IEC1131-3-a systems integrator´s view

IEC1131-3 is a worldwide standard issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and is the first real attempt to standardise programming environments for industrial automation equipment. Initially it was seen as a PLC standard, but is now more widely regarded as applicable to any industrial automation product, including DCSs, motion control and SCADA, to name but a few. The main feature of the standard is that it stipulates a hierarchical structure, a suite of 5 programming languages and standard data types to be used for configuring a process controller. Therefore, once a user is familiar with the standard, not only will they be conversant with a powerful programming environment, but also this environment will be very similar regardless of whose hardware is being used