About ORDs

The ORD (Object Resolution Descriptor) is the framework’s universal identification system and is used throughout the software. The ORD unifies and standardizes access to all information. It is designed to combine different naming systems into a single string and has the advantage of being able to be parsaed by a host of public APIs.

An ORD is comprised of one or more queries where each query has a scheme that identifies how to parse and resolve to an object. ORDs may be displayed visually, as with the Open Ord locator or they may be entered in a text field, as shown in the Open ORD window.

Figure 1. Open ORD and graphic locator system


ORDs can be relative or absolute. A relative ORD takes the format of slot:…, such as slot:AHU1/Points/SpaceTemp. The ORD is relative to the base ORD that contains slot:AHU1. An absolute ORD usually takes the general format of host|session|space, as illustrated below.

Figure 2. Absolute ORD typical structure


  • host — identifies a machine usually by an IP address such as ip:hostname. For example fox: indicates a fox session to the host.

  • session — identifies a protocol being used to communicate with the host.

  • space — identifies a particular type of object. Common spaces are module:, file:, station:, view:, spy, and history:

The local VM is a special case identified by local:, which always resolves to BLocalHost.INSTANCE. The local host is both a host and a session (since no communication protocols are required for access).

Both a slot path and a handle scheme can name components within a ComponentSpace. So the ORD for a component usually involves both a space query and a path/handle.

ORD examples

  • ip:somehost|fox:|station:|slot:/MyService

  • ip:somehost|fox:|station:|h:/42

  • ip:somehost|fox:|file:/C:/dir/file.txt

  • local:|file:!jre/lib/logging.properties

  • local:|module://icons-ux/x16/cloud.png

  • local:|spy:/

In the framework, you may view the complete list of installed ORD schemes at spy:/sysManagers/registryManager/ordSchemes(local:|fox:|spy:/sysManagers/registryManager/ordSchemes).