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

Summary

In this chapter, we explored functions, return types, arguments, and more. The goal of this chapter was to demonstrate how to modularize code. In short, this chapter was an introduction on how to become a programming sewist. For programs to survive, they must be modular.

The key takeaway is that a well-written program is a modular one. The functions that we have explored are the backbone of modularity. Essentially, what we have covered in this chapter is the foundation that will help you create code that can be easily modified without breaking other sections of the program. In other words, what we have covered in this chapter will help you build more durable code.

In the next chapter, we are going to expand on this concept a bit more and look at object-oriented programming and explore how we can modularize programmatic blueprints.