With the help of a block, properties that are thematically related can be consolidated. A block describes the characteristics of a product.
ECLASS Basic & Advanced
Basic vs Advanced
Regardless of the type of license you have, you can choose between two versions of the ECLASS Standard: BASIC or ADVANCED.
The differences between ECLASS BASIC and ECLASS ADVANCED are:
- a flat or hierarchical property structure
- expert formats
- flexibility in how properties are presented
- human or machine readability
| ECLASS Basic | ECLASS Advanced | |
|---|---|---|
| Property structure | simple, flat | flexible, hierarchical |
| Export format | CSV or XML file | XML file |
| Readability | human-readable / machine-readable | (human-readable) / machine-readable |
| Implementation | simplified implementation | more complex implementation |
| Update files | CSV update files (RUF) - CSV | XML update files (TUF, CUF, SDF) |
The example of a circuit breaker illustrates what this means for a given data structure:
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Basic und Advanced in application
Whereas ECLASS BASIC is often used in the areas of purchasing, sales or controlling, ECLASS ADVANCED is mainly used in engineering and CAx areas.
- ECLASS explanatory video
How to use ECLASS Advanced
Standard for Master Data and Semantics for Digitization
ECLASS Advanced: special features and advantages
With ECLASS Advanced, the four-level classification model is supplemented by the structural elements of block and aspect, as well as the dynamic functionalities of cardinality and polymorphism.
Properties of product descriptions can be displayed in a structured manner using blocks and aspects. Cardinalities and polymorphisms make it possible to adapt description structures dynamically to product requirements.
An aspect is a specific variant of a block at the uppermost level of a class. In terms of content, however, an aspect does not describe product-specific properties (such as normal blocks and properties of a class), it merely contains the properties of a product’s specific context.
Cardinality is an element of multiplication for the dynamic multiplication of a blocks.
Polymorphism thus offers the ability to decide dynamically which specific content the block requires.
This characteristic of multiple (“poly”) substitutability (“morphism”) keeps the number of total properties manageable and free of redundancies.