Control program editing device, editing method, and program

Abstract

The present invention enables easy and errorless selection of elements stored in array variables in an IDE in an FA system. A control program editing device (1) that edits a control program includes: a search word input unit (11) that receives a user input as a search word when a specific element is input to the control program from a variable including a plurality of elements; an element list acquisition unit (12) that acquires an element list; an extraction unit (13) that extracts an element associated with the search word; and a control unit (14) for performing control for displaying the elements extracted by the extraction unit and annotations for describing the elements, the control program editing device (1) receiving a user input for selecting one element from among the displayed elements and applying the selected element to a control program.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a control program editing device. Background Art

[0002] Generally, programs are developed through an integrated development environment (IDE). In order to reduce the amount of user input, an input support function is installed in the IDE to complete the input content based on the input information. For example, patent document 1 discloses a method for supporting variable names in programming of a programmable logic controller (PLC). In the input support method, when there are multiple locked variable names and one or more consecutive next character strings between these variable names are consistent with each other, these series of character strings without selection are automatically adopted and determined as the character strings of the target variable name without waiting for the operator's input.

[0003] In a PLC program, you can set comments for the elements of array variables. The reason for this is that PLC programs generally give comments to the contacts and coils used in the program process, indicating the functions of the contacts and coils, so that users other than the program maker can understand and modify the program, not just the program maker.

[0004] The International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) 61131-3 recommends the use of variable programming. Therefore, it is recommended that the contacts and coils used in the program process are also variableized. However, if separate variables are set for these contacts and coils, the variables become large, which impairs the convenience of the user. Therefore, array variables are sometimes used to centrally manage these contacts and coils. In addition, this tendency is not limited to contacts and coils, but also applies to arbitrary variables such as integers and floating-point types.

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-238225 Summary of the invention

[0008] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0009] However, in the prior art as described above, a large number of elements are stored in an array variable, and the index of the array variable needs to be specified to limit the corresponding elements. When the user limits the elements in the array variable, he needs to refer to the annotation list of the elements in the variable table and use the index to specify the appropriate element.

[0010] An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a control program editing device that enables a user to easily and accurately select an element stored in an array variable.

[0011] Technical means of solving problems

[0012] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a control program editing device of one embodiment of the present invention is a control program editing device for editing a control program of a factory automation (FA) system, and includes: a search term input unit, which receives input of a search term as a user instruction to input a specific element from a variable containing multiple elements into the control program, the search term including a variable specifying term that specifies the variable and an element specifying term that specifies the element; an element list acquisition unit, which acquires a candidate element list containing the elements related to the variable; an extraction unit, which extracts the elements associated with the element specifying term from the element list; a display control unit, which controls the display of the elements extracted by the extraction unit and annotations that explain the elements; a selection unit, which receives user input of selecting one element from the elements displayed by the display control unit; and an application unit, which inputs the element selected by the selection unit into the control program.

[0013] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an editing method of a control program editing device according to another embodiment of the present invention is an editing method of a control program editing device for editing a control program of an FA system, and includes: a search term input step, receiving input of a search term as a user instruction to input a specific element from a variable containing multiple elements into the control program, the search term including a variable designation term specifying the variable and an element designation term specifying the element; an element list acquisition step, acquiring a candidate element list containing the element; an extraction step, extracting the element associated with the element designation term from the element list; a display control step, controlling the display of the elements extracted by the extraction step and annotations describing the elements; a selection step, receiving user input of selecting one element from the elements displayed in the display control step; and an application step, inputting the element selected by the selection step into the control program.

[0014] According to the above configuration, a list of selectable elements including comments can be extracted and displayed, and the user can confirm the comments and select an appropriate element. Therefore, the element of the variable can be easily and accurately specified, and the program can be created efficiently.

[0015] Effects of the Invention

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, each element of a variable including a plurality of elements can be confirmed to specify (select) an appropriate element. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] [ Figure 1 ] is a block diagram showing the structure of the main parts of the control program editing device of implementation mode 1.

[0018] [ Figure 2 ] is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control program editing device according to implementation mode 1.

[0019] [ Figure 3 ] is a display example showing an example of an element list when the search word is "Bit2DimArray[0,2".

