EdsDcfNet

A comprehensive, easy-to-use C# .NET library for CANopen file formats: CiA DS 306 (EDS, DCF, CPJ) and CiA 311 (XDD, XDC).

Features

✨ Simple API - Intuitive, fluent API style for quick integration

📖 Read & Write EDS - Parse and generate Electronic Data Sheets

📝 Read & Write DCF - Process and create Device Configuration Files

🌐 Read & Write CPJ - Parse and create Nodelist Project files (CiA 306-3 network topologies)

🧩 Read & Write XDD/XDC - Parse and generate CiA 311 XML device descriptions/configurations

🔄 EDS to DCF Conversion - Easy conversion with configuration parameters

🎯 Type-Safe - Fully typed models for all CANopen objects

📦 Modular - Support for modular devices (bus couplers + modules)

✅ CiA DS 306 v1.4 / CiA 311 v1.1 Compliant - Implemented according to official specification

Quick Start

Reading an EDS File

using EdsDcfNet;

// Read EDS file
var eds = CanOpenFile.Eds.ReadFile("device.eds");

// Display device information
Console.WriteLine($"Device: {eds.DeviceInfo.ProductName}");
Console.WriteLine($"Vendor: {eds.DeviceInfo.VendorName}");
Console.WriteLine($"Product Number: 0x{eds.DeviceInfo.ProductNumber:X}");

Writing an EDS File

using EdsDcfNet;

var eds = CanOpenFile.Eds.ReadFile("device.eds");
eds.FileInfo.FileRevision++;
CanOpenFile.Eds.WriteFile(eds, "device_updated.eds");

Async File I/O (`async`/`await`)

using EdsDcfNet;
using System.Threading;

using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();

var eds = await CanOpenFile.Eds.ReadFileAsync("device.eds", cancellationToken: cts.Token);
eds.FileInfo.FileRevision++;
await CanOpenFile.Eds.WriteFileAsync(eds, "device_updated.eds", cancellationToken: cts.Token);

Stream-based I/O

using EdsDcfNet;
using System.IO;

using var stream = File.OpenRead("device.eds");
var eds = CanOpenFile.Eds.ReadStream(stream);

using var outStream = new MemoryStream();
CanOpenFile.Eds.WriteStream(eds, outStream);

Stream ownership: stream overloads do not dispose input/output streams.
The caller remains responsible for stream lifetime.

Canonical API (format entry points)

For new code, use the format-specific entry points on CanOpenFile instead of the legacy static Read* / Write* overloads:

Format	Entry point	Example
EDS	`CanOpenFile.Eds`	`CanOpenFile.Eds.ReadFile("device.eds")`
DCF	`CanOpenFile.Dcf`	`CanOpenFile.Dcf.WriteFile(dcf, "out.dcf")`
CPJ	`CanOpenFile.Cpj`	`CanOpenFile.Cpj.ReadFile("network.cpj")`
XDD	`CanOpenFile.Xdd`	`CanOpenFile.Xdd.ReadFile("device.xdd")`
XDC	`CanOpenFile.Xdc`	`CanOpenFile.Xdc.ReadFile("device.xdc")`

These entry points accept CanOpenFileOptions (read limits) and CanOpenWriteOptions (pre-write validation) in one place. Legacy facade overloads remain for backward compatibility and delegate to the same operations; overloads that only supply default parameters are marked [Obsolete] (advisory) and will be removed in a future major release.

EDS-to-DCF conversion lives on the EDS entry point: CanOpenFile.Eds.ConvertToDcf(...). The legacy CanOpenFile.EdsToDcf(...) methods delegate there.

using EdsDcfNet;

var eds = CanOpenFile.Eds.ReadFile("device.eds");
var dcf = CanOpenFile.Eds.ConvertToDcf(eds, nodeId: 2, baudrate: 500);
CanOpenFile.Dcf.WriteFile(dcf, "device_node2.dcf", CanOpenWriteOptions.Validated);

Migration Guide

If your code still calls the legacy CanOpenFile.Read* / Write* / EdsToDcf static methods, move to the format entry points in the table above. Default-parameter facade overloads are marked [Obsolete] (advisory) and delegate to the same implementation; they remain available until a future major release.

