Controller, information processing apparatus, and recording medium

• US 9,984,244 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2013
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Okamura, Kotaro, Ota, Masanori, Nishiyama, Yoshihide, Yaoita, Koji, Nakasaki, Masaru
• Primary Examiner(s): Hwa, Shyue Jiunn
• Application Number:
  US14/088,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20140236997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,646 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3684 for test design, e.g. generating new test cases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database

Abstract

A technique for facilitating debugging in a user program which operates by cooperation of a PLC and another system in a control system including a controller and another system. A CPU unit has a communication interface, executes a user program, calls DB connection service in accordance with an instruction included in the user program, and generates a statement to access a database device. In the DB connection service, operation is performed while switching a first mode and a second mode. In the first mode, a statement according to an access instruction is generated, the generated statement is transmitted to a database system, and a result of a response is sent to the user program. In the second mode, without transmitting the statement to the database device, a result of execution corresponding to the statement is sent to the user program.

Claims

1. A programmable controller comprising:

a communication interface configured to be connected to a database system;

an instruction executing unit configured to execute a user program for controlling a control object, the user program including an access instruction, the instruction executing unit executing the access instruction to access the database system; and

an access processing unit that controls the access to the database system via the communication interface by generating a database access statement according to the access instruction, wherein

the programmable controller sets the access processing unit to operate in a first mode and a second mode based on an instruction included in the user program,

the access processing unit switches to the one of the first mode and the second mode in accordance with a designation received via the communication interface,

in the first mode, the access processing unit transmits the generated database access statement according to the access instruction to the database system using the communication interface and sends a result of a response of the database system to the database access statement to the user program, and

in the second mode, the access processing unit sends an execution result corresponding to the generated database access statement to the user program without transmitting the database access statement to the database system to facilitate a debugging operation of the user program without communicating with the database system.

2. The programmable controller according to claim 1, further comprising a counting unit configured to count time based on a clock supplied by a system clock, wherein

at the time of executing a predetermined process in the user program, the instruction executing unit stores into a memory the process and time counted by the counting unit in association with each other, as a log, and

the access processing unit stores into the memory a process according to the access instruction and time counted by the counting unit in association with each other, as the log.

3. The programmable controller according to claim 2, wherein the access processing unit generates the database access statement according to the access instruction and stores the generated database access statement as the log into the memory.

4. The programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein in the second mode, the access processing unit transmits to the user program, as an execution result corresponding to the database access statement according to the access instruction, a response indicating that an access to the database system according to the database access statement is normally performed or a response indicative of occurrence of an error in an access to the database system according to the database access statement.

5. The programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein a control unit comprises a response time setting unit configured to accept a setting of response time and,

in the case of operating in the second mode, outputs a result of a process according to the access instruction after lapse of the set response time since start of the process.

6. The programmable controller according to claim 1, further comprising an input/output unit configured to transmit/receive data to/from an information processing apparatus connected to the programmable controller through the communication interface, wherein

the input/output unit outputs a result of a response to the user program by the access processing unit to the information processing apparatus in response to a request of the information processing apparatus.

7. The programmable controller according to claim 6, wherein the input/output unit accepts the designation of the one of the first mode and the second mode in which the access processing unit is to be operated from the information processing apparatus, and

the access processing unit switches to the one of the first more and the second mode in accordance with the designation accepted from the information processing apparatus.

8. The programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein the user program includes a designation instruction of instructing either the first mode or the second mode in which the access processing unit is to be operated, and

the access processing unit operates in either the first mode or the second mode in accordance with the designation indicated by the designation instruction.

12. The programmable controller according to claim 2, further comprising an input/output unit configured to transmit/receive data to/from an information processing apparatus connected to the programmable controller, wherein

the input/output unit outputs a result of a response by the database system to the database access statement to the user program by the access processing unit to the information processing apparatus in response to a request of the information processing apparatus.

13. The programmable controller according to claim 3, further comprising an input/output unit configured to transmit/receive data to/from an information processing apparatus connected to the programmable controller, wherein

the input/output unit outputs a result of a response to the user program by the access processing unit to the information processing apparatus in response to a request of the information processing apparatus.

14. The programmable controller according to claim 4, further comprising an input/output unit configured to transmit/receive data to/from an information processing apparatus connected to the programmable controller, wherein

the input/output unit outputs a result of a response to the user program by the access processing unit to the information processing apparatus in response to a request of the information processing apparatus.

