks, classes, display code-behind and expressions, with full access to .NET libraries, alongside VB.NET and Python 3.
Cybersecurity
The controls that protect an industrial system from unauthorised access and change: authentication, role-based authorisation, encrypted transport, secrets handling, network segregation and an audit trail. FrameworX provides these, and publishes configuration guides for IEC 62443, FDA 21 CFR Part 11 and NERC-CIP. Those are engineering guides rather than third-party certifications.
DataExplorer Tools
Built-in diagnostic views for inspecting tags, alarms and historical data while a solution is running, used to verify communications and trace behaviour without stopping the runtime or attaching an external tool.
Data Interoperability
The ability of systems from different vendors to exchange data without custom translation at every boundary, usually achieved through open protocols and shared data models. FrameworX supports OPC UA, MQTT with Sparkplug B, Modbus, DNP3, BACnet, SQL, REST and JSON, and can publish and consume namespaces from other systems.
Data Modeling
Organising raw signals into a structure that reflects the plant, so a value is identified by what it is and where it belongs rather than by a register address. FrameworX does this with UserType templates and the AssetTree, which together produce the hierarchy published as a Unified Namespace.
Datasets (SQL Queries)
A FrameworX module that connects a solution to relational databases through queries or direct table mapping. It is the mechanism behind reporting, long-term logging, recipes and integration with MES, LIMS and asset-management systems.
DCS (Distributed Control System)
A control system that executes process control logic across distributed controllers within a single plant, typically for continuous processes. A DCS runs the control itself, whereas SCADA usually supervises controllers that run their own logic. FrameworX integrates with DCS systems through OPC UA and native drivers.
Designer
The FrameworX engineering environment, where tags, displays, scripts, alarms, devices and reports are configured. It runs on Windows and is free to use. The same Designer builds solutions for every edition, from an edge device to an enterprise server.
Devices (Field Communication)
The layer that reads from and writes to field equipment: PLCs, RTUs, drives, analysers and edge devices. FrameworX includes more than 110 native connectors, among them OPC UA, Modbus TCP and RTU, DNP3, MQTT with Sparkplug B, Allen-Bradley, Siemens S7, Omron, Beckhoff, Codesys and BACnet, with per-node primary and backup stations for redundant links.
Digital Twin
A live software representation of a physical asset, kept in step with it by real-time data, used for monitoring, diagnostics and simulation. In FrameworX a twin is built from asset templates bound to live tags and history, so the model and the running plant share one definition.
Displays (Desktop and Web)
The operator-facing screens of a solution. FrameworX renders the same display as an HTML5 web and mobile client with no installation, as a WPF rich client and as a ClickOnce smart client, using Canvas and responsive Dashboard screen types.
Draw (Displays and Symbols)
The graphical editor in the Designer, used to build screens, animations and reusable symbols visually. Industrial Icons ship with the default install, and symbols can be parameterised so one drawing serves many instances of the same equipment.
Edge Computing
Processing data at or near the equipment that produces it, rather than sending everything to a central system first. It reduces bandwidth and latency, and lets a site keep collecting, alarming and logging when its link is down. FrameworX EdgeConnect runs headless on panel and edge devices, buffers locally, and forwards when the connection returns.
FactoryStudio
The former name of the FrameworX platform. Existing deployments, documentation and third-party references may still use FactoryStudio; the product is now FrameworX, and the two names refer to the same platform lineage.
FrameworX
Tatsoft's industrial software platform, combining SCADA, HMI, a historian and a native Unified Namespace in one product, with more than 110 native connectors and three Model Context Protocol servers for AI-assisted engineering. It is built on managed .NET, developed by Tatsoft LLC, and the current release is 10.1.6.
Historian (Time-Series Data)
A database purpose-built to record process values continuously with timestamp and quality, and to answer questions about ranges of time. FrameworX includes a historian with store-and-forward, so a site that loses its link keeps recording and backfills when it returns, plus configurable retention and Storage Locations to external systems including AVEVA PI System, Canary, InfluxDB, QuestDB, GE Proficy and MongoDB.
HMI (Human-Machine Interface)
The screen through which an operator sees and controls a machine or process. It presents live values, states and alarms, and accepts commands. An HMI is usually local to one machine or line, whereas SCADA supervises many. FrameworX builds both from the same Designer, and its HMI runs on a panel, in a browser or on a phone.
HMI and SCADA Migration
Moving a running plant application from an aging HMI or SCADA platform to a current one, while keeping the engineering inside it: tags, PLC addressing, alarms and history. Screens are rebuilt on the new platform rather than copied. In a migration to FrameworX the application is read back object by object in a written assessment, and the mapping of tags and addresses is automated and verified, so the solution running today is preserved rather than approximated. See how the migration works.
