Main API (module DSS)

The dss function is the main function for passing commands to OpenDSS. You can pass multi-line commands with dss. You can also splice in Julia values with string interpolation. Here is an example of using dss:

using OpenDSSDirect
filename = "C:/OpenDSS/electricdss/IEEETestCases/8500-Node/Master.dss"
dss("""
    clear
    compile "$filename"
""")

Several functions are available for setting OpenDSS variables, getting values, and initiating commands. Each of these is in one of several modules. Here is an example to set the kW of the active load element:

Loads.kW(50.)

Here is an example setting some loads:

using OpenDSSDirect
filename = "C:/OpenDSS/electricdss/IEEETestCases/8500-Node/Master.dss"
dss("""
    clear
    compile "$filename"
""")
loadnumber = Loads.First()
while loadnumber > 0
    Loads.kW(50.)
    Loads.kvar(20.)
    loadnumber = Loads.Next()
end
println(Loads.Count())

To use this API, you can either use import OpenDSSDirect and prepend all calls with OpenDSSDirect, or you can run using OpenDSSDirect and use the functions within each module directly. The following two are equivalent:

import OpenDSSDirect
OpenDSSDirect.Circuit.TotalPower()

Importing the DSS module:

using OpenDSSDirect
Circuit.TotalPower()

Many of the functions that return arrays convert to complex numbers where appropriate. Here is an example session:

julia> using OpenDSSDirect

julia> filename = joinpath(Pkg.dir(), "OpenDSSDirect", "examples", "8500-Node", "Master.dss");

julia> dss("""
           clear
           compile "$filename"
       """)

julia> Solution.Solve();

julia> Circuit.Losses()
1.218242333223247e6 + 2.798391857088721e6im

julia> Circuit.TotalPower()
-12004.740450109337 - 1471.1749507157301im

julia> Circuit.SetActiveElement("Capacitor.CAPBank3")
6075

julia> CktElement.Voltages()
6-element Array{Complex{Float64},1}:
  5390.82-4652.32im
 -6856.89-2274.93im
  1284.62+7285.18im
      0.0+0.0im
      0.0+0.0im
      0.0+0.0im

To find the functions available in each module, use Julia's help for each module (initiated by hitting ?). See below for an example.

julia> using OpenDSSDirect

help?> Circuit
search: Circuit

  module Circuit – Functions for interfacing with the active OpenDSS circuit.

  Circuit.NumCktElements() – Number of CktElements in the circuit

  Circuit.NumBuses() – Total number of Buses in the circuit

  Circuit.NumNodes() – Total number of Nodes in the circuit

  Circuit.FirstPCElement() – Sets the first enabled Power Conversion (PC) element in the circuit to be active; if not successful returns a 0

  Circuit.NextPCElement() – Sets the next enabled Power Conversion (PC) element in the circuit to be active; if not successful returns a 0

  Circuit.FirstPDElement() – Sets the first enabled Power Delivery (PD) element in the circuit to be active; if not successful returns a 0

  Circuit.NextPDElement() – Sets the next enabled Power Delivery (PD) element in the circuit to be active; if not successful returns a 0

  {truncated...}

Besides that, the methods function can be helpful to list the alternatives. Besides the getter (no value arguments) and setter (when a value argument provided), most functions allow passing a dss::DSSContext argument. For example:

julia> using OpenDSSDirect

julia> methods(OpenDSSDirect.Loads.Name)
# 4 methods for generic function "Name":
[1] Name() in OpenDSSDirect.Loads at /home/user/.julia/packages/OpenDSSDirect/5wwHs/src/loads.jl:144
[2] Name(dss::DSSContext) in OpenDSSDirect.Loads at /home/user/.julia/packages/OpenDSSDirect/5wwHs/src/loads.jl:141
[3] Name(dss::DSSContext, Value::String) in OpenDSSDirect.Loads at /home/user/.julia/packages/OpenDSSDirect/5wwHs/src/loads.jl:147
[4] Name(Value::String) in OpenDSSDirect.Loads at /home/user/.julia/packages/OpenDSSDirect/5wwHs/src/loads.jl:150

For typical usage with a single circuit, users can use the variations without this argument. For using multiple DSS circuits and potentially multiple circuits, provide the context explicitly.

Here is a list of modules supported by this API. Each module has several functions.

Functions or modules that are not present in the official OpenDSS implementation are marked "(API Extension)".

`dss`

OpenDSSDirect.dss — Function

Command(dss::DSSContext) -> String

Input command string for the DSS. (Getter)