Book Image

Mastering PLC Programming

By : Mason White
Book Image

Mastering PLC Programming

By: Mason White

Overview of this book

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a new feature of PLC programming that has taken the automation world by storm. This book provides you with the necessary skills to succeed in the modern automation programming environment. The book is designed in a way to take you through advanced topics such as OOP design, SOLID programming, the software development lifecycle (SDLC), library design, HMI development, general software engineering practices, and more. To hone your programming skills, each chapter has a simulated real-world project that’ll enable you to apply the skills you’ve learned. In all, this book not only covers complex PLC programming topics, but it also removes the financial barrier that comes with most books as all examples utilize free software. This means that to follow along, you DO NOT need to purchase any PLC hardware or software. By the end of this PLC book, you will have what it takes to create long-lasting codebases for any modern automation project.
Table of Contents (25 chapters)
1
Part 1 – An Introduction to Advanced PLC Programming
6
Part 2 – Modularity and Objects
10
Part 3 – Software Engineering for PLCs
14
Part 4 – HMIs and Alarms
19
Part 5 – Final Project and Thoughts

Benefits of SOLID programming

As every automation engineer knows, automation systems can stay in production for decades on end. Also as every automation engineer also knows, during that time, the process will change, which will require new software, hardware will become obsolete and have to be replaced with new components, and so on, which, as you can guess, will require software modifications. As someone who has spent countless hours sifting through thousands of lines of code on customers' sites for hours on end for multiple different employers, I can say that when it comes to architecture, it is worth it to put in the extra effort. Even when you’re working on well-organized and architected codebases, you will find that tracking down a single error can be quite daunting. The task can become Herculean when the codebase is poorly designed.

With this in mind, it is best to think of SOLID as a series of general rules as opposed to hard standards that will produce code that...