[0020] [ Figure 4 ] is a display example of an element list when the element specifying word is a character string.

[0021] [ Figure 5 ] is a display example showing an example of extracting an element in a structure.

[0022] [ Figure 6 ] indicates an instance of setting a comment for an array variable (or structure) with multiple elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] [Implementation method 1]

[0024] Hereinafter, an embodiment of one aspect of the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as "this embodiment") will be described based on the drawings. In addition, the same reference numerals are attached to the same or corresponding parts in the drawings, and their description will not be repeated.

[0025] §1. Application examples

[0026] The creation of PLC programs is performed using a control program editing device represented by an IDE. In the control program editing device, development can be performed in five languages ​​specified in IEC61131-3. In these languages, the device is controlled by storing data in variables and performing various operations.

[0027] Generally, comments are given to PLC variables so that anyone can understand the structure of the program without relying on the user. In addition, there are variables that hold multiple values ​​such as arrays or structures. Therefore, it is preferable to also give comments to the elements of the array or the elements of the structure (member variables).

[0028] In particular, in variable programming, in addition to giving comments, each contact and coil also needs to be given a variable name. Here, in ladder diagram language, a large number of contacts and coils are generally used to describe the program. Therefore, a large number of variables are required, and it is difficult for users to remember the names of each variable. In addition, if there are a large number of variables, the registration and retrieval of variables become very complicated, which impairs the convenience of users. Therefore, in variable programming, a large number of contacts and coils used in the program are summarized into arrays.

[0029] However, when using an array containing a large number of contacts and coils, the user does not know in which index the appropriate element is stored, and thus the index is incorrectly specified. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when specifying the index of the array, the relevant information of the index that has been entered is used to search for the integer value (limited to the value within the range of the array) or the variable name that can specify the index. Then, the list of search results is drawn around the variable entered by the user in a state with annotations, thereby the control program editing device supports the user's input of the index. That is, the control program editing device is equipped with an input support function for the index specification of the array variable.

[0030] Here, when the information about the input index is an integer greater than 0, the control program editing device also displays comments about the integer values ​​before and after the integer. Through this response, the user can select an appropriate index number by only knowing the approximate index number. Therefore, even when writing a program by roughly dividing the index for each control block, the user can easily specify the target index.

[0031] §2.Structure example

[0032] (Control program editing device 1)

[0033] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the control program editing device 1 according to Embodiment 1. The control program editing device 1 includes a recording unit 17, a search word input unit 11, an element list acquisition unit 12, an extraction unit 13, a display control unit 14, a selection unit 15, and an application unit 16. In addition, the control program editing device 1 is connected to an input device 20 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display device 30 such as a display.

[0034] The recording unit 17 records a variable table 17a used in the control program. The control program editing device 1 appropriately acquires the variable table 17a from the recording unit 17 and implements an input support function. In addition, the variable table 17a may also be recorded in an external device (for example, a cloud server).

[0035] In addition, a large number of variables are recorded in the variable table 17a. The recorded contents include the variable names, data types and comments of the variables. The variable table may also include array variables and structures. In addition, in these cases, the elements constituting each (the elements of the array variable in the case of an array variable, and the members in the case of a structure) are also recorded.

[0036] The search term input unit 11 receives user input of a search term as a user instruction to input a specific element from a variable including a plurality of elements into the control program. That is, the search term input unit 11 receives user input of a search term for specifying an array variable and an element of the array variable through the input device 20.

[0037] The search term input by the user includes a variable designator that designates a variable name, an element designator that designates an element, and an identifier that identifies what kind of variable a variable is. The search term input unit 11 outputs the variable designator to the element list acquisition unit 12 and outputs the element designator to the extraction unit 13 .

[0038] The element list acquisition unit 12 acquires an element list including candidate elements associated with the array variable corresponding to the variable designation word in the search word input unit 11. That is, the element list of the array variable, i.e., the range of the index, and the variable that can designate the index, i.e., the list of integer or structure variables are acquired. The element list acquisition unit 12 outputs the element list to the extraction unit 13.

[0039] The extraction unit 13 extracts the element corresponding to the element designation word from the element list. The details of this process will be described later. The extraction unit 13 outputs the extracted element to the display control unit 14.

