Scripting engine for SCADA HMI

Abstract

Conventionally, the modules of SCADA system such as Message broker, Human Machine Interface (HMI) Building Environment, Database Manager and drivers including the SCADA HMI are developed in compiler-based languages such as C/C++. Thus, the person who develops the SCADA HMI has to be well versed with that language whose learning curve is steep. Every time the user has to rely on the SCADA engineer to develop the SCADA HMI for them. Customization of SCADA HMI is a difficult task, as all the classes and the pointers in the language has to be managed by the SCADA Engineer, thus, increasing the time to market. Scripting Engine module with combination of Qt technology is introduced in this study, which enables the SCADA Engineer to develop SCADA HMI using easy to use scripting language, balancing the time required for development as well as meeting the performance standards. As scripting languages are believed to be easily adoptable by the non-programmer, the person with the non-programming background can easily setup the SCADA screens. The comparative analysis of the Scripting Engine approach and conventional approach is also presented in this study.