Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Seimens Aktiengesellschaft

Thilo Opaterny

Armin Amrhein

Dietmar Schulz

Lothar Trapp

Georg Rupprecht

Manfred Prechtl

Bernhard Jany

Ulrich Göddemeier

Richard Donhauser

Pirmin Lind

Klaus Göbel

Werner Kuske

There is described a method for monitoring a cyclic user program which is executed on an automation device by means of a programming device connected to communicate with the automation device, with a monitoring task being sent from the programming device to the automation device and the monitoring task containing command numbers of the commands to be monitored as well as the associated variables. With the method rarely run branches of the user program can also be easily observed by an execution of a command, by the data associated with the variables with corresponding command number and a first counter value, which assigns the data directly or indirectly to a cycle of the user program, being stored by the automation device in a recording buffer, by the old recording of the associated data including the first counter value being overwritten on renewed execution of the command and by the recording buffer being able to be output at the request of the programming device by the automation device.

Method for monitoring a cyclic user program

For the purpose of evaluating at least one characteristic value of at least one function in the execution of a program, a method uses a graphical representation of the at least one determined characteristic value associated with the functions. The representation is subdivided into a hierarchical structure, dependent on the degree of call depth of the function, and each call of a function in the graphical representation occupies an area whose size is dependent on the associated determined characteristic value in each case. In this context characteristic values can be any variables that are measurable by means of a profiler, as already explained in the introduction. Typically, an execution of a program is initiated via the calling of first functions, also referred to hereinafter as call depth. Said functions may possibly call further functions, i.e. of call depth, and so on, until processing of the desired task has been completed. At the same time functions can also be called multiple times and by all means from multiple call depths, a function not being specified in terms of call depth.

Method for evaluating at least one characteristic value

The invention relates to a system and a method for easily switching between a number of sets () of objects () each mapped by means of a hierarchical structure. In this case the interrelationships of the objects () are typically presented in a tree structure. A transition point () can be used to switch between the individual different trees which represent the different interrelationships of the objects ().

Multihierarchy control

The invention relates to an automation system with a control unit, to which at least one sensor or actuator is connected. To connect it to the control unit, the sensor or actuator is connected to the connector which features an RFID chip with relevant data of the sensor or actuator. The data for use in the control unit can be read out by means of a reader.

Automation system with a connected sensor or actuator

The invention relates to a method for operating a computer system. The inventive method allows best possible utilization of the efficiency of a concrete target hardware by providing in a program alternative passages of which exactly one is selected for execution by the processor by means of a code.

Method for operating a computer system

When systems controlled using a program logic, such as automation systems, are started up, it is necessary to observe individual program areas specifically. Program areas of this type are usually described by one or more modules of a program. This presents the problem that, in order to obtain an accurate analysis, the requests for these modules have to be identified in connection with the modules themselves, since they are ordinarily used multiple times. The present testing method and testing device are used to calculate and display a hierarchical request tree that shows the requests corresponding to a selected module. One or more requests for the selected module can be selected for observation by selecting individual lines of this request tree.

Testing method and testing device for starting up systems which are controlled by means of a program logic

An automation system, and method for operating an automation system, comprising at least one automation device and one programming device connected therewith, or each containing a communications program, so that they can communicate with one another. The automation device executes an application program, particularly a program to control and/or monitor an external technical process, and the programming device monitors the execution of the application program in that one or a plurality of data addresses () of the application program is selected for monitoring on the programming device. For each data address () selected for monitoring, a code address (), that is, an address of the application program, particularly an address in the immediate proximity of a segment of the application program that influences the content of the selected data address, is selected on the programming device, and the selected data address () together with the code address () is transmitted to the automation device as part of a request message (AT). The present invention records the content of the selected data address () during execution of the application program when the corresponding code address () is reached, and the recorded content of the data address is transmitted to the programming device as part of a result message (ET).

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Nürnberg, Germany

Thilo Opaterny