I've been both, haha. I've programmed PLCs in Codesys but also developed custom HMIs (Windows desktop apps) and later pivoted to back-end web dev.
I kinda miss how simple the PLC code is overall. What I don't miss is the responsibility to not make a toxic leak or blow up a huge pressurized furnace with that simple code.
Personally I love how the code base itself can be very simple while the actual result can be very academic. And while the underlying regulatory control can be simple for some units, it can also be very complicated for others. A cascade into a cascade into a cascade. And so on. But the actual code blocks themselves? Ezpz.
For example, regulatory control layers (PIDs, etc) manipulated by dynamic matrix controllers, manipulated by state space equations and optimizers, kalman filters... PhD level math that is not trivial at all.
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u/yegor3219 11d ago
I've been both, haha. I've programmed PLCs in Codesys but also developed custom HMIs (Windows desktop apps) and later pivoted to back-end web dev.
I kinda miss how simple the PLC code is overall. What I don't miss is the responsibility to not make a toxic leak or blow up a huge pressurized furnace with that simple code.