Based on the feedback I get both on and off-line, the audience of the blog really consists of two main groups of OPC users.  Those that know OPC and are interested in how others are using OPC in their systems and keeping abreast of what’s happeing with OPC and OPC UA.  The other large segment are those new to OPC and looking for general information or an answer to a specific question.  To better address the needs of the latter group, we’ve added a new resource section to the blog “Ask The Experts”

Here’s the list of the first ten questions, and others will be added over the next little while.

1. What do the letters “O-P-C” stand for?
2. What is OPC?
3. What is OPC UA?
4. Because OPC is a standard, does that imply that all OPC Servers for a specific protocol are the same?
5. What size is a typical OPC tag structure byte?
6. Where do OPC timestamps they come from?
7. What is the difference between OPC and DCOM?
8. What is the “6 Minute DCOM Timeout”?
9. How does OPC compare to DDE?
10. Can I use OPC or DDE on Windows Vista?

As always if you have any OPC questions, drop me a comment or an e-mail.