在美國，大多數參與可編程邏輯控制器（PLC）編程和維護的人員都傾向于認為：梯形圖邏輯是PLC的編程語言。這種理念在很大程度上是由PLC的歷史、以及美國的工業(yè)控制市場是被以梯形圖邏輯為主要語言的品牌統治所造成的。TRICONEX 3805E

在計算機和便攜式計算機廣泛應用于PLC編程之前，經常使用手持式編程器將程序輸入到PLC中。在此之前，通常需要繪制用于不同指令的電氣圖。這就像在PLC出現之前，如何連接原始繼電器邏輯一樣。在手持設備上，有時會用符號表示不同指令，但是在圖形設計的背后，是基于文本的語言。

1994年，電工委員會（IEC）制定了一個可用于定義和規(guī)范PLC編程系統的標準IEC61131-3。除了形式化定義諸如計時器和計數器之類的指令外，該標準還定義了5種編程語言。

In the United States, most people who participate in the programming and maintenance of programmable logic controller (PLC) tend to think that ladder logic is the programming language of PLC. This concept is largely caused by the history of PLC and the fact that the industrial control market in the United States is dominated by the brand with ladder logic as the main language. TRICONEX 3805E
Before computers and portable computers were widely used in PLC programming, hand-held programmers were often used to input programs into PLC. Before that, it is usually necessary to draw electrical diagrams for different instructions. This is like how to connect the original relay logic before the emergence of PLC. On handheld devices, symbols are sometimes used to represent different instructions, but behind the graphic design, there is a text-based language.
In 1994, the Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) formulated a standard IEC61131-3 that can be used to define and standardize PLC programming systems. In addition to formally defining instructions such as timers and counters, the standard also defines five programming languages.