A blog from Copia Automation advocates the use of Git for industrial automation. Git-based version control is the de facto standard for software developers. Copia has extended the paradigm to industrial automation professionals who can use Git to develop and maintain programmable logic control programs.
Copia’s Git-based source control deploys and hosts (on AWS) an implementation of the Linux/open source Git version* control program, adding its own process bells and whistles. Control engineers can track their code revisions, see the ladder logic or function block diagram code displayed outside the development tool, and visualize the differences between versions.
The distributed version control system allows multiple developers to work on a project simultaneously. Other coding aids include branching, merge tracking and code review. Git stores multiple versions of code so that an earlier version can be recovered in the event of data loss. PLC code can be viewed from the web browser, with granular access permissions set by an administrator. Code is stored on remote servers with additional security measures such as encryption and two-factor authentication. Cryptographic hashes track code versions to avoid malicious tampering.
Copia’s DeviceLink automatically backs up control devices, detect and notify users of changes. Copia is said to bridge the gap between IT and OT, facilitating convergence. IT folk are usually familiar with Git workflows. Implementing Git gives IT visibility into the world of OT. Conversely OT benefits from IT’s expertise to set up streamlined processes.
More from Copia and the online Pro Git resource.
*As we understand it, this Git is the Linux/open source GIT code base as opposed to Microsoft’s hosted GitHub.
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