The Howdy Glossary

The Compact II is a programming language for process control applications. It was developed in the 1980s and early 1990s by Honeywell and is often used with their distributed control system (DCS) products. The language targets embedded systems that perform real-time monitoring, automation, or data acquisition in industrial settings. Programs written in Compact II are structured using graphical representations that show how the different elements of an application interact. This lets engineers model complex processes more effectively than traditional text-based programming languages like C or assembly code. By offering visualization tools, debugging support, and standardized libraries for common operations encountered in process control systems, Compact II has become an important tool for developers working with Honeywell's industrial automation solutions over the years.