XIF Files

Files which define the network visible interface for one or more LONWORKS devices are known as LONMARK device interface i.e. XIF files.

Device Interface

It is basically an interface to a device which is exposed over a LONWORKS network. It only exposes the inputs to the algorithms and the outputs from the algorithms and does not expose the internal algorithms of a device. A device interface contains following information:

1. Device’s self documentation information
2. Number of address table entries
3. Number of message tags
4. Number, types, and directions of network variables.

The device interface can be inquired over the network to a great extent with the help of a network tool. The device manufacturer establishes the completeness of a queried interface. For instance, a device manufacturer may opt to embed network variable names in a device to make certain that the queried network interface includes these names.

Benefits

Following are the benefits to using device interface files:

1. A device interface file may contain information that is not available in a device such as network variable names.
2. Besides, a device interface file can be employed during network engineering when the device is not accessible from the network engineering tool.