15. The programmable controller according to claim 5, further comprising an input/output unit configured to transmit/receive data to/from an information processing apparatus connected to the programmable controller, wherein

the input/output unit outputs a result of a response to the user program by the access processing unit to the information processing apparatus in response to a request of the information processing apparatus.

16. The programmable controller according to claim 1, further comprising a support device coupled to the programmable controller, wherein,

in the second mode, the access processing unit stores the statement in an operation log and does not transmit the statement to the database system,

the operation log is accessible by a user by way of an instruction sent to the central processing unit by way of the support device.

19. The programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein

the first mode corresponds to a normal operating mode,

the second mode corresponds to a test mode, and

the test mode is for checking operation of the user program by using an instruction for connection to another system in a state where the programmable controller is not connected to the another system.

20. The programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein the database access statement comprises an SQL statement.

9. A computer-readable recording medium storing a computer program executable by a processor and configured to control operation of a programmable controller, wherein

the programmable controller comprises a communication interface configured to access a database system, the processor, and a memory, and

the program causes the processor to perform operations comprising:

executing a user program to control a control object;

at the time of executing the user program including an access instruction to access the database system, controlling an access to the database system via the communication interface by a database access statement generated according to the access instruction,

controlling an access to the database system by the database access statement according to the access instruction is performed in a first mode and a second mode based on an instruction included in the user program, wherein

the program causes the processor to switch to the one of the first mode and the second mode in accordance with a designation received via the communication interface,

in the first mode, the program causes the processor to perform operations comprising transmitting the database access statement according to the access instruction to the database system using the communication interface and sending a result of a response of the database system to the database access statement to the user program, and

in the second mode, the program causes the processor to perform operations comprising sending the result of execution corresponding to the database access statement to the user program without transmitting the database access statement to the database system to facilitate a debugging operation of the user program without communicating with the database system.

10. An information processing apparatus to be connected to a programmable controller, wherein

the programmable controller comprises:

a communication interface configured to be connected to a database system;

an instruction executing unit configured to execute a user program for controlling a control object;

an access processing unit, at the time of executing the user program including an access instruction for accessing the database system executed by the instruction executing unit, the access processing unit configured to control an access to the database system via the communication interface by a database access statement generated according to the access instruction; and

an input/output unit configured to be connected to the information processing apparatus and to transmit/receive data to/from the information processing apparatus, wherein

the programmable controller sets the access processing unit to operate in a first mode and a second mode based on an instruction included in the user program,

the access processing unit switches to the one of the first mode and the second mode in accordance with a designation received via the communication interface,

in the first mode, the access processing unit transmits the database access statement according to the access instruction to the database system using the communication interface and sends a result of a response of the database system to the database access statement to the user program, and

in the second mode, sends a result of execution corresponding to the database access statement to the user program to facilitate a debugging operation of the user program without transmitting the database access statement to the database system, and

the information processing unit comprises;

a reception processing unit configured to receive a result of a response to the user program by the access processing unit via the input/output unit of the programmable controller; and

a display processing unit configured to display the response result received by the reception processing unit on a monitor.

17. The information processing device according to claim 10, further comprising a support device coupled to the programmable controller, wherein,

in the second mode, the access processing unit stores the statement in an operation log and does not transmit the statement to the database system,

the operation log is accessible by a user by way of an instruction sent to the programmable controller by way of the support device.

11. A programmable controller comprising:

a communication interface configured to be connected to a database system;

a processor; and

a memory, wherein

the processor is configured to execute a user program for controlling a control object, the user program including an access instruction to access the database system, wherein

the user program causing the processor to perform operations comprising;

controlling an access via the communication interface to the database system by generating a database access statement according to the access instruction, operate while switching between a first mode and a second mode based on an instruction included in the user program, in the case of operation in the first mode, transmitting the statement according to the access instruction to the database system using the communication interface, sending a result of a response of the database system to the database access statement to the user program, in the case of operation in the second mode, sending a result of execution corresponding to the database access statement to the user program without transmitting the database access statement to the database system to facilitate a debugging operation of the user program without communicating with the database system.

18. The programmable controller according to claim 11, further comprising a support device coupled to the programmable controller, wherein,

in the second mode, the access processing unit stores the statement in an operation log and does not transmit the statement to the database system,

the operation log is accessible by a user by way of an instruction sent to the central processing unit by way of the support device.