GetWritableFileProvider Method

Gets a writable file provider on the specified OPC UA directory.

Syntax

Visual Basic
C#
C++/CLI

'Declaration
 
<ExtensionAttribute()>
<NotNullAttribute()>
Public Shared Function GetWritableFileProvider( _
   ByVal fileTransfer As IEasyUAFileTransfer, _
   ByVal endpointDescriptor As UAEndpointDescriptor, _
   ByVal directoryNodeDescriptor As UANodeDescriptor _
) As IWritableFileProvider

'Usage
 
Dim fileTransfer As IEasyUAFileTransfer
Dim endpointDescriptor As UAEndpointDescriptor
Dim directoryNodeDescriptor As UANodeDescriptor
Dim value As IWritableFileProvider
 
value = IEasyUAFileTransferExtension.GetWritableFileProvider(fileTransfer, endpointDescriptor, directoryNodeDescriptor)

[Extension()]
[NotNull()]
public static IWritableFileProvider GetWritableFileProvider( 
   IEasyUAFileTransfer fileTransfer,
   UAEndpointDescriptor endpointDescriptor,
   UANodeDescriptor directoryNodeDescriptor
)

[Extension()]
[NotNull()]
public:
static IWritableFileProvider^ GetWritableFileProvider( 
   IEasyUAFileTransfer^ fileTransfer,
   UAEndpointDescriptor^ endpointDescriptor,
   UANodeDescriptor^ directoryNodeDescriptor
)

Parameters

fileTransfer

The OPC UA file transfer object that will perform the operation.

This is typically the EasyUAFileTransferClient object.

The value of this parameter cannot be null (Nothing in Visual Basic).

endpointDescriptor

Endpoint descriptor. Identifies the OPC-UA server.

Because the OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UAEndpointDescriptor has implicit conversions from System.String and System.Uri, in languages that support implicit conversion operators (such as C# or VB.NET), you can simply use a string (representing the endpoint URL, or a so-called OPC UA endpoint descriptor string), or a System.Uri object, in place of this parameter, and the corresponding endpoint descriptor will be constructed automatically. When the implicit conversion operators are not supported (such as with Python.NET), you can use the OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UAEndpointDescriptor.FromString or OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UAEndpointDescriptor.FromUri static method instead.

Also, because the OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Discovery.UAApplicationElement and OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Discovery.UADiscoveryElement have an implicit conversion to OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UAEndpointDescriptor, in languages that support implicit conversion operators (such as C# or VB.NET), you can simply use a OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Discovery.UAApplicationElement or OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Discovery.UADiscoveryElement (results from OPC UA discovery) in place of this parameter, and the corresponding endpoint descriptor will be constructed automatically. When the implicit conversion operators are not supported (such as with Python.NET), you can convert a (non-null) OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Discovery.UAApplicationElement or OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Discovery.UADiscoveryElement to OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UAEndpointDescriptor using the ToUAEndpointDescriptor or ToUAEndpointDescriptor method instead.

If you are using OPC Wizard (for server development), an implicit conversion from OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.EasyUAServerCore can be used in the same way to simply pass the server object in place of this parameter, which will use its OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.EasyUAServerCore.EffectiveServerDescriptor property for the connection.

The value of this parameter cannot be null (Nothing in Visual Basic).

directoryNodeDescriptor

Node descriptor of the OPC UA directory.

Because the OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UANodeDescriptor has implicit conversions from OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.AddressSpace.UANodeId, OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.AddressSpace.UANodeElement, OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Navigation.UABrowsePath and System.String, in languages that support implicit conversion operators (such as C# or VB.NET), you can simply use a OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.AddressSpace.UANodeId object (representing the Id of the OPC UA node), a node element object (from OPC UA browsing), OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Navigation.UABrowsePath object (representing OPC UA absolute browse path), or a string (with expanded node Id text) in place of this parameter, and the corresponding node descriptor will be constructed automatically. When the implicit conversion operators are not supported (such as with Python.NET), you can use the OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UANodeDescriptor.FromString, OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UANodeDescriptor.FromUABrowsePath, OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UANodeDescriptor.FromUANodeElement or OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.UANodeDescriptor.FromUANodeId static method instead.

