Host Engineering Forum
General Category => DirectSOFT => Topic started by: Alacrity on August 08, 2007, 01:06:12 PM
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I would give my first born child for a BASIC interpreter for the Automation direct DL06 PLC's.
Are there any plans for such a thing? Would anyone else like to see something like that?
This ladder Logic is killing me slowly.
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Why wish? There's a BASIC coprocessor! I don't know the part number, but it would occupy one of the I/O slots.
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I called Automation direct about that. They told me that it was just for processing ascii communications with a keypad or barcode scanner and won't work to control the PLC I/O
That and I'd have to buy one for every PLC we have in the field.
If automation direct customer service was wrong, then I'll have some strong words for them.
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Well, it's slow (interpretive) and you gotta go through the main CPU. Even VB.NET is interpreted by the .NET framework, so that's no surprise.
You can move in/out blocks at a time (maybe?). Move in a bunch of V memory in and out of the main PLC, and have ladder logic that all it does is move THAT V memory into and out of real Xs and Ys???
How fast do you need it to be?
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Speed isn't an issue.. The devices are only polled once every ten minutes.
There's nothing that requires lightning fast calculations.
The Problem is those cards cost 95% of the price of the PLC itself.
An IDE that goes from basic to the machine code, instead of from Ladder Logic would be nicer. :-)
Ah well.. I guess I'm in the minority.. I just find Ladder Logic to be very klunky.
DEATH TO BCD!
Regards,
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Alacrity,
I have a system that uses the BASIC co-processor from FACTS Engineering (not to be confused with Host Engineering). I got it to do complex calculations like computing the time of civil twilight for today. I don't think you'd like the co-processor. It's klunkier than ladder logic. It's like the old service bureau BASIC invented by GE in the 50s or early 60's.
Things I don't like: line numbers, maximum 255 strings all called $, maximum array size 255, variable name rules that make Bakeit and Burnit the same variable, a "glass teletype" user interface that needs a serial cable (can't use the ECOM connection), Line Numbers, odd handling of PLC addresses that are octal (it will accept the value 9 but treat it as 1), odd conversions between binary, hex, octal, bcd, real, ... when communicating with PLC memory, next to worthless error messages, did I mention LINE NUMBERS.
Things I do like: it's always on when the PLC is on, it can access 128 words (which you address in BASIC as 256 bytes) of PLC memory on every scan.
If I had it to do over, I would have thrown away my D2-250-1 and upgraded to a 260. The 260 can do trig.
Roger
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It looks like the Intel 8051 BASIC which is now in public domain. As previously stated, kinda clunky :D