Facade → format entry point

Each format uses the same method names on its entry point (Eds, Dcf, Cpj, Xdd, Xdc). Replace the legacy facade prefix with the matching entry point:

Legacy facade method	Canonical replacement
`ReadEds(...)`, `ReadDcf(...)`, …	`Eds.ReadFile(...)`, `Dcf.ReadFile(...)`, …
`ReadEdsFromString(...)`, …	`Eds.ReadString(...)`, `Dcf.ReadString(...)`, …
`ReadEds(stream, ...)`, …	`Eds.ReadStream(stream, ...)`, `Dcf.ReadStream(stream, ...)`, …
`ReadEdsAsync(path, ...)`, …	`Eds.ReadFileAsync(path, ...)`, `Dcf.ReadFileAsync(path, ...)`, …
`ReadEdsAsync(stream, ...)`, …	`Eds.ReadStreamAsync(stream, ...)`, …
`WriteEds(...)`, …	`Eds.WriteFile(...)`, `Dcf.WriteFile(...)`, …
`WriteEds(model, stream)`, …	`Eds.WriteStream(model, stream)`, …
`WriteEdsAsync(...)`, …	`Eds.WriteFileAsync(...)`, `Eds.WriteStreamAsync(...)`, …
`WriteEdsToString(...)`, …	`Eds.WriteToString(...)`, `Dcf.WriteToString(...)`, …
`EdsToDcf(...)`	`Eds.ConvertToDcf(...)`

CanOpenFile.Validate(...) is unchanged.

Input size limits

Pass CanOpenFileOptions instead of a bare maxInputSize parameter:

// Before
var xdd = CanOpenFile.ReadXdd("device.xdd", maxInputSize: 50L * 1024 * 1024);

// After
var xdd = CanOpenFile.Xdd.ReadFile(
    "device.xdd",
    new CanOpenFileOptions { MaxInputSize = 50L * 1024 * 1024 });

Pre-write validation

Use CanOpenWriteOptions.Validated on the format entry point write methods (see Validating models before write operations).

EDS-to-DCF conversion

// Before
var dcf = CanOpenFile.EdsToDcf(eds, nodeId: 2, baudrate: 500);

// After
var dcf = CanOpenFile.Eds.ConvertToDcf(eds, nodeId: 2, baudrate: 500);

For deterministic generated timestamps (recommended in tests and reproducible builds), pass an explicit DateTime to ConvertToDcf:

var dcf = CanOpenFile.Eds.ConvertToDcf(
    eds, nodeId: 2, timestamp: DateTime.UtcNow, baudrate: 500);

Example migration

// Before
var eds = CanOpenFile.ReadEds("device.eds");
var dcf = CanOpenFile.EdsToDcf(eds, nodeId: 2, baudrate: 500);
CanOpenFile.WriteDcf(dcf, "device_node2.dcf");

// After
var eds = CanOpenFile.Eds.ReadFile("device.eds");
var dcf = CanOpenFile.Eds.ConvertToDcf(eds, nodeId: 2, baudrate: 500);
CanOpenFile.Dcf.WriteFile(dcf, "device_node2.dcf");

Output Encoding Policy

All writer APIs that persist text (CanOpenFile.Eds, .Dcf, .Cpj, .Xdd, and .Xdc write methods) write UTF-8 without BOM by default for file and stream output.

This is an intentional interoperability choice:

CiA DS 306 is historically ASCII-oriented.
UTF-8 keeps full ASCII compatibility for 7-bit content.
UTF-8 also preserves non-ASCII characters in names/comments instead of replacing them.

Guidance for strict ASCII toolchains

If a downstream tool only accepts strict ASCII, keep model text in 7-bit ASCII characters, or transcode explicitly to strict ASCII at your boundary and fail fast on non-ASCII content.

using EdsDcfNet;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;

var asciiStrict = Encoding.GetEncoding(
    "us-ascii",
    EncoderFallback.ExceptionFallback,
    DecoderFallback.ExceptionFallback);

var dcf = CanOpenFile.Dcf.ReadFile("device.dcf");
var text = CanOpenFile.Dcf.WriteToString(dcf);
File.WriteAllText("device_ascii.dcf", text, asciiStrict);

Reading an XDD File (CiA 311 XML)

using EdsDcfNet;

// Read XDD file
var xdd = CanOpenFile.Xdd.ReadFile("device.xdd");

