The OPC Foundation Model Compiler will generate C# source code from XML files which include the data-types, error codes, etc.; It also generates JSON schema for DataTypes and constant definitions for different languages.
The input format for the tool is a file that conforms to the schema defined in UA Model Design.xsd or a Part 6 Annex F (a.k.a. NodeSet2).
The output of the tool includes:
- A NodeSet which conforms to the schema defined in Part 6 Annex F;
- An XSD and BSD (defined in Part 3 Annex C) that describes any datatypes;
- Class and constant definitions suitable for use with the .NET sample libraries;
- Other data files used to load an information model into a Server built with the .NET sample libraries;
- A CSV file which contains numeric identifiers;
- JSON schema and OpenAPI schema for DataTypes (only for UANodeSet2 input files).
- Constant definitions for JavaScript/TypeScript, Python and C#.
The UA Model Design.xsd has more information about the schema itself.
The Model Compiler is published on nuget.org as a cross-platform .NET global tool. The same NuGet package runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
A .NET runtime is required. The tool ships builds for both .NET 8 (LTS) and .NET 10 (LTS), and rolls forward to any newer major release. If you do not already have .NET installed, download it from the official Microsoft site:
- .NET SDK / Runtime downloads: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download
To check what is installed:
dotnet --list-runtimes
The install command is the same on every operating system:
Windows (PowerShell or Command Prompt):
dotnet tool install --global OPCFoundation.Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler.Tool
Linux (bash / zsh):
dotnet tool install --global OPCFoundation.Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler.Tool
macOS (zsh / bash):
dotnet tool install --global OPCFoundation.Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler.Tool
On Windows the installer adds %USERPROFILE%\.dotnet\tools to PATH automatically. On Linux and macOS you may need to do this yourself. If Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler is reported as "command not found", add the global-tools folder to your shell startup file:
Linux (bash):
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.dotnet/tools"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
macOS / Linux (zsh):
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.dotnet/tools"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc
dotnet tool update --global OPCFoundation.Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler.Tool
dotnet tool uninstall --global OPCFoundation.Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler.Tool
Once installed, the tool is available as Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler on all platforms:
Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler compile -d2 ./MyModel.xml -cg ./MyModel.csv -o2 ./output
Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler compile-nodesets -input ./NodeSets -o2 ./output -uri http://opcfoundation.org/UA/DI/
Run Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler --help for all available commands and options.
The .NET sample libraries has a sample Model Design file that illustrate how to create a user defined model.
This batch file is used to regenerate the files used in the sample after changes.
All of the standard outputs are published in the Nodeset GitHub repository
Command line parameters for ModelDesigns or NodeSets:
Takes an OPC UA ModelDesign file and generates a NodeSet and code for the .NETStandard stack.
Usage: ModelCompiler compile [options]
Options:
-?|-h|--help Show help information.
-d2 The path to the ModelDesign or NodeSet2 file which contains the UA information model. The first
file specified is the model to generate. The rest are included models. The file path may be
followed by the namespace prefix and a short name for model. Commas seperate each field.
-c The path to the CSV file which contains the unique identifiers for the types defined in the UA
information model. Not used if the target is a NodeSet2 file.
-cg Creates the identifier file if it does not exist (used instead of the -c option).
-o2 The output directory for the generated files.
-version Selects the source for the input files. v103 | v104 | v105 are supported.
-useAllowSubtypes When subtypes are allowed for a field, C# code with the class name from the model is created
instead of ExtensionObject. No effect when subtypes are not allowed.
-id The first identifier to use when assigning new ids to nodes.
-exclude Comma seperated list of ReleaseStatus values to exclude from output.
-mv The version of the model to produce.
-pd The publication date of the model to produce.
-rc Indicates that a release candidate nodeset is being generated.
Example
Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler compile -d2 .\Opc.Ua.Machinery.NodeSet2.xml,Opc.Ua.Machinery,Machinery -d2 Opc.Ua.Di.NodeSet2.xml,Opc.Ua.DI,DI -version v105 -exclude Draft -o2 .\output
Command line parameters for NodeSets based on URIs rather than files:
Searches a directory tree for nodesets and generates code for the specified model URIs.
Usage: ModelCompiler compile-nodesets [options]
Options:
-?|-h|--help Show help information.
-input The path to the directory containing the nodesets.
-o2 The path to the directory to use to write the generated files.
