Hi, Chris! I have more than 20 years in the TIC industry and Python is not my preferred language for real-world projects or even for hobby projects.
My particular technical opinion about Python is that this language is an engineering mistake (pythonists, no offense intended). However, I use Python always when it is required to use Python. Said that, "Admittedly this doesn’t seem to have worked or we simply don’t know it." My suggestion is to rethink the strategy: So far, PLC4X focused on the old guys in the automation industry. This previous experience showed that these guys are (usually) less prone to changes. They use the same tools for years long and probably most of them are not inclined to spend energy or take risks to embrace new ways or tools. My suggestion is to focus on the enormous volume of engineering students playing educational/researching projects. - Tutorials showing how to use PLC4X to communicate with PLC Simulators - Easy support for Python and Java - Prebuilt packages like pip and maven - Simple runnable examples, lots of - Mix market: YouTube, StackOverflow, Medium, etc My feeling is that, in a second moment, this new public can form the critical mass to drive PLC4X for a more shopfloor-oriented, industrial scenario moving the proprietary alternatives to obsolescence. I would like to highlight that I am not criticizing PLC4X here. Quite the opposite. IMO PLC4X can play a game-changing. >From the schoolbook: "Economics is the study of how we choose to use limited resources to obtain the maximum satisfaction of unlimited human wants" Thus, this is not about Python or Java or specifically code. My understanding about the code is that PLC4X as is (i.e., keeping netty) can rapidly take the scene control. Sorry if I'm stretching this talk for too long. I only would like to tell what I can see from an external perspective. Best regards, -- Luiz Carlos d´Oleron
