Does Python scripting knowledge is essential to work in Ignition?

General Discussion
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this question is kind of stupid but still i would like to know. I am just curious, is it possible to work on Ignition without doing any Python scripting? I am more like a Ladder Logic oriented guy. Even mostly I step away from even ST programming. I am not a good fan of C, C++, Java, Python blah blah… So my concern, is there any possible way to fulfill all requirement in Ignition without scripting. Thanks in Advance…

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I think that all depends on the complexity of the project. I personally have not yet encountered a project that I could do everything without scripting …

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If you want a button to set 2 or more tags, you’ll have to script it. Very very very very basic scripting level ( basically copy - paste ), but you’ll have to do it.

So,

IMHO it depends on the meaning of “without scripting”:

  • if you don’t want to script AT ALL: well, it is possible but you’ll have limited feature
  • if you want to keep the scripting level at minimum: you can do almost whatever you want

For example, I just finished an aluminium extrusion plant (15k tags) with low scripting level ( obviously only HMI )

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IMO, this is a great opportunity for you. You even have two advantages:

  • Python is a relatively easy language to learn.
  • You have an excellent support group here for Ignition-specific things.
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On a simple project, it’s possible to do without Python programming. There are many workarounds that can be made over the PLC and via bindings to hide/show UI elements.

F.e. if you need to set two tags via one button (as the example given above): just fix that in the PLC and react on one tag to set the two final values.

On the other hand, the Python scripting does add a lot of value to Ignition in how easy it becomes to do non-standard stuff. So in the end, it pays off to learn a minimum of scripting.

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Thank you all for your valuable reply. I appreciate it… So I’ll start learning python scripting.

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Most of what you need to know are actually the Ignition-specific system functions: https://docs.inductiveautomation.com/display/DOC79/Scripting+Functions

And off course, the simple stuff like if-else clauses, for loops, how a list looks, …

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