Interval and Offset

Help Contents

Introduction

Certain tag types support Interval and Offset fields to define when and how often a timed activity occurs. Examples of timed activities include:

Interval and Offset fields are Duration Literals. For example T#1m30s represents 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Timed Activity Frequency

The Interval field defines how often the activity occurs. For example an Interval of T#5s sets the timed activity to occur every 5 seconds.

Fernhill SCADA will attempt to perform the timed activity at the interval. However, Fernhill SCADA does not guarantee the timed activity is performed at this interval. External and internal influences such as computer load, and the response time of external devices, may result in timed activities being delayed or dropped.

When a Timed Activity Occurs

Both the Interval and Offset fields define when a timed activity occurs:

  1. The current time is rounded up to a multiple of the Interval. This is the base time of the timed activity.
  2. The Offset is added to the base time.

Examples

Some examples of timed activity:

IntervalOffsetCommentEvent times
T#500msT#0sEvery 500 milliseconds at the start of second and at the start of the second plus 500ms12:43:00.000
12:43:00.500
12:43:01.000
T#500msT#250sAs above, but offset by 250ms12:43:00.250
12:43:00.750
12:43:01.250
T#10sT#0sEvery 10 seconds at the 10-second boundary12:43:00.000
12:43:10.000
12:43:20.000
T#10sT#5sAs above but offset by 5 seconds12:43:05.000
12:43:15.000
12:43:25.000

Further Information

Duration Literals

To learn about duration literal values.

Glossary

For the meaning of terms used in Fernhill SCADA.