PLCnext Apps A PLCnext App (in the following also called “app” for short) is a collection of functionalities bundled into one large file that can be understood and executed by the PLCnext Runtime System. Each app may contain multiple different parts, that provide functionalities to the system in their own way. To… Read More
PLCnext Software Development Kit Phoenix Contact recommends developing libraries and executable binaries for the different app parts on a separate PC, and not directly on the controller. For the development on a separate PC you need a tool chain consisting of an SDK and a cross compiler. One possible tool chain… Read More
Update Configurations The update process is shown in the following figure: To update an app you need only to install the app container which contains the new app version (without uninstalling the old app version). The update is detected automatically when: An app is… Read More
Command Line Tools A Command Line Tools app part makes it possible to integrate functionalities (cmd tools) into a system that are usable via the command line and that can be started from a shell without specifying the full path to the tool executable binary. Necessary additions… Read More
Configuration of the PLCnext Runtime Services If you need access or sometimes exclusive access to PLCnext System Services in your app or a PLCnext System Service is not allowed to be running when your app run, you can state this in the “plcnextservices” field of the app_info.json. This… Read More
Linux Daemons A (Linux) Daemon can be integrated into a system in the form of an app. After its activation, it is entered into the Linux system start and started independently of the runtime. A daemon that is independent of the runtime is called a “Linux Daemon”. Read More
PLCnext Engineer Solution A PLCnext Engineer Solution contains a complete PLCnext Engineer project configuration as an app part. PLCnext Engineer Solution is called in the following solution. The user of a solution does not need any programming knowledge to use the app. A solution is transferred directly from the PLCnext Store… Read More
Shared Libraries It can happen that an exe file integrated in the app container, such as a Command Line Tool, brings its own Shared Libraries with it and needs them for its execution. Such Shared Libraries can be integrated into the app container and made known to the… Read More
PLCnext Extensions Extensions of the runtime can be integrated into a system in the form of an app. With a PLCnext Extension, the runtime can be extended by the following elements: A process dependent on the runtime (process) A component (component) A Shared Library (library),… Read More
File-/Data-Storage The files of an app container are unpacked into a read only filesystem mounted via SquashFS, so that the apps cannot save/store data/files in their installation directory at runtime. The app description can be used to specify whether a persistent and/or temporary location is… Read More