-uri The URI of the model to generate.
Example
Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler compile-nodesets -input .\v105\ -o2 .\Tests -uri http://opcfoundation.org/UA/Machinery/ -uri http://opcfoundation.org/UA/IA/ -uri http://opcfoundation.org/UA/DI/
| Version | Changes |
|---|---|
| 2.0 | Intial release with version tracking and .NET 5.0 support. |
| 2.1 | Added UA 1.05.00 support. Switched to Microsoft.Extensions.CommandLineUtils. Arguments are the same, however, the command 'compile' must be specified. Use --help for more details. Fixed bug in generating the 'uanodes' input for the .NET codebase. |
| 2.2 | Added UA 1.05.02 support. Added support for NodeSet2 input format. Added DisplayName to enumeration fields. Add Union/OptionalFields Support. Add IJsonEncodeable interface. Remove unnecessary descriptions in autogenerated code. Add -compile-nodesets command |
| 2.3 | Added UA 1.05.03 support. Numerous fixes needed for 1.05.03. Upgrade to .NET 8.0. Generate constants in TypeScript. |
| 2.4 | Added JSON schema generation. |
| 2.6 | Added OpenAPI schema generation. 1.05.04 Release |
| 2.7 | Refactoring 1.05.06 Release |
| 2.8 | Updates for 1.05.07 release of specification |
The executable file version has the form 2.0.YYMM.DDHH where the last two fields are based on the time that it was built.
This repository contains sub-modules, which are independently tracked. Please clone this repository as shown:
git clone https://github.com/OPCFoundation/UA-ModelCompiler --recursive
If access to the submodules is denied then leave --recursive flag off and only use the 'ModelCompiler Solution.sln' which uses NuGet packages instead of the submodules.
This repository is not updated directly. All changes are first made in a member-only version that can be found here.
The version in the member-only repository includes content that is only available to OPC Foundation members such as draft versions of the specifications. When a new version of the OPC UA specification is released, the member-only content is removed and copied to the public repository.
In many cases, updates to the UA-ModelCompiler will require updates to UA-.NETStandard codebase. This means a complete release of the UA-ModelCompiler will need to wait for a update to UA-.NETStandard NuGet packages. The member only version links to a member only fork of UA-.NETStandard allows the changes to be viewed before they are merged with the public baseline.
The public repository is updated as frequently as the OPC UA Specification (once every 3-5 months). When a release starts, all issues reported on the public repository will be reviewed and, if appropricate, incorporated into the member-only codebase. This includes any pull requests to this public repository, which are subject to the OPC Foundation Contributor License Agreement (CLA). When the process completes all accepted public contributions will be merged back into the public codebase along with updates from the member-only codebase.
The ModelCompiler code is MIT license, however, it links to the UA-.NETStandard NuGet packages which is covered under the OPC Foundation Redistributables licence.
The 2.7 version introduced unit tests that depend on AGPL assemblies. These assemblies are not part of the published NuGets. Users who maintain forks of the repository may wish to delete the unit tests if the AGPL license is a concern.
An excerpt of the Model Design file is shown here:
?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<opc:ModelDesign
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:opc="http://opcfoundation.org/UA/ModelDesign.xsd"
xmlns:ua="http://opcfoundation.org/UA/"
xmlns="http://opcfoundation.org/UA/"
xmlns:uax="http://opcfoundation.org/UA/2008/02/Types.xsd"
TargetNamespace="http://opcfoundation.org/UA/"
TargetNamespaceVersion="1.02"
>
<opc:Namespaces>
<opc:Namespace Name="OpcUa" Prefix="Opc.Ua" InternalPrefix="Opc.Ua.Server" XmlNamespace="http://opcfoundation.org/UA/2008/02/Types.xsd">http://opcfoundation.org/UA/</opc:Namespace>
</opc:Namespaces>
<opc:Property SymbolicName="NodeVersion" DataType="ua:String" PartNo="3">
<opc:Description>The version number of the node (used to indicate changes to references of the owning node).</opc:Description>
</opc:Property>
<opc:Property SymbolicName="ViewVersion" DataType="ua:UInt32" PartNo="3">
<opc:Description>The version number of the view.</opc:Description>
</opc:Property>
This ModelCompiler is used to generate the content of the Nodeset GitHub repository.
This ModelCompiler is used to generate the content of the .NET Samples GitHub repository.