Console.WriteLine($"Device: {xdd.DeviceInfo.ProductName}");
Console.WriteLine($"Vendor: {xdd.DeviceInfo.VendorName}");

Reading a DCF File

using EdsDcfNet;

// Read DCF file
var dcf = CanOpenFile.Dcf.ReadFile("configured_device.dcf");

Console.WriteLine($"Node ID: {dcf.DeviceCommissioning.NodeId}");
Console.WriteLine($"Baudrate: {dcf.DeviceCommissioning.Baudrate} kbit/s");

Reading an XDC File (CiA 311 XML)

using EdsDcfNet;

// Read XDC file
var xdc = CanOpenFile.Xdc.ReadFile("configured_device.xdc");

Console.WriteLine($"Node ID: {xdc.DeviceCommissioning.NodeId}");
Console.WriteLine($"Baudrate: {xdc.DeviceCommissioning.Baudrate} kbit/s");

Working with ApplicationProcess (CiA 311 §6.4.5)

XDD/XDC files may include an ApplicationProcess element describing device parameters at the application level. The typed model gives full programmatic access to all sub-constructs.

using EdsDcfNet;

var xdd = CanOpenFile.Xdd.ReadFile("device.xdd");

if (xdd.ApplicationProcess is { } ap)
{
    // Iterate parameters
    foreach (var param in ap.ParameterList)
    {
        var displayName = param.LabelGroup.GetDisplayName() ?? param.UniqueId;
        Console.WriteLine($"Parameter: {displayName}");
    }

    // Inspect data type definitions
    if (ap.DataTypeList is { } dtl)
    {
        foreach (var enumType in dtl.Enums)
            Console.WriteLine($"Enum type: {enumType.Name}");
    }
}

Converting EDS to DCF

using EdsDcfNet;

// Read EDS
var eds = CanOpenFile.Eds.ReadFile("device.eds");

// Convert to DCF with node ID and baudrate
var dcf = CanOpenFile.Eds.ConvertToDcf(eds, nodeId: 2, baudrate: 500, nodeName: "MyDevice");

// Save DCF
CanOpenFile.Dcf.WriteFile(dcf, "device_node2.dcf");

Validating models before write operations

Use the validation API to detect invalid commissioning values and inconsistent object-list definitions before serializing files.

using EdsDcfNet;
using EdsDcfNet.Validation;

var dcf = CanOpenFile.Dcf.ReadFile("configured_device.dcf");

IReadOnlyList<ValidationIssue> issues = CanOpenFile.Validate(dcf);
if (issues.Count > 0)
{
    foreach (var issue in issues)
        Console.WriteLine(issue);
}

CanOpenFile.Validate(...) is the recommended entry point and routes to the full model validator, returning path-based ValidationIssue entries. Current checks include:

commissioning constraints (Node-ID range 1..127 for commissioned nodes; NodeId == 0 is accepted only when commissioning is omitted, baudrate range with 0 accepted for that omitted state, key string limits)
device info constraints (name/order-code length, granularity limit)
object dictionary consistency (list membership, duplicates, missing entries)
object-level constraints (object type validity, parameter-name length, SubNumber mismatch)

To validate automatically before writing, pass CanOpenWriteOptions.Validated to the format-specific entry points:

using EdsDcfNet;

var dcf = CanOpenFile.Dcf.ReadFile("configured_device.dcf");

// Throws ModelValidationException when the model has validation issues.
CanOpenFile.Dcf.WriteFile(dcf, "updated.dcf", CanOpenWriteOptions.Validated);

The same option works on CanOpenFile.Eds, .Cpj, .Xdd, and .Xdc write methods. Legacy CanOpenFile.WriteDcf(...) overloads delegate to these entry points.

Working with Nodelist Projects (CPJ)

using EdsDcfNet;
using EdsDcfNet.Models;

// Read a CPJ file describing the network topology
var cpj = CanOpenFile.Cpj.ReadFile("nodelist.cpj");

foreach (var network in cpj.Networks)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Network: {network.NetName}");
    foreach (var node in network.Nodes.Values)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"  Node {node.NodeId}: {node.Name} ({node.DcfFileName})");
    }
}

