Development Introduction


Operands

The framework supports addressing of Inputs, Periphery Input, Outputs, Periphery Output, Flags, Data Blocks, Counters and Timers. Which of the components just mentioned is to be accessed is described via the operand portion of the PLC data address. The following table describes the different abbreviations, which are referred to as operands:

Name Term (Siemens, DE) Term (IEC)
Input E I
Periphery Input PE PI
Output A Q
Periphery Output PA PQ
Flag M M
Data Block DB DB
Counter Z C
Timer T T

In the case of a data block, the operand is followed by the number of the data block. This is followed by a period and repeats the abbreviation for the operand for data blocks.

The backus-naur form of an operand is defined as follows:

  • <Data-Block-Number> ::= 0-65535
  • <Siemens-Operand> ::= E | PE | A | PA | M | DB<Data-Block-Number>.DB | Z | T
  • <IEC-Operand> ::= I | PI | Q | PQ | M | DB<Data-Block-Number>.DB | C | T

Offsets

The actual addressing part of the PLC address comes after the operand and is divided into the data type identifier (in raw data format) and the offset for the byte to be addressed as well as the bit to be addressed if necessary (separated by a dot). The supported data type identifiers and their valid terms (for the raw data types) are described in the following table:

Datatype Term Bits Value Range Description Array
BOOL X 1 0 to 1 A single Bit to represent true (1) or false (0) yes
BYTE B 8 0 to 255 Unsigned 8-Bit Integer yes
WORD W 16 0 to 65.535 Unsigned 16-Bit Integer (Word) yes
DWORD D 32 0 to 232 -1 Unsigned 32-Bit Integer (Double Word) yes
CHAR B 8 A+00 to A+ff Unsigned 8-Bit Zeichen as ASCII-Code yes
INT W 16 -32.768 to 32.767 Signed 16-Bit Integer yes
DINT D 32 -231 to 231-1 Signed 32-Bit Integer yes
REAL D 32 +-1.5e-45 to +-3.4e38 32-Bit Floating point number with single precision (according to IEEE754) yes
S5TIME W 16 00.00:00:00.100 to 00.02:46:30.000 Binary Coded Decimal-Number (BCD), representing a span of time
TIME D 32 00.00:00:00.000 to 24.20:31:23.647 Signed 16-Bit Integer, representing a span of time in milliseconds
TIME_OF_DAY D 32 00.00:00:00.000 to 00.23:59:59.999 Unsigned 16-Bit Integer, representing a span of time in milliesconds
DATE W 16 01.01.1990 to 31.12.2168 Unsigned 16-Bit Integer, representing a date in days
DATE_AND_TIME D 64 00:00:00.000 01.01.1990 to 23:59:59.999 31.12.2089 Binary Coded Decimal-Number (BCD), representing a date and time
S7STRING B - A+00 to A+ff A ASCII-Code encoded String of 254 Bytes maximum

Raw Data Types

The term stands for:

  • X = Bit, to address a single bit (when addressing a bit, the X is optional)
  • B = Byte, to address 8 Bits
  • W = Word, to address 16 Bits
  • D = Double Word (short DWord), to address 32 Bits

If the operand part and the data type identifiers just mentioned are put together, the following Backus-Naur form results:
<Operand with data type identifier> ::= (<Siemens-Operand> | <IEC-Operand>) [ X ] | B | W | D

Examples

If you add the offset information to the PLC address, the address is complete and can look like this:

Example Datatype PLC Address (Siemens, DE) PLC Address (IEC)
First Bit in first Byte in Input BOOL E 1.0 I 1.0
Seventh Bit in first Byte in Output BOOL A 1.7 Q 1.7
First Bit in tenth Byte in Flag BOOL M 10.1 M 10.1
Zero Bit in first Byte in Data Block with number 1 BOOL DB1.DBX 1.0 DB1.DBX 1.0
First byte in Input BYTE EB 1 IB 1
Thenth Byte in Output BYTE AB 10 QB 10
Hundres of Byte in Flag BYTE MB 100 MB 100
Zero Byte in Periphery Input BYTE PEB 0 PIB 0
First Byte in Periphery Output BYTE PAB 1 PQB 1
First Byte in Data Block with number 2 BYTE DB2.DBB 1 DB2.DBB 1
Zero Double Word in Periphery Input DWORD PED 0 PID 0

