Second, Guido Van Rossum, Python’s inventor, designed it for high readability, a key trait when multiple engineers will work on or maintain the same code and a feature that fuels the fire of innovative iteration.

Foremost, Python is renowned for its ability to handle huge data sets. When we look at the strengths of the world’s most popular programming language, we see some clear advantages for IIoT. After all, IIoT devices use information to optimize their operations. As a result, we’re witnessing an IT/OT convergence, a breaking down of the silos that have long separated the Information Technology professionals from their Operational Technology counterparts. First, Industry 4.0 is changing the paradigm for how we think about industrial automation namely, its emphasis on “smart” machinery with improved autonomy, a rich big data landscape, and full integration with next-gen technologies like additive manufacturing and cloud computing.Īnother implication of Industry 4.0 is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which connects industrial machinery on a local network for real-time machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and to provide a steady stream of sensor data for analytics. However, we’re now seeing a confluence of factors that are shining a spotlight on Python. What’s changed to make an interpreted, high-level language become suddenly appealing? Python code typically runs slower than a compiled language that’s closer to machine code, and it’s certainly not up to the task of real-time control, which is a major sticking point when developing industrial systems. Until very recently, nobody was talking about using Python on the factory floor. For applications like robotics, we often see compiled, low-level programming languages like those found in the C family. When we start the conversation about which programming languages to use for industrial automation use cases, we usually begin by talking about IEC 61131-3 languages for PLCs, such as the classic Ladder Diagram (LD) or Structured Text (ST).

Open source plc ladder logic software