Access data using DDE/SuiteLink

In the case of DDE/SuiteLink communications, the protocol addresses an element of data in a conversation that uses a four-part naming convention. That convention includes the node name, application name, topic name, and item name. The fully qualified DDE/SuiteLink naming convention includes all four parts, although the node name part (required for remote access only and only for SuiteLink) is optional. The following briefly describes each portion of this naming convention:

• node name: Computer (host) name identifying a specific node on the network (for remote access only).

• application name: In the case of data going to clients via the DDE/SuiteLink PlugIn of Gateway Communication Driver, the application name portion of the address is Gateway.

• topic name: Meaningful names are configured in Gateway Communication Driver to identify specific data sources. These names are then used as the topic names in all conversations with that source. Topic name maps to a device group defined in Gateway Communication Driver.

  Note: You can define multiple device-group (topic) names for the same data source to poll different data at different rates.

• item name: A specific data element within the specified topic.