What is automation programming?
Automation programming can take on many different interpretations depending on the context and industry. For this book, automation programming will be considered industrial automation programming. Industrial automation programming and control programming can be considered the same thing. When one mentions controls or automation programming, they are usually referring to writing software that lives on some type of controller that is used to automate the use of machinery. In all, automation software is designed to reduce the amount of human intervention in a process.
Automation programming starts with a programmable device. There are many types of automation controllers, with some being the following:
- PLCs
- Remote terminal unit (RTU)
- Proportional – integral – derivative (PID)
- Miscellaneous control boards
What is considered automation software should include more than software that simply lives on controllers....
