Glossary · Automation fundamentals, platforms and components
Scripts
Also known as: Script, Scripting
German: Skripte
In automation and IT, scripts are programs written in interpreted languages, such as Python, PowerShell, JavaScript or a tool's own script language, that automate tasks: generating code, configuring devices, running tests, processing data or extending HMI and SCADA behavior.
- Automation components
In one sentence
Scripts are interpreted programs that automate tasks such as code generation, device setup, tests, data processing or HMI and SCADA logic.
Example
A script creates 300 motor function block instances and their HMI faceplates from the I/O list, instead of typing them by hand.
How it applies
- Engineering: Scripts speed up repetitive engineering and reduce typing errors. HMI and SCADA systems often allow scripts for calculations and screen logic; keep machine control logic in the controller rather than in HMI scripts.
- Governance: Scripts are software. Store them under Version management, review them and include them in Change control, especially if they change production systems or generate validation evidence.
- Documentation: Describe what each production-relevant script does, its inputs and outputs, required runtime and version. Undocumented scripts on a single engineer's laptop are a common single point of failure.
Scripts vs. compiled programs
Scripts are interpreted at runtime and easy to change, which is both their advantage and their risk. Compiled control programs have a defined build and download process with stricter version control.