These are modifications or sub-types that can occur on objects, such as a digital input, which can be represented by a single bit (zero or one), by a status word (a byte), or even contain or not a time information (timestamp). Thus, the combination of an object plus a variation fully describes an information, according to the next examples.

•Object 01: Variation 01 represents a digital input without status (single bit)

•Object 01: Variation 02 represents a digital input with status (one byte)

•Object 02: Variation 01 represents a change to a digital input without a timestamp

•Object 02: Variation 02 represents a change to a digital input with a timestamp

Although both objects are linked to the same digital input, this information can be represented in different ways.