Support device monitoring function blocks of user program, non-transitory storage medium storing support program thereon, and control system

A non-transitory storage medium storing a support program for implementing a support device, the support program causing one or more processors to perform:

• reading a monitoring condition that defines a data type of a function block and a name of a monitoring target variable that is associated with the data type;
• establishing a connection to a controller configured to execute a user program written using one or more function blocks, the user program, when running on the controller, including one or more instances of the one or more functional blocks created for the controller to execute the user program, each instance having an instance name;
• and
• searching for, among the one or more instances, one or more matching instances having a data type of a corresponding functional block that matches the data type defined in the monitoring condition and having a value of the monitoring target variable indicating a monitoring target event.

A control system comprising:

• a controller that executes a user program written using one or more function blocks, the user program, when running on the controller, including one or more instances of the one or more functional blocks created for the controller to execute the user program, each instance having an instance name;
• a storage that stores one or more programs, and a monitoring condition that defines a data type of a function block and a name of a monitoring target variable that is associated with the data type;
• and
• a processor that accesses the storage and executes the one or more programs to cause the processor to function as a search module that searches for, among the one or more instances, one or more matching instances having a data type of a corresponding functional block that matches the data type defined in the monitoring condition and having a value of the monitoring target variable indicating a monitoring target event.