Tutorial Steps
Step 1
Welcome to this new TIA Connect tutorial.
Step 2
We will look at the presentation of the API Reference page on T-IA Connect.
Step 3
You will find a link in the Web UI to view the T-IA Connect API Reference.
This page is an interactive and exhaustive documentation of the T-IA Connect REST API.
Step 4
Unlike static paper documentation, this page serves as a sandbox and reference guide for any IT developer or automation engineer wishing to control TIA Portal via code.
Step 5
The API Reference page is the entry point for all developers and engineers who wish to integrate TIA Portal into their own applications. This page gathers all the commands available in the T-IA Connect server. It transforms complex SIEMENS functions into a universal computer language: the REST API.
Step 6
This page helps you understand how to communicate with your TIA Portal project without having to use the SIEMENS graphical UI. Thanks to it, you can control your PLCs from any language, such as Python, JavaScript, or C#, to automate repetitive tasks like creating or saving projects, retrieving real-time data for your dashboards, generating code, or configuring hardware via script.
Step 7
The documentation is classified by themes for quick navigation:
- Project management: to create, open, or archive your SIEMENS projects.
- Hardware and devices: to access the configuration of your PLCs and racks.
- Software and blocks: to explore the structure of your data blocks, read SCL code, or launch a compilation.
- Variable management: to read and write tags directly in the PLC's memory.
- System: to monitor the health status of the API bridge and the TIA Openness connection.
Step 8
It is interactive documentation. For each command, you can view:
- The method used, for example, GET to read or POST to send data.
- The parameters, i.e., the information you need to provide, such as a project name.
- The JSON format, which corresponds to the exact structure of the data you will receive in return.
- The response codes, to know if your command was processed successfully. In summary, the API Reference page is your digital toolbox for transforming TIA Portal into a programmable resource connected to your entire software ecosystem.