PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLER PROGRAMMING WITH EMBEDDED MACRO CAPABILITY

• US 20090089671A1
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hall, Kenwood H., Bliss, Ronald E.
• Application Number:
  US11/864,634
• Publication Number:
  US 20090089671A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/30 Creation or generation of source code

Abstract

A software development tool for an industrial control system is provided. The tool includes one or more identifier components that indicate a portion of a data structure. A macro component maps one or more substitution values indicated by the identifier components into an alternative form of the data structure.

Claims

1. A software development tool for an industrial control system, comprising:

one or more identifier components that indicate a portion of a data structure; and

a macro component that maps one or more substitution values indicated by the identifier components into an alternative form of the data structure.

2. The system of claim 1, the substitution value is associated with a string value or an actual data value specified in a memory location.

3. The system of claim 1, the substitution value is associated with a component name or a component description.

4. The system of claim 1, the substitution value is associated with tag contents or a formula expression.

5. The system of claim 1, the substitution value is associated with a data table location or a parametric expression.

6. The system of claim 1, the substitution value is associated with configuration data or profile data.

7. The system of claim 1, the substitution value is associated with a rung comment, text box, line comment, or an instruction data value.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface component to display macro identified views or substituted data identified by the macro.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a user interface switch to alternate between macro identified views and or the substituted data identified by the macro.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising an arithmetic macro component to initialize numeric data table values.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a programming language editor that is associated with ladder logic, sequential function charts, tag editors, properties editors, function block editors, or structured text instruction list editors.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one configuration menu to provide configuration options for macro components or custom language components.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface to generate macro string identifiers and string values associated with the string identifiers.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface to generate tag identifiers and tag values associated with the tag identifiers.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface to generate logic identifiers and logic values associated with the ladder logic identifiers.

16. A method to generate and process macro data values for an industrial control system, comprising:

defining one or more identifier components;

defining one or more substitution values for the identifier components; and

mapping the substitution values to locations indicated by the identifier components.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising switching display views between a macro view and a view showing the substitution values.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising initializing the substitution values via an arithmetic macro component.

19. The method of claim 16, the substitution values include a comment, a program name, an actual data value, a description, or a formula expression.

20. A development system, comprising:

means for programming one or more identifier components;

means for generating data values for the identifier components; and

means for translating the data values to locations indicated by the identifier components.