AF SDK versus PI SDK

AVEVA recommends using AF SDK for all new software development projects. If you have experience coding with the older PI SDK, you should be aware of the following differences:

• AF SDK cannot be used with ModuleDB, PIModules, and other legacy PI components.

• AF SDK cannot be used with PI message logs (for this, you should use PowerShell instead).

Applications that do not reference any of the items in the list execute faster if they are written using AF SDK.

In addition, AF SDK uses managed .NET code, whereas PI SDK uses unmanaged code that relies upon Microsoft COM (Component Object Module), which might be awkward to use for beginning developers.

Another difference is that AF SDK uses the AFValue object while PI SDK uses the PIValue object. While a PIValue is composed of a Value and Timestamp property, an AFValue includes a UOM (unit of measure) property.

The AF SDK supports almost all the functionality previously available in the PI SDK.