Skip to main content

What is a Data Point

A Data Point is a collection of associated historical values. For example, a particular point might be a temperature reading from a room, while another point could be the humidity reading from the same room. Points can also be control values, such as a switch to turn a piece of equipment on or off.

There are many attributes that control the behavior of points, but they fall into two groups:

  1. Point Locator Locators tell the Data Source how to “find” the data for that point. Example: An SQL Data Point’s locator specifies the table and column names from which to retrieve its value.
  2. Point Attributes Determine other aspects of the point: its name, when and how often to log values, how long to retain historical data, how to render values for display, and how to chart them. These attributes are common across all points, though some apply only to specific data types.

You can also configure Data Points with Event Detectors, which watch for conditions of interest in a point’s values—such as high/low thresholds, lack of change, or excessive fluctuation—and raise alarms or take automated actions.

Data Types​

There are five supported data types, each mapped to a Java primitive or object:

  • Binary Two-state values (zero vs. one). Java type: boolean Renderer: Text Renderer maps to custom labels (e.g., “On/Off”, “High/Low”).

  • Multistate Multiple distinct states, stored as integers (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 7…). Java type: int (32-bit signed two’s complement) Renderer: Text Renderer maps to labels (e.g., “Auto/Manual/Off”).

  • Numeric Decimal values such as temperature, pressure, or price. Java type: double (64-bit IEEE 754 floating point) Renderer: Formatting (decimal places, separators, units) or range-to-label conversions.

  • Alphanumeric Arbitrary text strings (e.g., device status messages, SNMP O/S descriptions). Java type: String

  • Image Stores images (e.g., from HTTP Image data sources or camera integrations). Java type: byte[]

tip

The data type is determined by the point locator configuration. A Modbus holding register is typically Numeric, while a Modbus coil is Binary. See the data source documentation for type mapping details.