CAPE-OPEN standards and supporting documents

CAPE-OPEN standards are the uniform standards for interfacing process modelling software components developed specifically for the design and operation of chemical processes. They are based on universally recognized software technologies such as COM and CORBA. CAPE-OPEN standards are open, multiplatform, uniform and available free of charge. They are described in a formal documentation set.

You may browse through the documentation sets of each version using the menu on the left side of the page. You may also download a complete documentation set in a zipped file.

Version 1.0 of the standards is the currently supported version which can be downloaded here: 1.0 Documentation set (11.8 MB). Version 1.1 differs from version 1.0 only for the Thermodynamic and Physical Properties interface specification. Using version 1.1 is recommended for new developments since it brings a much greater flexibility than version 1.0.

The previous version (0.93) is still available to support historical applications until they can be updated. It should not be used for any new applications. It can be downloaded here: 0.93 Documentation set (2.2 MB)

Status: in May 2011 CO-LaN released updated documents for the specifications of the CAPE-OPEN interfaces on Thermodynamic and Physical Properties in both version 1.0 and version 1.1 of the CAPE-OPEN standards. While these updates do not change the interface designs, CO-LaN recommends to developers to follow carefully the clarifications and explanations embedded in both documents. The updates are meant to make the implementation easier. In August 2012 CO-LaN released an updated document for the Unit Operation interface specification. Many clarifications were brought to the original document so have a close look at the new one.