The Nodalis IDE provides a third means of developing PLC programs through the MTI Skipper Sheets approach to programming. MTI Skipper Sheets is an approach to PLC programming developed by Tim Skipper at Montgomery Technology, Inc, and it is the method used for programming the MTI PLC (known as the Embedded Controller). But, Skipper Sheets can also be used to program any PLC supported by Nodalis because Nodalis can transpile Skipper Sheets into Ladder Logic and Structured Text and then into the targets already supported.

The Nodalis IDE supports the creation of files using the IEC 61131-10 XML Exchange format. This format provides a way of creating a complete project for programming PLCs. Nodalis creates these files with a “.iec” extension, but the raw content of the file is XML.

In this chapter, we will explain the process for developing a PLC resource using Structured Text files. This chapter (and all subsequent chapters) assume that you have a working knowledge of the IEC 61131-3 languages, especially Structured Text and Ladder Logic.

Nodalis IDE is an extension for Visual Studio Code that provides an integrated means of developing PLC resources in Structured Text and the IEC 61131-10 XML exchange structure (.iec files). It also allows you to develop using MTI’s Skipper Sheets programming method, which is a spreadsheet style programming approach. In this chapter, we will explain the basics of the IDE. In subsequent chapters, we will explain how to program for specific targets and interfaces.

The Nodalis-Compiler npm package can be installed globally for use from a terminal. Here, we provide an explanation of each command line argument and action for the compiler.

Nodalis is a suite of tools intended to provide cross-platform, cross-language development for Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) using the IEC 61131-3 programming languages or the MTI Skipper Sheets programming method. There are three core elements of the Nodalis platform.