Overview

php-opcua/opcua-client-nodeset ships pre-generated PHP classes for 51 OPC Foundation companion specifications — Machinery, Robotics, DI, AutoID, BACnet, MachineTool, and the rest. Each specification becomes a namespace with NodeId constants, PHP enums, typed DTOs, binary codecs, and a registrar.

For an application using php-opcua/opcua-client, the integration is one builder call:

use PhpOpcua\Client\ClientBuilder;
use PhpOpcua\Nodeset\Robotics\RoboticsRegistrar;
use PhpOpcua\Nodeset\Robotics\RoboticsNodeIds;

$client = ClientBuilder::create()
    ->loadGeneratedTypes(new RoboticsRegistrar())
    ->connect('opc.tcp://192.168.1.100:4840');

$mode = $client->read(RoboticsNodeIds::OperationalMode)->getValue();
// → OperationalModeEnumeration::MANUAL_REDUCED_SPEED (typed PHP enum)

What this is, in one paragraph

A generated-code library. Every file under src/ is the output of opcua-cli generate:nodeset applied to a NodeSet2.xml from the OPC Foundation UA-Nodeset repository. The package is a thin distribution layer: it carries the generator output so applications can composer require instead of running the generator themselves.

What is in the box

src/<Spec>/
  ├── <Spec>NodeIds.php           string constants for every node in the spec
  ├── <Spec>Registrar.php         GeneratedTypeRegistrar — codecs + enum mappings
  ├── Enums/                      BackedEnum classes for OPC UA enumerations
  │     └── <Enum>.php
  ├── Types/                      readonly DTOs for structured data types
  │     └── <Type>.php
  └── Codecs/                     ExtensionObjectCodec for binary encode/decode
        └── <Type>Codec.php

Counts at v4.3.0:

What this is not

• Not a code generator. The generator lives in php-opcua/opcua-cli (generate:nodeset command). This package is the distribution.
• Not a runtime client. The actual OPC UA stack is in php-opcua/opcua-client. This package provides types that plug into it.
• Not test coverage for the generator. Tests for the generator live with the generator — see ROADMAP "Won't Do".

When to use it

Reach for opcua-client-nodeset when:

• Your target server implements a standard companion spec. Robotics PLCs, Machine Tool CNCs, BACnet gateways, AutoID readers — they expose the spec's NodeIds. The generated constants save you from string-typing them.
• You want type-safe enum handling. Reading an OperationalMode node returns a PHP BackedEnum instead of a raw int.
• You exchange structured data with the server. Companion specs define structures (Argument lists, time-series points, custom records). The generated codecs decode them into readonly DTOs automatically.

Skip it when:

• Your server uses only vendor-specific NodeIds. Companion-spec types are irrelevant; hand-craft NodeId constants in your application.
• You need only built-in OPC UA types (Boolean, Int32, String, …). No companion spec needed.

Loading is opt-in

Without loadGeneratedTypes(), your application sees raw int values for enums and array-shaped data for structures — exactly the same behaviour as not depending on this package. Loading a registrar is the only thing that turns the generated types on.

Versioning

This package's major and minor versions track opcua-client. When opcua-client ships a v4.4, this package ships a v4.4 — usually without regeneration, because the runtime contract (Repository\ExtensionObjectRepository, Encoding\ExtensionObjectCodec, Repository\GeneratedTypeRegistrar) is stable. See Reference · Versioning.

Reading order

This documentation is organised around the small public surface:

• Getting started — install, first connect, what the 5 file types are.
• Concepts — NodeIds, enums, DTOs, codecs/registrars. One page per artefact type.
• Usage — how to wire one or many registrars, how dependencies resolve, how to consume structured data.
• Regeneration — for maintainers who need to update the package after a new UA-Nodeset release.
• Reference — the 51-specification catalogue, the registrar interface, the versioning policy.
• Recipes — end-to-end walkthroughs.

Ecosystem