Required Installations for C++ programming
Valid from toolchain 2021.6
Mandatory installations
In order to develop C++ programs and use them in a PLCnext Technology real-time application, the following installations are required.
PLCnext Engineer automation engineering software
The PLCnext Engineer software is required for starting up your PLCnext Control. For additional information, refer to the online help in the PLCnext Engineer user interface.
Tip: Starting with release 2022.0 LTS, the PLCnext Engineer embedded help is also online available.
In the Getting started with PLCnext Engineer you will find information on how to install and get started with PLCnext Engineer.
Importing a library into PLCnext Engineer describes how to import a PLM library and instantiate a program thereof. To use PLM libraries built with the PLCnext CLI, at least the same release version of the PLCnext Engineer is needed.
PLCnext programming toolchain and PLCnext CLI
The PLCnext Technology Toolchain is a set of tools you will need when programming for PLCnext Technology in high-level languages. From its release 2021.6 on, the PLCnext toolchain integrates all tools for PLCnext C# development. See Installing the PLCnext toolchain for details.
The PLCnext CLI is a command line interface that can be used for generating metadata, C++ header files, PLCnext Engineer libraries and for the build process. PLCnext CLI functions can be called using simple commands. An integrated help lists the commands and describes their functions. For details on using this lightweight, versatile tool see PLCnext CLI.
Compatibility:
The PLCnext CLI was tested and released for Microsoft® Windows® 10 and for Linux® (tested with Ubuntu 18.04.1.LTS).
Where to get the tool:
The PLCnext CLI is bundled with the PLCnext Technology Toolchain installation package.
- Find an installation package free-of-charge in the download area of the product page for each PLCnext Control.
- For a version overview and direct links to the respective product pages, see the Tools topic in this Info Center.
PLCnext Technology SDKs
An Solution Development Kit (SDK) contains all of the important toolchains and libraries required for creating a program for a specific PLCnext Control type.
Compatibility:
SDKs are specific not only to devices but also to firmware releases and to the operating system on the computer you're using for programming. So downloading, installing and uninstalling SDKs might be a frequent task when programming. For details see Managing SDKs.
Where to get the tool:
PLCnext Technology SDKs are separate installation packages for each device, firmware release and operating system (Windows®/Linux®).
- Find an installation package free-of-charge in the download area of the product page for each PLCnext Control.
- For a version overview and direct links to the respective product pages, see the Tools topic in this Info Center.
Optional installations
IDE and PLCnext Technology plug-ins
Phoenix Contact officially offers a Visual Studio® extension and an Eclipse® add-in. It extends the well known integrated development environments (IDEs) with templates, profiles, functionalities, and a debugging option.
For details see Installing IDE plug-ins.
- programmed in C++ at github.com/plcnext/CppExamples
- programmed in C# at github.com/plcnext/CSharpExamples