[0040] The display control unit 14 displays the elements extracted by the extraction unit 13 on the display device 30. At this time, the display control unit 14 displays the elements together with comments describing the elements. In addition, the data type of the element may also be displayed.

[0041] The selection unit 15 receives a user input for selecting one element from the elements displayed by the display control unit through the input device 20 , and outputs the received user input to the application unit 16 .

[0042] The application unit 16 inputs the element selected by the selection unit 15 to the control program. That is, the application unit 16 inputs the selected element as an index of the array variable.

[0043] §3. Action Examples

[0044] (Generation of element list)

[0045] Figure 2 This is a flowchart showing an operation example of the control program editing device 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0046] First, the search term input unit 11 determines whether the character string (search term) input by the user is an array variable and whether the index of the array variable is being input (S101). Specifically, it checks whether the search term contains the identifier "[" or "," meaning an array variable.

[0047] When the search word is not an array variable (No in S101 ), the display control unit 14 applies the input support function for variable input to the display device 30 ( S102 ).

[0048] When the search term is an array variable ("Yes" in S101), the search term input unit 11 extracts a variable designation term, an element designation term, and an identifier from the search term (S103). Here, the variable designation term is a character string that designates the variable name of the array variable. The element designation term is a character string that designates the element of the array variable. The identifier is a symbol that identifies that the search term is a search term that designates an array variable and its elements.

[0049] For example, the case where the input character string (search term) is "Bit2DimArray[0,2" is described. The identifier in the array variable is the last symbol in "[" or ","". Therefore, the character string "Bit2DimArray[0" before the "," is a variable designation term, indicating the array variable of this name. In addition, the character string "2" after the "," is an element designation term, indicating the index of the array variable. Here, the variable designation portion means the content of the two-dimensional array, and "0" is specified as the content of the element specifying the first dimension. That is, the search term is a search term that the element of the first dimension of the array variable "Bit2DimArray" is "0" and "2" is used to extract the element of the second dimension.

[0050] The element list acquisition unit 12 creates an element list with integer values ​​that can be indexes of array variables and a list of variables that can be indexes (S104). That is, an integer value that is smaller than the length of the array variable and is greater than 0 is used as an element list. In addition, an integer value or a list of variables of a structure (a variable whose value stored in the variable can be an index) is used as an element list.

[0051] Next, the search term input unit 11 determines whether the element designation term is an index of the array variable through the input device 20 (S105). That is, it is determined whether the character string of the element designation term is an integer greater than 0 and whether the integer value is less than the length of the array variable. If the character string of the element designation term is not an index of the array variable ("No" in S105), the process proceeds to S110.

[0052] When the character string of the element designation word is an index of the array variable ("Yes" in S105), the character string of the element designation word is converted into an integer value and used as the first index (S106). In addition, a predetermined number of integer values ​​(e.g., seven each) before and after the first index as the central value are used as the second index (S107).

[0053] The third index is a value that contains the value of the first index as a string and is smaller than the length of the array variable (S108). That is, when the element designator is "2" and the length of the array variable is "20", "2, 12, 20" becomes the third index.

[0054] The extracting unit 13 extracts elements related to the first index, the second index, and the third index (S109). Here, duplication among the first index, the second index, and the third index may be deleted, and the extracted elements may be sorted in ascending order.

[0055] Variable names of character strings containing element designators are extracted from the element list (S110). That is, when the element designator is "2", elements containing "2" in variable names such as "Axis2_Cmd" are extracted from the element list imported into the variable list.

[0056] (Display and selection of element lists)

[0057] The display control unit 14 displays the extracted element list in a table format on the display device 30 ( S111 ). Figure 3 This is a display example showing an example of an element list when the search word is "Bit2DimArray[0,2".

[0058] also, Figure 3In the figure, symbol 101 represents a part of the variable table 17a used in the control program, symbol 102 represents the writing area, symbol 103 represents the array variable in the middle of input, and symbol 104 represents the element list for interpolating the array variable in the middle of input. Symbol 103 states "Bit2DimArray[0,2". Therefore, the variable designator 103a is "Bit2DimArray[0", the identifier 103b is "," and the element designator 103c is "2". That is, based on the designation of the array variable "Bit2DimArray", it is shown that: the index of its first dimension is "0", there is an index of the second dimension, and its search term is "2".

