Hi Smiles
Here's another spin on the topic. In the life sciences industries such as Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Complementary Medicines etc, there is such an activity called "validation". We have to validate all our system / equipment, process etc. One of the most critisied aspects of automated system / equipment is PLC programming or should I say code design. Because usually there ain't none. This gives validation engineers a headache because most PLC systems are designed for specific customer needs and this means bespoke / customised code. This means full on validation.
So my point is going to be that PLC programmers should begin the design of their systems with standard system analysis & process design tools / charts / diagrams / flowcharts /pseudo code. What ever it takes to develop good PLC code that can be easily (financially & technically) maintained. This gives guys like me something to compare against the ladder logic so I can say hey (white box testing) this code is well written there are proper safety aspects it is fail safe and I reckon it will work, now lets black box test it.
But if you are just programming for fun so that you can open the door on the dog kennel then go for your life and hack the **** out of it.
Regards
PaulS