ASPEN OneLiner PowerScript and the OlxAPI Module

For two decades, OneLiner users have been able to extend the program’s capabilities by writing Visual BASIC-compatible scripts and running them in OneLiner 's built-in PowerScript™ engine. PowerScript programs have read and write access to network and relay data in OLR files, as well as limited control over the graphical objects on the one-line diagram.

PowerScript programs can run short circuit simulations in OneLiner as well as load flow solutions in Power Flow and access all the solution details. In addition, PowerScript programs can make calls to built-in functions to run many of OneLiner commands for complex studies, such as stepped-event analysis, arc-flash calculator, network boundary equivalent, check relay setting, check relay coordination using stepped-events– to name just a few. You can find a full list of PowerScript features in the OneLiner PowerScript Reference Manual or through OneLiner ’s manual command Help | PowerScript Help Contents.

OneLiner users can write and execute PowerScript programs within any OneLiner installation without any additional setup or configuration steps because the scripting engine as well as the script editor and debugger are built-in. PowerScript programs work extremely fast because they are tightly coupled to OneLiner ’s core solution logic.

An example of a commercial PowerScript program is SynchroGrid’s Setting Automation Relay Assistant (SARA), a tool that interacts with OneLiner to simplify and automate rule-based relay setting development: http://www.synchrogrid.com/products/SARA

The next major OneLiner release, version 15, will debut a new module called OlxAPI™. We created OlxAPI to unleash PowerScript from the BASIC computer programming language and from the confine of a running OneLiner program.

OlxAPI functions can be called by any Windows desktop and server application. With the new OlxAPI module (in the form of a .dll file), ASPEN users and developers will be able to develop custom, stand-alone software for OneLiner using their choice of a modern programming language and software development platform.

The computer on which OlxAPI programs run does not have to have OneLiner installed. The only requirements are that (1) it has a HASP key driver installed and (2) it has an ASPEN single-user key plugged in or it has access to an ASPEN network key.

There is no charge for this module. OlxAPI-based programs written by ASPEN users are royalty-free.

To give users and developers a head start in writing applications and getting ready for OneLiner v15 release, ASPEN has been shipping with OneLiner v14.6 and v14.7 a fully functional experimental build of the OlxAPI module, as well as a Python wrapper to call the module functions from Python v2.7 and v3.x programs. (If Python is your language of choice, this on-line tutorial will get you started using OlxAPI: www.aspeninc.com/OlrxAPI ). At any time, OneLiner users can write to ASPEN’s technical support ( support@aspeninc.com ) to request direct download of the most up-to-date build of this module.

An early adopter of OlxAPI is Utility Automation Solutions, a software developer that has written a commercial program called Automatic Relay Setting Generator to generate relay settings and setting document automatically: https://www.uauto.solutions/software.html

Learning to program is best done by example. A large number of working sample PowerScript and OlxAPI programs in Visual Basic, Python and Visual C++ by ASPEN and third-party developers are available on ASPEN GitHub: https://github.com/aspeninc . A sub-set of these sample programs can also be found in the program folder of OneLiner v14.6 and later.

You can also join the ASPEN Developer Community’s mailing list to ask questions and share experience in writing programs for OneLiner , using PowerScript and OlxAPI. Please send email with join request to aspendev+subscribe@aspeninc.com .