[0059] like Figure 3 As shown in the symbol 104 of , the extracted element list is represented in a table format having a number of rows corresponding to the number of the extracted element list, a first column as an index or a variable name, a second column indicating a data type of the first column, and a third column indicating a comment of the first column. In addition, the table representing the extracted element list may be displayed just below the description of the array variable in the middle of input.

[0060] The display control unit 14 may also highlight the row corresponding to the search word (reference numeral 105) (S112). The highlighted row may be changed by inputting with the up and down keys of the keyboard or clicking with the mouse.

[0061] Then, when "ENTER" is inputted using the keyboard, the selection unit 15 determines the element of the array variable in the middle of the input with the element of the highlighted row (S113). In addition, the pointed object can also be determined as an element by double-clicking the mouse or long pressing on a pointing device such as a touch screen, regardless of whether it is highlighted or not.

[0062] (When the search term is a character string)

[0063] Figure 4 This is a display example showing an example of an element list when the element designation word is a character string. Figure 3 As shown, when the element designation word is a character string, "No" is determined in S101, and the process proceeds to S106. Therefore, extraction using an index smaller than the array variable length is not performed.

[0064] exist Figure 4 , the variable designator 106a is "BitArray1", the element designator 106c is "mc", and the identifier 106b is "[".

[0065] like Figure 4As shown, as the element designator 106c, "mc" is input as shown by symbol 106. Therefore, instead of Figure 3 Symbol 104 in Figure 4 The extracted element list is shown at symbol 107 in . In this way, when a variable (integer type or structure) that can be an index of an array variable is input to the index position of the array variable, the input can be completed by the input support function.

[0066] In addition, unlike the case where an integer value is input for the element designation word, the first row may be initially highlighted. This is because when the search word is an integer value, there is a completely corresponding row, but when the search word is a string, there may not be a completely corresponding row. That is, if there is an element that completely matches the search word, only this row may be displayed and highlighted.

[0067] §4. Function and Effect

[0068] According to the above configuration, a list of selectable elements including comments can be extracted and displayed, so the user can confirm the comments and select an appropriate element. Therefore, the user can easily and accurately specify the element of the variable, and can efficiently create a program.

[0069] In addition, the user can confirm the data type in the element list for specifying the index of the array variable. That is, when the index of the array is directly specified, it is INT type, and when it is indirectly specified using a variable such as an integer type or a structure type, the data type of the variable can be confirmed in the element list. Therefore, program creation errors can be prevented.

[0070] In particular, when an integer value representing an index is used as a search term, in addition to the integer value, comments related to the indexes corresponding to the integer value before and after are displayed in a summary manner. Therefore, the user can specify the target element even if the index is not input accurately. In this case, several indexes are assigned to each block to be controlled, and when creating a program, it is not necessary to write down the exact index, but only to know the approximate index of the block to be controlled, which is particularly effective.

[0071] In addition, you can select the variable name for indirectly specifying the index of the array variable from the element list, so you can create a program just by memorizing the general variable name.

[0072] [Implementation method 2]

[0073] In the following, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, for the sake of convenience, the same reference numerals are attached to the members having the same functions as the members described in the above embodiment, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0074] In the first embodiment, a case where an element in an array variable including a plurality of elements is easily and accurately specified is shown, whereas in the second embodiment, a case where an element in a structure including a plurality of elements is easily and accurately specified is shown.

[0075] Figure 5 This is a display example showing an example of extracting elements in a structure. Figure 5 In the example, reference numeral 111 indicates an editing area, reference numeral 112 indicates a search term in the middle of input, and reference numeral 113 indicates an element list for interpolating a structure in the middle of input. In reference numeral 112, "MC1_RecipeData[0].I" is specified as a search term.

[0076] In the search term, the variable designator 112a is "MC1_RecipeData[0]", the element designator 112c is "I", and the identifier 112b is ".".

[0077] Here, an example in which “I” is input to the element designation word 112 c is shown, but the element designation word 112 c may be left blank. In this case, the list of all structure elements is displayed in the reference numeral 113 by the display control unit 14 .