If you are using OPC Wizard (for server development), an implicit conversion from OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.NodeSpace.UAServerNode can be used in the same way to simply pass the server node in place of this parameter, which will use its OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.NodeSpace.UAServerNode.EffectiveNodeDescriptor property for the operation.

The value of this parameter cannot be null (Nothing in Visual Basic).

Return Value

Returns a writable file provider for the specified OPC UA directory.

This method never returns null (Nothing in Visual Basic).

Exceptions

Exception Description

Exception	Description
System.ArgumentNullException	A `null` reference (`Nothing` in Visual Basic) is passed to a method that does not accept it as a valid argument. This is a usage error, i.e. it will never occur (the exception will not be thrown) in a correctly written program. Your code should not catch this exception.

System.ArgumentNullException

A null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) is passed to a method that does not accept it as a valid argument.

This is a usage error, i.e. it will never occur (the exception will not be thrown) in a correctly written program. Your code should not catch this exception.

Remarks

This method does not make any OPC UA operation, and does not throw the usual OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.OperationModel.UAException. You can therefore always safely use it to obtain the result interface. All OPC UA operations are made later, on the returned object, and also operation-related exceptions are thrown at that time.

A file provider is an abstraction of a file system, with access to its files and directories. Concrete implementations include a file provider for the physical file system (provided by the operating system), file providers for embedded resources, and, as in this case, a file provider for OPC UA File Transfer facility.

The returned writable file provider object allows modifications to the file system and file data. If you only need read-only operations with the file system and its files and directories, it is recommended that you obtain the Microsoft.Extensions.FileProviders.IFileProvider interface instead, by calling the GetFileProvider2 method. This way, you will be protected against calling a method that makes some modifications accidentally.

Accessing OPC UA files and directories over the abstract file provider model (based on Microsoft.Extensions.FileProviders.IFileProvider, Microsoft.Extensions.FileProviders.IFileInfo, OpcLabs.BaseLib.Extensions.FileProviders.IDirectoryContents2 and their "writable" counterparts), which is what this method does, is highly recommended over the other, lower-level methods. Once you obtained the generalized interface in the file provider model, operations on files and directories can be performed using just names and paths, without having to deal with OPC UA nodes and references.

This is an extension method (info: C#, VB.NET). In languages that have support for extensions methods (such as C# and VB.NET), you can use the extension method as if it were a regular method on the object that is its first parameter. In other languages (such as with Python.NET), you will call the extension as a static method, and pass it the object on which it acts as its first parameter.

Example

CSharp
VB.NET
Python

// Shows how to copy an OPC UA file, using the file provider model.
//
// Find all latest examples here: https://opclabs.doc-that.com/files/onlinedocs/OPCLabs-OpcStudio/Latest/examples.html .
// OPC client and subscriber examples in C# on GitHub: https://github.com/OPCLabs/Examples-QuickOPC-CSharp .
// Missing some example? Ask us for it on our Online Forums, https://www.opclabs.com/forum/index ! You do not have to own
// a commercial license in order to use Online Forums, and we reply to every post.

using System;
using OpcLabs.BaseLib.Extensions.FileProviders;
using OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA;
using OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Extensions;
using OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.FileTransfer;

namespace UADocExamples.FileProviders._WritableFileInfo
{
    class CopyTo
    {
        public static void Main1()
        {
            // Unified Automation .NET based demo server (UaNETServer/UaServerNET.exe)
            var endpointDescriptor = new UAEndpointDescriptor("opc.tcp://localhost:48030")
                .WithUserNameIdentity("john", "master");

            // A node that represents an OPC UA file system (a root directory).
            UANodeDescriptor fileSystemNodeDescriptor = "nsu=http://www.unifiedautomation.com/DemoServer/ ;s=Demo.Files.FileSystem";

            // Create a random number generator - will be used for file/directory names.
            var random = new Random();

            // Instantiate the file transfer client object
            var fileTransferClient = new EasyUAFileTransferClient();

            Console.WriteLine("Getting writable file provider...");
            IWritableFileProvider writableFileProvider =
                fileTransferClient.GetWritableFileProvider(endpointDescriptor, fileSystemNodeDescriptor);
            // From this point onwards, the code is independent of the concrete realization of the file provider, and would
            // be identical e.g. for files in the physical file system, if the corresponding file provider was used.

