Summary

This chapter explores ways to design a program and a high-level system. In this chapter, we have explored pseudocode and flowcharting, as well as techniques and programs that are used to render the designs. The important takeaway from this chapter is that a successful program does not start with code. Instead, a successful program starts with a decent design. A skilled engineer will spend a good amount of time with a pen and paper or with a rendering program, laying out the flow of a PLC program long before they touch a keyboard. This may seem oxymoronic and even frustrating to inexperienced PLC programmers. It is not uncommon for inexperienced engineers to forego the design phase of a project and jump into coding with a desire to build something. However, this attitude is the quickest way to get into programming trouble and have your fancy new machine doomed for the cyber scrap heap.

So far, we have explored a lot about program flow, hardware, and program design. In terms...