[0078] Although a structure is described in Embodiment 2, it is not limited to a structure. For example, a union may be used. That is, any variable including a plurality of members that specifies an element by a character string of an element designator may be used.

[0079] [Example of comment setting]

[0080] Figure 6 Indicates an example of setting a comment for an array variable (or structure) having multiple elements. Figure 6 Symbol 121 is the variable name of the array variable. Symbol 122 is the comment of the array variable itself. Symbol 123 is a list of the indexes that can be used for the array variable. Symbol 124 is the comment corresponding to each index.

[0081] In the area of ​​symbol 123 and symbol 124, by selecting the triangle mark, you can switch between displaying a large number of elements individually or collectively, making it easier to view when there are a large number of elements. This is particularly effective for array variables of two-dimensional arrays, etc.

[0082] In addition, about Figure 6 The example of the comment setting of the element shown is not limited to an array variable, and a structure may also be used.

[0083] [Variation]

[0084] (When the search term is blank)

[0085] In the first and second embodiments, when the search word is blank, all elements in the element list may be displayed. In addition, in the case of array variables, the index variable may be displayed not as a continuous number, but as a jumping number at regular intervals. This makes it easy to find the approximate index number.

[0086] (Display form of element list)

[0087] In the control program editing device of embodiment 1, the element list (symbol 104) displayed by the display control unit can also be divided into two parts, upper and lower, and can be scrolled separately. Regarding the upper section, after displaying the extracted candidates shown in embodiment 1, other elements of the array variable that have not been extracted can also be displayed in sequence.

[0088] The purpose is to select an element even when a search term is incorrectly selected during extraction.

[0089] In addition, regarding the lower row, similarly to the first embodiment, only the extracted elements are displayed.

[0090] 〔Summarize〕

[0091] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a control program editing device in one form of the present invention is a control program editing device for editing a control program of an FA system, and includes: a search term input unit, which receives input of a search term as a user instruction to input a specific element from a variable containing multiple elements into the control program, the search term including a variable specifying term that specifies the variable and an element specifying term that specifies the element; an element list acquisition unit, which acquires a candidate element list containing the elements related to the variable; an extraction unit, which extracts the elements associated with the element specifying term from the element list; a display control unit, which controls the display of the elements extracted by the extraction unit and annotations that explain the elements; a selection unit, which receives user input of selecting one element from the elements displayed by the display control unit; and an application unit, which inputs the element selected by the selection unit into the control program.

[0092] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, another form of an editing method of a control program editing device of the present invention is an editing method of a control program editing device for editing a control program of an FA system, and includes: a search term input step, receiving input of a search term as a user instruction to input a specific element from a variable containing multiple elements into the control program, the search term including a variable specifying term that specifies the variable and an element specifying term that specifies the element; an element list acquisition step, acquiring a candidate element list containing the element; an extraction step, extracting the element associated with the element specifying term from the element list; a display control step, controlling the display of the elements extracted by the extraction step and annotations that explain the elements; a selection step, receiving user input of selecting one element from the elements displayed in the display control step; and an application step, inputting the element selected by the selection step into the control program.

[0093] According to the above configuration, a list of selectable elements including comments can be extracted and displayed, and the user can confirm the comments and select an appropriate element. Therefore, the element of the variable can be easily and accurately specified, and the program can be created efficiently.

[0094] It may be that the display control unit further displays the data type of the element.

[0095] According to the above structure, the data type of the element (index, variable or member) can be confirmed in the element list, thereby preventing the creation error of the program.

[0096] When an integer value is input as the element designator, the extracting unit may extract the element of the index number corresponding to the integer value and the elements of the index number included in a predetermined range before and after the integer value.

[0097] According to the above structure, the array element can be extracted by the index. In addition, the elements before and after the input information can also be confirmed in the list, so even if the information is not input correctly, the target element can be specified.

[0098] The element list may include a list of variable names, and when a character string is input as the element designator, the extraction unit may extract the variable name including the element designator from the list of variable names as the element.

[0099] According to the above structure, it is easy to select a variable that specifies an index that specifies an array element. Therefore, it is easy to specify an array element using an appropriate variable, and it is possible to prevent program creation errors.

