Patent ID: 6880106

Claim:
A method for operating an automation system comprising the steps of: (a) executing an application program in an automation device; (b) selecting at least one of a plurality of data addresses to monitor during execution of said application program; (c) selecting a code address corresponding to said at least one of a plurality of data addresses selected for monitoring; (d) transmitting to the automation device, as part of a request message, the data addresses selected for monitoring and the corresponding code address, wherein the request message comprises a header segment, an entry data set segment, and at least one of a plurality of watch point segments, each of said watch point segments containing at least one code address and one data address; (e) recording the content of the data addresses selected for monitoring when the corresponding code address is reached during execution of the application program; and (f) transmitting, as part of a result message, the recorded content of the data addresses selected for monitoring.