Patent ID: 7792043

Claim:
A method comprising: transmitting a first message from a programmable logic controller (PLC) toward a module; receiving a second message at said PLC from said module, responsive to an automatic determination of an error associated with said first message transmitted by said PLC toward said module, said second message transmitted via a first 8B/10B encoded frame; including in said second message an error classification and an error code; providing one or more of automatic interpretation, reporting, and corrective action by said PLC in response to said error classifications; including in said first 8B/10B encoded frame a message type field of a size that corresponds to eight bits, a value stored in said message type field indicative of content of a data field of said frame, said message type field following a sequence of fields comprised by said frame; and including in said sequence of fields a preamble field, a start-of-frame field, a destination address field, a length field, and a source address field.