With the Backus-Naur form for the byte and bit offset, the complete PLC address is as follows:

  • <Byte Offset> ::= 0-65535
  • <Bit Offset> ::= 0-7
  • <PLC Address> ::= <Operand with data type identifier> <Byte Offset> [. <Bit Offset> ]

Open

This happens when you call 'Open':

  1. It is checked whether an end point has been set (EndPoint property).
  2. The connection changes its status (PlcDeviceConnection.State property) to the value Opening.
  3. The connection checks its configuration for validity and coherence.
  4. The connection then prepares for the first communication with the PLC.
  5. The connection changes its status (PlcDeviceConnection.State property) to the value Opened.

Connect

This happens when calling 'Connect':

  1. It is checked whether the connection has already been opened (state property).
  2. The connection changes its status (PlcDeviceConnection.State property) to the value Connecting.
  3. The connection establishes a physical connection for the PLC and now occupies one of the maximum possible connections to the PLC.
  4. Then, precautions are taken for monitoring the connection:
    1. “KeepAlive-Tracking” for the detection of dropped connections
    2. “Notification-Tracking” to receive notifications
  5. The connection changes its status (PlcDeviceConnection.State property) to the value Connected.

Close

This happens when you call 'Close':

  1. The connection changes its status (PlcDeviceConnection.State property) to the value Closing.
  2. The connection releases all acquired resources
  3. Completes the monitoring of the physical connection
  4. Any physical connection to the PLC that has been established is terminated and is thus available to other participants.
  5. The socket created during connect is closed and discarded.
  6. The connection changes its status (PlcDeviceConnection.State property) to the value Closed.

BreakDetection

The “BreakDetection” designates the mechanism that is responsible for the detection of connection aborts. The KeepAlive process is used to recognize a timeout of the connection to the PLC. If the timeout occurs, the framework automatically tries to re-establish a connection to the PLC. While KeepAlive messages are sent to the PLC at regular intervals in order to “test” and “maintain” the connection, if the response times are too long (= timeout reached?) to receive a KeepAlive message it is assumed that the connection is interrupted. If this is the case, another KeepAlive message is sent at ever greater intervals. If these remain unanswered, a broken connection is assumed and the previously described mechanism for re-establishing the connection comes into effect. The termination detection, which is not activated by default, is activated via the PlcDeviceConnection.UseBreakDetection property.

Connection Parameters

The correct parameters must be set so that a connection to the PLC can be established. Generally the IP address of the PLC (IPDeviceEndPoint.Adress property) is required, under which it can be reached. The endpoint instance expected from the SiemensDevice setups the connection with all the information that is primarily necessary to connect to the PLC. Instead of the static IP address, the DNS name of the PLC can also be used, so “plc_man_drill_001” could be used instead of “192.168.0.80”. In addition to the IP address of the PLC, the end point requires the number of the rack (the position of the mounting rail) and the number of the slot of the CPU. If no rack or slot number is configured at the end point, the framework automatically tries to set the appropriate numbers. Which number has to be entered manually in the individual case always depends on the setup of the system / control cabinet. The rack number (starting at 0) defines the position of the mounting rail on which the PLC was attached in the body. The slot number (starting at 1) defines the position of the CPU in the setup of the modules of the PLC. An S7-300 mounted on the first top hat rail therefore has rack number 0.

The arrangement of the modules (on the mounting rail) corresponds to the diagram:

  1. “Power Supply (SP)” Modul
  2. “CPU” Modul
  3. “Interface” Modul (IM)
  4. “Signal” Modul 1 (SM)
  5. “Signal” Modul 2 (SM)
  6. “Signal” Modul 3 (SM)

Then slot number 2 applies to this PLC because the CPU was positioned at this position.