alexthefox
Senior Member
hi, programming editor give you the way to programming in basic or in flowchart... why don't upgrade with ladder? maybe is more userfull like flowchart... this is an idea... what do you think?
new way to programming?
- Thread starter alexthefox
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westaust55
Moderator
Ladder Logic for programming ?
With industrial PLC's, when first intrtoducted, Ladder logic was provided because it resembled an electrical schematic drawing and thus deemed easier for electricians to understand to locate faults in the field and logic.
These days, PLC's have far better facilities for fault finding and display of information so do not see a great advantage.
For the PICAXE, Ladder logic would, I suspect, be like Flow diagrams and only offer a subset of capabilities.
With industrial PLC's, when first intrtoducted, Ladder logic was provided because it resembled an electrical schematic drawing and thus deemed easier for electricians to understand to locate faults in the field and logic.
These days, PLC's have far better facilities for fault finding and display of information so do not see a great advantage.
For the PICAXE, Ladder logic would, I suspect, be like Flow diagrams and only offer a subset of capabilities.
Buzby
Senior Member
Hi,
I have HUGE experience with Ladder. It's a great language for combinatorial bit-based logic ( AND, OR, NOT etc ), and has easy to use timers and counters. Still used extensively in industry Ladder is not going to die !.
Many modern PLCs support a range of languages that have now been standardised in IEC61131, which includes Ladder.
There are some free IEC61131 packages on the web, ( e.g. http://www.beremiz.org/documentation/the-plcopen-editor or http://www.61131.com/) and I had toyed with the idea of taking the output of one of these, which is basically a list of standardised 'op-codes' for an IEC61131 compliant 'engine', and interpreting these on a microcontroller. Its one of those projects that never got done, but it would be interesting to see if a PICAXE could handle it.
Whether Ladder should be included as part of the PICAXE Programming Editor is a good question. Ladder 'runs' very different to most languages, so it would give students a different way of solving problems. However, as westaust55 says, the functionality would be similar to flowchart, so Ladder is not better, but is different.
I have HUGE experience with Ladder. It's a great language for combinatorial bit-based logic ( AND, OR, NOT etc ), and has easy to use timers and counters. Still used extensively in industry Ladder is not going to die !.
Many modern PLCs support a range of languages that have now been standardised in IEC61131, which includes Ladder.
There are some free IEC61131 packages on the web, ( e.g. http://www.beremiz.org/documentation/the-plcopen-editor or http://www.61131.com/) and I had toyed with the idea of taking the output of one of these, which is basically a list of standardised 'op-codes' for an IEC61131 compliant 'engine', and interpreting these on a microcontroller. Its one of those projects that never got done, but it would be interesting to see if a PICAXE could handle it.
Whether Ladder should be included as part of the PICAXE Programming Editor is a good question. Ladder 'runs' very different to most languages, so it would give students a different way of solving problems. However, as westaust55 says, the functionality would be similar to flowchart, so Ladder is not better, but is different.
hippy
Ex-Staff (retired)
Ladder Logic is interesting and I've looked at it but never used it. It's a very widely used tool in the process control industry but seems far less well used in the microcontroller programming industry. That probably reflects using the best tool for the particular job which needs to be done.
In business terms, any company adding support for Ladder Logic would have to decide if the added-value repaid itself against the effort needed to implement and support it.
In marketing terms, it has to be considered if the existing market wants Ladder Logic, whether providing it would open up additional market share to make it worthwhile, and what other competition there was in that market.
In technical terms, there are issues of how Ladder Logic maps to the underlying processor architecture and deliver a satisfactory solution to make it viable, plus the effort in producing the tools needed to undertake Ladder Logic programming.
I have not heard of any current plans to add Ladder Logic to the Programming Editor nor do I know if it would be planned for in the future.
In addition to Basic and Flowchart programming, the Programming Editor also supports simple Logic programming already - From the menu bar, select New, New Logic.
In business terms, any company adding support for Ladder Logic would have to decide if the added-value repaid itself against the effort needed to implement and support it.
In marketing terms, it has to be considered if the existing market wants Ladder Logic, whether providing it would open up additional market share to make it worthwhile, and what other competition there was in that market.
In technical terms, there are issues of how Ladder Logic maps to the underlying processor architecture and deliver a satisfactory solution to make it viable, plus the effort in producing the tools needed to undertake Ladder Logic programming.
I have not heard of any current plans to add Ladder Logic to the Programming Editor nor do I know if it would be planned for in the future.
In addition to Basic and Flowchart programming, the Programming Editor also supports simple Logic programming already - From the menu bar, select New, New Logic.