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Q Application and TargetΒΆ

What is a Q Application

A Q Application is an application compiled by Q Studio, complete and specific for Windows or Linux systems.

What a Target Is

A target is a Windows or Linux device that can run a Q Application.

Target emulator

In a Q Studio project there is always an Emulator target, non-removable. This target makes it possible to compile and run a Q Application locally, usually for test purposes. To run a Q Application through an emulator, it is not necessary to install the Update Server software.

Hint

install Update Server on the development PC if you intend to run two Q Applications simultaneously for test purposes, for example to test two OPC UA server and client applications (see OPC UA). In this case, one application can be run on the Emulator target, the other can run on the same machine, configuring it as a target in Q Studio, thanks to Update Server.

Deploying and running a Q Application on Target Devices

Q Studio can automatically deploy an application to the target if the target can be reached on the local network. After the deployment, if the target is Linux ASEM, the application also runs automatically, while on other targets it must be started manually, or the automatic start must be configured (see Compiling, Deploying and Running an Application).

Otherwise, an application can be exported, and can be deployed and run later on the target (see Export an application). If the target is Linux ASEM, an autoinstalling application can be exported on a USB key.

Structure of a Q Application

A Q Application consists of the related compiled UNIQO project and runtime modules required to run the project.

Each application has the following file and folder structure:

  • (On Windows targets only) QRuntime.exe file to start the application.

  • (On Linux targets only) QRuntime file to start the application.

  • Bindings, Core and Modules folders. These contain runtime binary files.

  • (On Windows targets only) Log folder. This contains the logs of the application at runtime.

    Note

    on a Linux target, the logs of a Q Application are located in the folder /persistent/log/ASEM/UNIQO/QApplication/.

  • Projects folder. Contains one or more folders, one for each compiled project. Each project folder contains the following subfolders:

    • ApplicationFiles. It contains files generated at runtime, such as embedded databases and databases for retentivity functions. It also contains temporary files.

    • ProjectFiles. It contains all files in use in the project, including images, fonts and documents and also the following subfolders:

      • NetSolution. It contains the .NET assemblies obtained from C# scripts of the source project, to create custom application logic.

      • PKI. It contains private, public and refused certificates for OPC UA authentication.

    • The project file, with .uniqo extension.

  • The QRuntime.xml configuration file and other auxiliary files.