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This invention relates to a programming station for an automation application that will be executed in an automation equipment. The programming station stores at least one file in an internal memory containing a description grammar for automation applications in text format, for at least one of the

This invention relates to a programming station for an automation application that will be executed in an automation equipment. The programming station stores at least one file in an internal memory containing a description grammar for automation applications in text format, for at least one of the graphic automation languages (Ladder, SFC, FBD) using a single, hierarchised and object oriented language. It also contains a set of one or several description files, each description file describing part of the automation application and being expressed in this single language. The single, hierarchised and object oriented language is the XML (eXtended Markup Language) language.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A programming station for generating an automation application program, to be executed in automation equipment and written in at least one graphic automation language, said programming station comprising: an internal memory for storing a plurality of grammar files writt

The invention claimed is: 1. A programming station for generating an automation application program, to be executed in automation equipment and written in at least one graphic automation language, said programming station comprising: an internal memory for storing a plurality of grammar files written in text format and compliant with eXtensible Markup Language (XML) syntax, each said grammar file comprising a description grammar describing a syntax of a respective graphic automation language, said internal memory for storing a plurality of application description files, each said application description files being expressed in an XML language and describing part of said automation application program, and said programming station is for using at least one of said grammar files to generate at least one of said application description files describing part of said automation application program, wherein said automation application program is generated by said programming station using at least one of the application description files, and wherein said application description files comprise an automation application program description file, an application input-output description file and an application data description file. 2. The programming station according to claim 1, wherein: said grammar file comprises a Ladder language description program, wherein at least one application element of an application is described as an object comprising at least one attribute comprising at least one of objects, parameters, variables and texts, and the internal memory is for storing information having a tree structure. 3. The programing station according to claim 2, wherein application elements written according to the Ladder language program comprise a contact, a horizontal link, a vertical link, a coil, a short circuit, an empty cell, a function block call, a flexible function block expression, a comparison block and an arithmetical operations block. 4. The programing station according to claim 1, further comprising: a programming station display means; a table of rows and columns of data for displaying a graph of an object to be displayed by the programing station display means; and a position object for defining graphic coordinates of a position of said object to be displayed, wherein said grammar file comprises a Sequential Function Charts language description program for describing an application in the Sequential Function Charts language, wherein at least one application element of an application is described as an object comprising at least one of a step, a transition element, a jump, a link between graphs, and a comment. 5. The programing station according to claim 1, wherein said grammar file comprises a function block language description program for describing an application in the function block description language, wherein at least one application element of an application is described as an object in the function block description language. 6. The programing station according to claim 5, wherein the at least one application element comprises any of function blocks, text boxes, links between blocks, jump instructions, labels and comments. 7. The programming station according to claim 1, comprising an Extended Markup Language handler stored in non-volatile memory, said handler for sending and receiving notifications with a management module of a decision tree model representative of an automation application expressed in the single, hierarchical and object oriented language, and also with a plurality of database managers, each manager being specific to part of an automation application stored in one of the databases. 8. An automation equipment for executing an automation program, comprising memory means for storing a plurality of automation eXtensible Markup Language (XML) application description files expressed in XML language, each said XML application description file describing at least part of an automation program written in at least one graphic automation language compliant with the XML language, the automation equipment also comprising translating means for converting each XML application description file into a binary language that can be executed by the automation equipment; and a plurality of grammar files written in text format and compliant with XML syntax, each said grammar file comprising a description grammar describing a syntax of a respective graphic automation language, and at least one of the said grammar files is for generating at least one of said application description files; wherein said application description files comprise an automation program description file describing said automation application program, an application input-output description file for describing inputs-outputs manages by said automation application program, and an application data description file for describing data used by said automation application program. 9. The automation equipment according to claim 8 wherein the set of XML application description files contains an application program description file, an application input-output description file, and an application data description file. 10. The automation equipment according to claim 8, further comprising a grammar file storing a description grammar, said description grammar for translation of at least a part of such automation program from at least one graphic automation language into the XML language. 11. The automation equipment according to claim 10, further comprising means for checking that the description of an application written in the XML language satisfies a description grammar of the graphic automation language used by the automation equipment. 12. The automation equipment according to claim 10, wherein the graphic automation language used by the automation equipment includes at least one language among the Ladder language, the SFC language and the FBD language.