A multitude of data has to be available to modern applications for after-sales service in the repair shop. A large proportion of this data is not, however, available via the diagnostic services of the vehicle but has to be obtained from other sources. The data may, for example, be stored in the back end and use a central or distributed database. An important requirement is also the central storage of the operating and error data read out as well as of the environmental and usage data of the service application. This makes it possible to use this data in subsequent analyses for product and service optimization.
To date, exchanging this data with a database in OTX diagnostic sequences was either impossible or had to be realized in a complex procedure involving external DLL calls. Softing is closing this gap with the new OTX Studio v3. Two OTX add-ons have been implemented for this purpose. These facilitate SQL queries and web services.
The SQL add-on supports the direct connection of the OTX sequence with frequently used databases, such as MySQL, MS-SQL and SQLite, as well as read and write access to the data stored there. For this purpose, the SQL add-on uses commands from the new OTX standard ISO-13209, such as for example CreateSQLConnection, ExecuteSQLQuery and NextSQLResult (for a continuous selection of stored data). Using the command GetSQLValueAsXXX makes it possible to read specific data in frequently used data type formats such as, for example, Integer, Float, Boolean, String and ByteField. The SQL add-on also supports the processing of database runtime errors. (see Figure 1)
Fig1: An OTX script example for data retrieval from SQL database
Another new feature in OTX Studio v3 is the web service add-on. This makes it possible to integrate data from a web server into OTX sequences via a configurable HTTP/HTTPS connection. A parameterizable URL address can be contacted with the OTX command ExecuteWebService. User name and password for document access or the specification of proxy registration data are available as optional parameters. Data in XML format can be accessed and processed using the commands defined in the new OTX standard. (see Figure 2)
Abb2: An OTX script example for retrieval of XML-file from the WEB server
For the very first time, data from central or distributed data sources can be integrated in diagnostic sequences simply and fast with these two add-ons of the new OTX Studio v3. And this provides a range of additional possibilities for OTX applications in manufacturing and the repair shop.
