Download Application Software Development via Model Based Design

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2.3 Benefits and disadvantages
The IEC 61131-3 standard has become very popular due to its open source format and
many advantages over traditional programming methods. One of the big words behind
the standard is reusability. The standard aims for completely reusable code, where all the
POUs can be implemented in any IEC standard compatible system. For programmers this
gives a huge advantage, because they can utilize one POU as many times as needed. Some
POUs can be used even in other devices, for example if the hardware system is updated.
With different hardware targets, there are usually different variable names and
performance requirements.
The main advantage and the reason why these kinds of standards are made is financial.
For manufacturers this standard has brought an ability to use ready-made software
components for different applications. This reduces development costs and a risk of a
faulty product, when using a previously tested software. Standardization also helps users,
because usually they work with different PLC systems and previously all of them required
different programming skills. With a universal programming language, a programmer can
work with different PLCs without specializing for a certain target.
The capability to use different programming languages in a single software provides
possibility to use the language best suitable for each component or the language that each
programmer knows best. This helps to divide the software development process into
smaller parts and divide the workload amongst different people.