// Create a new CPJ
var project = new NodelistProject();
project.Networks.Add(new NetworkTopology
{
    NetName = "Production Line 1",
    Nodes =
    {
        [2] = new NetworkNode { NodeId = 2, Present = true, Name = "PLC", DcfFileName = "plc.dcf" },
        [3] = new NetworkNode { NodeId = 3, Present = true, Name = "IO Module", DcfFileName = "io.dcf" }
    }
});
CanOpenFile.Cpj.WriteFile(project, "network.cpj");

Working with Object Dictionary

using EdsDcfNet.Extensions;

var dcf = CanOpenFile.Dcf.ReadFile("device.dcf");

// Get object
var deviceType = dcf.ObjectDictionary.GetObject(0x1000);

// Set value (returns true if object exists, false if not found)
bool set = dcf.ObjectDictionary.SetParameterValue(0x1000, "0x00000191");

// Browse PDO objects
var tpdos = dcf.ObjectDictionary.GetPdoCommunicationParameters(transmit: true);

API Overview

Main Class: `CanOpenFile`

Writer encoding note: all file/stream write methods on the format entry points use UTF-8 without BOM.

Each format exposes read/write operations via a static property (Eds, Dcf, Cpj, Xdd, Xdc). The shared surface on every format entry point includes:

// Read (file, string, stream; sync and async)
TModel ReadFile(string filePath, CanOpenFileOptions? options = null)
Task<TModel> ReadFileAsync(string filePath, CanOpenFileOptions? options = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
TModel ReadString(string content, CanOpenFileOptions? options = null)
TModel ReadStream(Stream stream, CanOpenFileOptions? options = null)
Task<TModel> ReadStreamAsync(Stream stream, CanOpenFileOptions? options = null, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)

// Write (file, stream, string; sync and async; optional CanOpenWriteOptions)
void WriteFile(TModel model, string filePath)
void WriteFile(TModel model, string filePath, CanOpenWriteOptions? options)
void WriteStream(TModel model, Stream stream)
void WriteStream(TModel model, Stream stream, CanOpenWriteOptions? options)
Task WriteFileAsync(TModel model, string filePath, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
Task WriteFileAsync(TModel model, string filePath, CanOpenWriteOptions? options, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
Task WriteStreamAsync(TModel model, Stream stream, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
Task WriteStreamAsync(TModel model, Stream stream, CanOpenWriteOptions? options, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
string WriteToString(TModel model)

Format-specific model types:

Entry point	Read/write model
`CanOpenFile.Eds`	`ElectronicDataSheet`
`CanOpenFile.Dcf`	`DeviceConfigurationFile`
`CanOpenFile.Cpj`	`NodelistProject`
`CanOpenFile.Xdd`	`ElectronicDataSheet`
`CanOpenFile.Xdc`	`DeviceConfigurationFile`

EDS-to-DCF conversion:

DeviceConfigurationFile ConvertToDcf(ElectronicDataSheet eds, byte nodeId,
                                     ushort baudrate = 250, string? nodeName = null)

Model validation:

IReadOnlyList<ValidationIssue> Validate(ElectronicDataSheet eds)
IReadOnlyList<ValidationIssue> Validate(DeviceConfigurationFile dcf)

Legacy static Read* / Write* / EdsToDcf facade methods remain for backward compatibility and delegate to these entry points; default-parameter-only overloads are marked [Obsolete].

Input Size Limits and Tuning

All read APIs apply a safe default input-size limit of 10 MB (IniParser.DefaultMaxInputSize) to reduce denial-of-service risk from unexpectedly large payloads.

You can override this limit per operation when you need to process larger files:

var xdd = CanOpenFile.Xdd.ReadFile(
    "large-device.xdd",
    new CanOpenFileOptions { MaxInputSize = 50L * 1024 * 1024 });

Guidance:

Keep the default whenever possible.
Increase limits only for trusted sources and known use cases.
Set the limit just high enough for your expected maximum file size.

