Five programming languages are used in PLCs. They are defined by the international standard IEC 61131. Ladder logic is one of the most commonly used PLC languages.

Google introduced the open-source Logica programming language this week. It is designed to compile to SQL and run on Google BigQuery with experimental support for PostgreSQL and SQLite.

The debate between programming languages revolves around the necessity of sticking to ladder logic for ease of troubleshooting versus adopting higher-level languages for enhanced functionality and ...