Re:Vulnerable industrial controls directly connected to Inte...
by taneq on Monday January 29, 2018 @07:39PM
(#16261953)
Absolutely not. Most industrial automation engineers, let alone electricians, are unable to handle Structured Text (the standard IEC text-based programming language for PLCs), let alone Python. Haskell is not even on the same planet.
And a DSL is the exact opposite of what we're trying to accomplish: An electrician with no prior knowledge of the system needs to be able to read the code and understand which switches and sensors need to be turned on in order for that motor over there to start. Having to learn an entire new custom language at 3AM when you're losing $700,000 an hour in lost production is not an option.
(Edit: I should clarify that I'm talking about mining here. High end factory automation engineers may very well be more familiar with 'traditional' languages.)
And a DSL is the exact opposite of what we're trying to accomplish: An electrician with no prior knowledge of the system needs to be able to read the code and understand which switches and sensors need to be turned on in order for that motor over there to start. Having to learn an entire new custom language at 3AM when you're losing $700,000 an hour in lost production is not an option.
(Edit: I should clarify that I'm talking about mining here. High end factory automation engineers may very well be more familiar with 'traditional' languages.)