User manual

HTTP server functions/web pages

FP Web-Server V.2.8 113

12.1.15 Notes on XML files with PLC data

The FP Web-Server can deliver XML files

The FP Web-Server's http server can also deliver PLC data within XML files.

Similar to an HTML file, the XML file can include the special PLC data tag

(see "Data fields for displaying PLC data on HTML pages" on p. 87)

{TTxxxy_aa_bb}. This tag is replaced by the actual PLC data at the time

the XML file is requested (see p. 83) from a client in the form

"http://199.199.26.52/plc?filename.xml"

General XML Info

The XML file format is a sort of ASCII text file designed for data exchange

(data import/export, database interface …). An XML file contains only

structured data and not style or format information. An XSL file with style

and format information is needed to transform an XML into a different file

(display) format. The "transformNode()" function of the Microsoft Internet

Explorer is used to take the XML data and an XSL format definition to

generate an HTML page.

XML file handling is carried out in four steps:

1. For example, the user generated XML file (including PLC data tags)

"Producn.xml" may look like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO8859-1"?>

<Production

xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-Instance">

<Unit>

</Unit>

</Production>

2. The XML file "Producn.xml" is transferred to the FP Web-Server unit via

the FP Web Configurator Tool. In this example we use an FP

Web-Server unit with the IP address 199.199.26.52.

3. A TCP client can request the FP Web-Server unit's http server to deliver

the XML file "Producn.xml" (including current PLC data), which takes on

the form: http://199.199.26.52/plc?Producn.xml

This file can be read e.g. by an Internet browser.

4. The client will receive the following resulting XML file, for example: