PML Editors: where do you write PML code?

PML, the AVEVA Programmable Macro Language, is quite useful to extend and develop addins for several AVEVA applications. You can use it for PDMS, Everything3D, Engineering, Diagrams, Administration, and others. But… where do your write it? Here’s a rundown on PML Editors for you!
1. Notepad++ / UltraEdit

This is the old and reliable workhorse. You can use Notepad++ (or UltraEdit, if you prefer it) to get some basic syntax highlighting and folding for PML. You have to make your own language customization though (or use one of the ones that float in AVEVA World).

Notepad++

It is nice and functional. Nothing wrong with it, but not what you’d expect from a modern IDE. You can get Notepad++ here.

2. AVEVA PML Studio

All the way back in 2013 AVEVA released a free piece of software for PML development. It runs on top of Visual Studio 2010 and it emulates the feeling of it as well.

PML Studio

If you had only developed PML before in a text editor, this is miles ahead; you not only get syntax highlighting, but also AutoComplete, style hints, automatic formatting, documentation. The problem is that it is a bit buggy and at times it feels unfinished. It also is not very customizable.

It was great back in 2013 and to me at least it felt like it was one or two releases away of being the definitive development tool for PML. But alas, no updates since! Maybe AVEVA does not want us to customize the software? You can download it from the AVEVA Support website, but only if you are a customer!

3. Visual Studio Code

There is a great VSCode Language Extension developed by Angelin Calu. If you are a VSCode user, it is great to be able to shift between other development languages (such as C# or Powershell) and PML seamlessly.

The extension comes with a few nifty code snippets, like for example creating basic scaffolding for forms and functions:

VSCode

All in all it is impressive work! It does lack some sort of IntelliSense/Autocomplete, which I imagine must be in the roadmap. If I ever find some time I might even try to add it myself and submit my pull request.

This is where I do most of my PML development nowadays.

4. Notepad / Any text editor

What? It gives the same result as all previous options!

Whatever floats your boat, the sad reality is that there is no real IDE for PML. AVEVA did begin to give us something in AVEVA PML Studio, but development did not go anywhere after a promising first release. But with the community pitching in solutions such as the one for VSCode, maybe there is hope for the future.

What is your preferred environment? You can also reach out to us if you need help or guidance.