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

OOP — The Power of Objects

For some, including developers that are developing traditional applications with traditional languages, Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is just programming with classes, or in our case, function blocks. OOP can be described as a paradigm. OOP is a way of doing things, not just programming with classes. Though classes or function blocks are the backbone of object-oriented programs, there are many principles and features that govern the paradigm.

Compared to the last few chapters, the concepts in this chapter are going to be much more abstract. If you are a traditional PLC programmer who has only worked with basic structured text and ladder logic, the concepts in this chapter will seem difficult to understand and, at times, counterproductive. However, these concepts will help you produce quality, maintainable code. Whereas the last few chapters have been about organizing code, this chapter is about the concepts that govern the design of properly...