            // Create a file, and a directory. Then, copy the file into the directory.
            try
            {
                string fileName = "MyFile-" + random.Next();
                Console.WriteLine($"Creating file, '{fileName}'...");
                IWritableFileInfo writableFileInfo = writableFileProvider.GetWritableFileInfo(fileName);
                writableFileInfo.WriteAllBytes(Array.Empty<byte>());

                string directoryName = "MyDirectory-" + random.Next();
                Console.WriteLine($"Creating directory, '{directoryName}'...");
                IWritableDirectoryContents writableDirectoryContents = writableFileProvider.GetWritableDirectoryContents(directoryName);
                writableDirectoryContents.Create();

                Console.WriteLine("Copying the file...");
                writableFileInfo.CopyTo(FormattableString.Invariant($"{directoryName}/{fileName}"));
            }
            // Methods in the file provider model throw IOException and other exceptions, but not UAException.
            catch (Exception exception)
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"*** Failure: {exception.GetBaseException().Message}");
                return;
            }

            Console.WriteLine("Finished...");
        }
    }
}

' Shows how to copy an OPC UA file, using the file provider model.
'
' Find all latest examples here: https://opclabs.doc-that.com/files/onlinedocs/OPCLabs-OpcStudio/Latest/examples.html .
' OPC client and subscriber examples in VB.NET on GitHub: https://github.com/OPCLabs/Examples-QuickOPC-VBNET .
' Missing some example? Ask us for it on our Online Forums, https://www.opclabs.com/forum/index ! You do not have to own
' a commercial license in order to use Online Forums, and we reply to every post.

Imports OpcLabs.BaseLib.Extensions.FileProviders
Imports OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA
Imports OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Extensions
Imports OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.FileTransfer

Namespace FileProviders._WritableFileInfo

    Friend Class CopyTo

        Public Shared Sub Main1()

            ' Unified Automation .NET based demo server (UaNETServer/UaServerNET.exe)
            Dim endpointDescriptor As UAEndpointDescriptor =
                New UAEndpointDescriptor("opc.tcp://localhost:48030") _
                .WithUserNameIdentity("john", "master")

            ' A node that represents an OPC UA file system (a root directory).
            Dim fileSystemNodeDescriptor As UANodeDescriptor =
                "nsu=http://www.unifiedautomation.com/DemoServer/ ;s=Demo.Files.FileSystem"

            ' Create a random number generator - will be used for file/directory names.
            Dim random = New Random

            ' Instantiate the file transfer client object
            Dim fileTransferClient = New EasyUAFileTransferClient

            Console.WriteLine("Getting writable file provider...")
            Dim writableFileProvider As IWritableFileProvider =
                fileTransferClient.GetWritableFileProvider(endpointDescriptor, fileSystemNodeDescriptor)
            ' From this point onwards, the code is independent of the concrete realization of the file provider, and would
            ' be identical e.g. for files in the physical file system, if the corresponding file provider was used.

            ' Create a file, and a directory. Then, copy the file into the directory.
            Try
                Dim fileName As String = "MyFile-" & random.Next()
                Console.WriteLine($"Creating file, '{fileName}'...")
                Dim writableFileInfo As IWritableFileInfo = writableFileProvider.GetWritableFileInfo(fileName)
                writableFileInfo.WriteAllBytes(Array.Empty(Of Byte))

                Dim directoryName As String = "MyDirectory-" & random.Next()
                Console.WriteLine($"Creating directory, '{directoryName}'...")
                Dim writableDirectoryContents As IWritableDirectoryContents = writableFileProvider.GetWritableDirectoryContents(directoryName)
                writableDirectoryContents.Create()

