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

Understanding documentation

For many programmers in general, documentation is viewed as more of a petty pain than anything else. However, proper code documentation is vital to the longevity of a codebase. With that being said, it is often not clear what should be documented or, for that matter, how to properly write documentation.

The past code examples were easy enough to understand when the proper context was provided. However, if the context was taken away, chances are you would have a difficult time figuring out what the code did. In practice, this is very bad. Other developers that inherit your work should be able to open the project and understand the code with minimal effort.

Documentation also helps you personally. Let’s assume that in 6 months when your customer wants an upgrade, you’re going to be the one who is going to implement the upgrade. Chances are you’re not going to remember how the code works. There is no silver bullet that’ll make...