HTML5
The web standard used for browser-based interfaces. FrameworX renders its web and mobile client in HTML5 with WebAssembly, so an operator opens a display in any modern browser with nothing installed and no plugin.
IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things)
The application of connected sensors, devices and analytics to industrial operations, usually implying that data travels beyond the control system into wider IT and analytics systems. It differs from consumer IoT in its reliability, security and lifetime requirements. FrameworX bridges the two worlds through OPC UA, MQTT with Sparkplug B and a native Unified Namespace.
Industry 4.0
The term for the current wave of industrial change driven by connectivity, data and automation across the whole production system rather than within single machines. It is a direction rather than a specification, and in practice it rests on interoperable data, contextualised models and accessible history, which is what a Unified Namespace and a historian provide.
Intelligent Edge
An edge device that does more than pass data through: it calculates, applies logic, alarms and stores locally, so it remains useful while disconnected. FrameworX supports this with scripting, local historian buffering and store-and-forward on edge deployments.
JSON
A text format for structured data, widely used by web APIs. FrameworX reads and writes JSON for API integration, for MQTT payloads, and for project import and export, which is what makes a solution diffable and manageable in Git.
Licensing
HHow a FrameworX solution is priced. Licences are perpetual. Local tags are unlimited in every edition, so the paid scaling axis is external I/O points, meaning the physical signals arriving from the field rather than the number of tag names in a project. FrameworX Unlimited includes all modules and features, and 110+ connectors, with the IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5 and WITSML drivers priced separately. Annual support is 20 percent per year, hot-standby redundancy adds 50 percent, and moving between editions costs the difference in price.
Low-Code Development
Building an application mainly through configuration and visual tools, with code written only where it is needed. FrameworX is configured through the Designer with templates and property grids, and drops into C#, VB.NET or Python for the parts that need logic.
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
An open protocol that lets AI clients connect to external tools and data sources with structured context. FrameworX includes three MCP servers, Designer, Console and Runtime, which allow an AI client to read and configure a solution against the actual project rather than against documentation.
MES Integration
Connecting a SCADA system to a Manufacturing Execution System so that production orders, genealogy and performance data move between the plant floor and production management. FrameworX integrates with MES products through SQL datasets, OPC UA and REST, and its Datasets and Scripts modules can also implement specific MES functions directly where a full MES is not warranted.
MQTT
A lightweight publish and subscribe messaging protocol, well suited to constrained or intermittent links such as cellular and radio, which is why it is common in IIoT. FrameworX includes both an MQTT client and a first-party broker, and supports Sparkplug B in both directions.
Object-Oriented Engineering
Applying inheritance and instantiation to industrial configuration: define a class of equipment once, with its tags, logic, graphics and alarms, then create instances of it. A change to the template propagates to every instance, which is what makes standardising equipment across a plant practical.
OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)
A measure of how much of the available production time creates good output, calculated as availability multiplied by performance multiplied by quality. Availability compares run time to planned time, performance compares actual rate to ideal rate, and quality compares good units to total units. FrameworX calculates all three from live equipment data.
OEM Partner Program
Tatsoft's programme for machine builders and equipment manufacturers who embed FrameworX in the products they sell, covering licensing terms, branding and support arrangements suited to shipping software inside someone else's product.
OPC UA
An open, secure, platform-independent standard for industrial data exchange, defining both how data is transported and how it is described through an information model. It succeeds the older OPC DA, which was Windows and COM based. FrameworX acts as both an OPC UA client and an OPC UA server.
Open Architecture
A system built on documented, non-proprietary interfaces, so that data and logic are not locked to one vendor's tooling. FrameworX is built on managed .NET, supports open protocols throughout, scripts in standard languages, and imports and exports projects as JSON.
Python
A widely used programming language, particularly in data work and machine learning. FrameworX includes Python 3 natively for scripting, calculation and integration with external libraries and APIs, alongside C# and VB.NET.
Real-Time SCADA
A SCADA system whose update path from field signal to operator screen is fast and bounded enough to act on, rather than merely reported after the fact. FrameworX is built for millisecond-level updates and scales from a single machine to an enterprise system without changing platform.
Remote Access
Reaching a running solution from outside the control room, whether from an office, a phone or a field laptop. FrameworX serves the same application to a browser or mobile device, and access is governed by the same role-based security and audit trail as a local client.