                Console.WriteLine("Copying the file...")
                writableFileInfo.CopyTo(FormattableString.Invariant($"{directoryName}/{fileName}"))

                ' Methods in the file provider model throw IOException and other exceptions, but not UAException.
            Catch exception As Exception
                Console.WriteLine("*** Failure: {0}", exception.GetBaseException.Message)
                Exit Sub
            End Try

            Console.WriteLine("Finished...")
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

# Shows how to copy an OPC UA file, using the file provider model.
#
# Find all latest examples here: https://opclabs.doc-that.com/files/onlinedocs/OPCLabs-OpcStudio/Latest/examples.html .
# OPC client and subscriber examples in Python on GitHub: https://github.com/OPCLabs/Examples-QuickOPC-Python .
# Missing some example? Ask us for it on our Online Forums, https://www.opclabs.com/forum/index ! You do not have to own
# a commercial license in order to use Online Forums, and we reply to every post.
# The QuickOPC package is needed. Install it using "pip install opclabs_quickopc".
import opclabs_quickopc
import random

# Import .NET namespaces.
from System import *
from OpcLabs.BaseLib.Extensions.FileProviders import *
from OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA import *
from OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.Extensions import *
from OpcLabs.EasyOpc.UA.FileTransfer import *


# Unified Automation .NET based demo server (UaNETServer/UaServerNET.exe).
endpointDescriptor = UAEndpointDescriptor('opc.tcp://localhost:48030')
endpointDescriptor = UAEndpointDescriptorExtension.WithUserNameIdentity(endpointDescriptor,'john', 'master')

# A node that represents an OPC UA file system (a root directory).
fileSystemNodeDescriptor = UANodeDescriptor('nsu=http://www.unifiedautomation.com/DemoServer/ ;s=Demo.Files.FileSystem')

# Create a random number generator - will be used for file/directory names.
random = random.Random()

# Instantiate the file transfer client object.
fileTransferClient = EasyUAFileTransferClient()

# Prevent prompt to trust the server certificate (INSECURE, used just for smooth example flow).
EasyUAClient.SharedParameters.EngineParameters.CertificateAcceptancePolicy.TrustEndpointUrlString(
    endpointDescriptor.UrlString)

print('Getting writable file provider...')
writableFileProvider = IEasyUAFileTransferExtension.GetWritableFileProvider(fileTransferClient,
                                                                            endpointDescriptor,
                                                                            fileSystemNodeDescriptor)
# From this point onwards, the code is independent of the concrete realization of the file provider, and would
# be identical e.g. for files in the physical file system, if the corresponding file provider was used.

# Create a file, and a directory. Then, copy the file into the directory.
try:
    fileName = 'MyFile-' + str(random.randint(0, 999_999_999))
    print("Creating file, '", fileName, "'...", sep='')
    writableFileInfo = writableFileProvider.GetWritableFileInfo(fileName)
    IWritableFileInfoExtension.WriteAllBytes(writableFileInfo, Array.Empty[Byte]())

    directoryName = 'MyDirectory-' + str(random.randint(0, 999_999_999))
    print("Creating  directory, '", directoryName, "'...", sep='')
    writableDirectoryContents = writableFileProvider.GetWritableDirectoryContents(directoryName)
    writableDirectoryContents.Create()

    print('Copying the file...')
    IWritableFileInfoExtension.CopyTo(writableFileInfo, directoryName + '/' + fileName)

# Methods in the file provider model throw IOException and other exceptions, but not UAException.
except Exception as exception:
    print('*** Failure: ' + exception.GetBaseException().Message)
    exit()

print()
print('Finished.')

Requirements

Target Platforms: .NET Framework: Windows 10 (selected versions), Windows 11 (selected versions), Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2022; .NET: Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows

Reference

IEasyUAFileTransferExtension Class
IEasyUAFileTransferExtension Members
GetFileProvider2 Method
GetWritableDirectoryContents(IEasyUAFileTransfer,UAEndpointDescriptor,UANamedNodePath) Method
GetWritableFileInfo(IEasyUAFileTransfer,UAEndpointDescriptor,UANamedNodeDescriptor) Method

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