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

Advanced Structured Text — Programming a PLC in Easy-to-Read English

This chapter is dedicated to exploring concepts that many PLC programmers may find exotic. However, if you have a background in a traditional language, these concepts will seem very familiar.

Structured Text has many attributes that are like traditional programming languages such as C/C++, C#, Java, and the like. The IEC 61131-3 standard has adopted many of the features that are standard in most modern programming languages. However, due to the limited computer programming background of many PLC programmers, coupled with many PLC programmers relying solely on ladder logic, these concepts are often not known or fully understood.

The goal of this chapter is for you to learn how to write software that can fail gracefully without killing your PLC, how to access data directly from memory, how to properly document code, and more.

The topics covered in this chapter are not necessarily complex but are often...