Reports (Forms and WebData)
The module that produces documents and data views from live and historical values, on a schedule or on demand, in PDF, CSV, XML or as web content. It is how regulatory, consumption and shift reports are built without exporting data to a separate tool.
REST API
An interface style that exposes system functions over HTTP, allowing external software to query or push data. FrameworX provides a REST API so business systems, dashboards and scripts can reach a solution without a dedicated connector.
RTU (Remote Terminal Unit)
A field device that collects sensor data and controls equipment at a remote site, reporting to a central system over radio, cellular or satellite links. RTUs are common in water networks, pipelines and oil and gas gathering systems, where sites are unmanned and connectivity is intermittent. FrameworX connects to RTUs through native drivers and open protocols.
Runtime (Solution Execution)
The engine that executes a finished solution: acquiring data, evaluating logic, driving displays, raising alarms and writing history. It runs on Windows on .NET Framework 4.8, and cross-platform on .NET 10 for Linux, Docker and macOS.
SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)
A system that monitors and supervises industrial processes spread across equipment or sites, gathering measurements from controllers, presenting them to operators, raising alarms, archiving history and passing operator commands back down. The control logic itself normally stays in the PLCs and RTUs, which is why a plant keeps running when the SCADA layer is offline. FrameworX is a SCADA platform that also includes HMI, historian and Unified Namespace in the same product.
Scripts (Tasks and Classes)
Code that runs inside a solution, either as event-driven tasks or as reusable classes. FrameworX supports C#, VB.NET and Python 3 with full .NET class access, used for calculations, data transformation, integration and any behaviour beyond configuration.
Security (Users and Roles)
Controlling who may see and do what, in both the engineering environment and the runtime. FrameworX manages this through users, roles and permissions, supports external identity providers such as LDAP and Azure AD, and records actions in an audit trail. It also includes a secrets vault so credentials are not stored in project files.
Smart Manufacturing
Manufacturing where decisions are driven by current data from the process rather than by periodic reporting. It depends on the same foundations as Industry 4.0: interoperable connectivity, a contextual data model and accessible history.
Solution Deployment
Moving a finished solution from the engineering environment to where it runs, on premises, at the edge or in a container, with the packaging and validation steps that go with it. FrameworX projects export and import as JSON, which makes deployment repeatable and reviewable in version control.
Solution Settings and Tools
The configuration surface for a solution as a whole: startup behaviour, module settings, diagnostics and integrations, together with the tools used to validate and tune a deployment before and after it goes live.
Solutions Manager
The starting point of the FrameworX engineering environment, where solutions are created, opened, organised and connected to local or remote servers, and where deployment settings are held.
Sparkplug B
An open specification defining how industrial data is structured and published over MQTT, adding topic conventions, payload definitions, device birth and death certificates, and state awareness. It turns MQTT from a transport into an interoperable industrial data standard. FrameworX includes MQTT broker and client with Sparkplug B support in both directions.
Store-and-Forward
The behaviour of buffering data locally when a communications link fails and sending it once the link returns, so the central archive ends up complete rather than carrying a gap for the duration of the outage. It is the difference between a historian that is evidence and one that is only an indication, and it matters most for remote sites on cellular, radio or satellite links.
Tag
The basic unit of data in a SCADA system: a named value with a type, quality and timestamp, which may come from a device, be calculated, or hold an internal state. Tags are what displays bind to, what alarms watch and what the historian records. In FrameworX local tags are unlimited in every edition.
Time-Series Database
A database built for values that arrive continuously with a timestamp, which is how process data behaves. It compresses high-frequency data and answers range queries quickly, which a general-purpose relational database does slowly at scale. The FrameworX historian uses this model and can also write to external historians and SQL databases.
Track Changes
Versioning and comparison of configuration inside a solution, showing what changed, when and by whom, together with cross-reference and detection of unused objects. It supports validation, rollback and the change records that regulated industries have to produce.
Unified Namespace (UNS)
A single hierarchical structure that represents everything in an operation, where each system publishes its data in context and consumers subscribe to it rather than integrating point to point. The hierarchy usually follows the physical or ISA-95 structure of the business, so a value is addressed by what it means rather than by which device produced it. In FrameworX the Unified Namespace is the core architecture rather than an add-on module, is included in every edition, and is built from the AssetTree with TagProviders publishing external namespaces alongside it.
VB.NET
A .NET programming language, familiar to engineers with a Visual Basic background. FrameworX supports it natively for tasks, classes and event handling, alongside C# and Python 3.
WebAssembly
A binary format that runs compiled code in a browser at close to native speed. FrameworX uses it to render its HTML5 client, which is why a browser-based display performs like an installed one while still requiring nothing to be installed.