[0100] When a character string is input as the element specifying word, the extracting unit may extract the element having an element name including the element specifying word from the element list.

[0101] According to the above configuration, for example, an element whose element name is a character string, such as a member of a structure, can be easily specified, thereby preventing program creation errors.

[0102] It can be: the variable is an array, and the elements are specifically specified by integer values.

[0103] According to the above structure, an element of an array variable can be specifically designated by specifying an integer value as an index.

[0104] It can be: the variable is a structure or a union, and the elements are specifically specified by members.

[0105] According to the above structure, the elements of the structure variable can be specified by specifying the members using a character string.

[0106] The control program editing device in various forms of the present invention can also be implemented by a computer. In this case, the program of the control program editing device that implements the control program editing device by causing the computer to run as the various parts (software components) included in the control program editing device, and the computer-readable recording medium that records the program also fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0107] 〔Software-based implementation example〕

[0108] The functions of the control program editing device 1 (hereinafter referred to as “device”) can be realized by a program for causing a computer to function as the device and a program for causing a computer to function as each control block of the device.

[0109] In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the program. The control device and the storage device execute the program to implement the functions described in the embodiments.

[0110] The program may also be recorded in one or more recording media that are not temporary and can be read by a computer. The recording medium may be included in the device or not. In the latter case, the program may also be supplied to the device via any transmission medium, whether wired or wireless.

[0111] In addition, part or all of the functions of each control block can also be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit having a logic circuit that functions as each control block is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, for example, the functions of each control block can also be realized by a quantum computer.

[0112] [Additional Notes]

[0113] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0114] Explanation of symbols

[0115] 1: Control program editing device

[0116] 11: Search word input section

[0117] 12: Element list acquisition part

[0118] 13: Extraction Department

[0119] 14: Display control unit

[0120] 15: Selection Department

[0121] 16: Application Department

[0122] 20: Input device

[0123] 30: Display device

Claims

1. A control program editing device for editing a control program of a factory automation system, the control program editing device comprising: a search term input unit that receives an input of a search term as a user instruction to input a specific element from a variable including a plurality of elements into the control program, the search term including a variable specifying term specifying the variable and an element specifying term specifying the element; An element list acquisition unit, which acquires an element list including candidates of the element related to the variable; An extracting unit, extracting the element associated with the element specifying word from the element list; a display control unit that controls display of the elements extracted by the extraction unit and comments describing the elements; A selection unit, receiving a user input for selecting one of the elements displayed by the display control unit; as well as An application unit inputs the element selected by the selection unit into the control program.

2. The control program editing device according to claim 1, wherein: The display control unit further displays the data type of the element.

3. The control program editing device according to claim 1, wherein: When an integer value is input as the element designator, The extracting unit extracts the element of the index number corresponding to the integer value and the element of the index number included in a predetermined range before and after the integer value.

4. The control program editing device according to claim 1, wherein: The element list contains a list of variable names, When a character string is input as the element designator, The extraction unit extracts the variable name including the element specifying word from the list of variable names as the element.

5. The control program editing device according to claim 1, wherein: When a character string is input as the element designator, The extracting unit extracts the element having an element name including the element specifying word from the element list.

6. The control program editing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The variable is an array, and the elements are specified by integer values.

7. The control program editing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The variable is a structure or a union, and the elements are specified by members.

8. An editing method is an editing method of a control program editing device for editing a control program of a factory automation system, the editing method comprising: a search term input step of receiving an input of a search term as a user instruction to input a specific element from a variable including a plurality of elements into the control program, the search term including a variable specifying term specifying the variable and an element specifying term specifying the element; An element list obtaining step, obtaining a candidate element list containing the element; An extraction step of extracting the element associated with the element designator from the element list; A display control step of controlling the display of the elements extracted by the extraction step and comments describing the elements; A selection step, receiving a user input for selecting one of the elements displayed in the display control step; as well as An application step of inputting the element selected by the selection step into the control program.

9. A program for causing a computer to function as the control program editing device according to claim 1, wherein the program is for causing the computer to function as the search term input unit, the element list acquisition unit, the extraction unit, the display control unit, the selection unit, and the application unit.

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