IoT & Hardware
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You're reading from  Mastering PLC Programming

Product typeBook
Published inMar 2023
PublisherPackt
ISBN-139781804612880
Edition1st Edition
Concepts
PLC Programming
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Author (1)
Mason White
Mason White
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Mason White

M.T. White has been programming since the age of 12. His fascination with robotics flourished when he was a child programming microcontrollers such as Arduinos. M.T. currently holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics, a master's degree in soft ware engineering, and is currently working on an MBA in IT project management. M.T. is currently working as a soft ware developer for a major US defense contractor and is an adjunct CIS instructor at ECPI University. His background mostly stems from the automation industry where he programmed PLCs and HMIs for many different types of applications. M.T. has programmed many different brands of PLCs over the years and has developed HMIs using many different tools.
Read more about Mason White

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Understanding state machines

As a software engineer, especially one that writes PLC code, you must understand what state machines are. State machines to PLC programmers are what the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern is for web developers. To be a quality PLC programmer, you must understand what a state machine is and how to implement one.

The most simplified way to think of a state machine is as a series of states that can transition from one state to another. A simple example of a state machine is a lightbulb connected to a switch. The following diagram represents the state of a lightbulb:

Figure 2.14 – Lightbulb state machine

Figure 2.14 – Lightbulb state machine

As can be seen with the arrows, if the lightbulb is on, it can transition to off when the switch is flicked down. If the lightbulb is off, it can transition to an on state when the switch is flicked up.

The majority of state machines that you are going to work with as a PLC programmer are called finite state machines...

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Mastering PLC Programming
Published in: Mar 2023Publisher: PacktISBN-13: 9781804612880
© 2023 Packt Publishing Limited All Rights Reserved

Author (1)

author image
Mason White

M.T. White has been programming since the age of 12. His fascination with robotics flourished when he was a child programming microcontrollers such as Arduinos. M.T. currently holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics, a master's degree in soft ware engineering, and is currently working on an MBA in IT project management. M.T. is currently working as a soft ware developer for a major US defense contractor and is an adjunct CIS instructor at ECPI University. His background mostly stems from the automation industry where he programmed PLCs and HMIs for many different types of applications. M.T. has programmed many different brands of PLCs over the years and has developed HMIs using many different tools.
Read more about Mason White

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