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

Layouts — Making HMIs User-Friendly

HMI development has a lot in common with graphic design. This means, there are a few rules that should be followed as closely as possible to ensure that the HMI is user-friendly. There is a difference between laying out an HMI and something akin to a website. I usually like to consider HMIs as the cousins to traditional user interfaces. Both types of interface have certain things in common, such as logical layout, efficient coloring, and so on.

Though these types of user interfaces are cousins to one another, an HMI will have a person staring at it much more often. As such, certain factors must be considered that would normally be ignored when developing something like a website. As such, certain rules should be followed when developing an HMI.

Due to operators using the HMI more frequently and in a much more high-paced and mission-critical environment, HMIs need to be easy to use, easy to look at, well organized, and provide just enough...