Supported Features

✅ Complete EDS parsing and writing
✅ Complete DCF parsing and writing
✅ CPJ nodelist project parsing and writing (CiA 306-3 network topologies)
✅ XDD parsing and writing (CiA 311 XML device description)
✅ XDC parsing and writing (CiA 311 XML device configuration)
✅ All Object Types (NULL, DOMAIN, DEFTYPE, DEFSTRUCT, VAR, ARRAY, RECORD)
✅ Sub-objects and sub-indexes
✅ Compact Storage (CompactSubObj, CompactPDO)
✅ Object Links
✅ Modular device concept
✅ Hexadecimal, decimal, and octal numbers
✅ $NODEID formula evaluation (e.g., $NODEID+0x200)
✅ CANopen Safety (EN 50325-5) - SRDOMapping, InvertedSRAD
✅ Comments and additional sections

Error Handling

Writer APIs expose format-specific exceptions with context:

EdsWriter / CanOpenFile.Eds write methods: EdsWriteException
DcfWriter / CanOpenFile.Dcf write methods: DcfWriteException
CpjWriter / CanOpenFile.Cpj write methods: CpjWriteException
XddWriter / CanOpenFile.Xdd write methods: XddWriteException
XdcWriter / CanOpenFile.Xdc write methods: XdcWriteException

When a failure can be attributed to a concrete generated section/element, the exception contains a SectionName value (for example DeviceInfo, Topology, DeviceProfile, or deviceCommissioning).

Examples

Complete examples can be found in the examples/EdsDcfNet.Examples project.

Performance Benchmarks

A dedicated BenchmarkDotNet project is available at:

benchmarks/EdsDcfNet.Benchmarks

Run all benchmarks:

dotnet run -c Release -p benchmarks/EdsDcfNet.Benchmarks -- --filter "*"

Baseline scenario definitions and artifact locations are documented in:

benchmarks/EdsDcfNet.Benchmarks/BASELINE.md

Project Structure

eds-dcf-net/
├── src/
│   └── EdsDcfNet/              # Main library
│       ├── Models/             # Data models
│       ├── Parsers/            # EDS/DCF/CPJ/XDD/XDC parsers
│       ├── Writers/            # EDS/DCF/CPJ/XDD/XDC writers
│       ├── Utilities/          # Helper classes
│       ├── Exceptions/         # Custom exceptions
│       └── Extensions/         # Extension methods
├── benchmarks/
│   └── EdsDcfNet.Benchmarks/   # BenchmarkDotNet throughput/memory benchmarks
├── examples/
│   └── EdsDcfNet.Examples/     # Example application
└── docs/
    ├── architecture/           # ARC42 software architecture
    └── cia/                    # CiA DS 306 specification

Requirements

For consuming the NuGet package:

Any .NET implementation compatible with .NET Standard 2.0 (e.g., .NET Framework 4.6.1+, .NET Core 2.0+, .NET 5+, Unity, Xamarin)

For building this repository (library, tests, examples):

.NET SDK 10.0 or higher
C# 13.0 (as provided by the .NET 10 SDK)

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file

Specification

Based on:

CiA DS 306 Version 1.4.0 (December 15, 2021)
CiA 311 XML device description/configuration concepts (XDD/XDC)

Support

For questions or issues:

GitHub Issues: https://github.com/dborgards/eds-dcf-net/issues

EdsDcfNet - Professional CANopen EDS/DCF/CPJ/XDD/XDC processing in C# .NET

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
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.config		.config
.github		.github
benchmarks/EdsDcfNet.Benchmarks		benchmarks/EdsDcfNet.Benchmarks
docs		docs
examples		examples
sbom		sbom
src/EdsDcfNet		src/EdsDcfNet
tests		tests
tools		tools
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitignore		.gitignore
.releaserc.json		.releaserc.json
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
Directory.Build.props		Directory.Build.props
EdsDcfNet.sln		EdsDcfNet.sln
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
codecov.yml		codecov.yml
global.json		global.json
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
renovate.json		renovate.json

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EdsDcfNet

Features

Quick Start

Reading an EDS File

Writing an EDS File

Async File I/O (async/await)

Stream-based I/O

Canonical API (format entry points)

Migration Guide

Facade → format entry point

Input size limits

Pre-write validation

EDS-to-DCF conversion

Example migration

Output Encoding Policy

Guidance for strict ASCII toolchains

Reading an XDD File (CiA 311 XML)

Reading a DCF File

Reading an XDC File (CiA 311 XML)

Working with ApplicationProcess (CiA 311 §6.4.5)

Converting EDS to DCF

Validating models before write operations

Working with Nodelist Projects (CPJ)

Working with Object Dictionary

API Overview

Main Class: CanOpenFile

Input Size Limits and Tuning

Supported Features

Error Handling

Examples

Performance Benchmarks

Project Structure

Requirements

License

Specification

Support

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Async File I/O (`async`/`await`)

Main Class: `CanOpenFile`