A method for configuring a programmable logic controller (PLC) having a protocol is provided. The method includes providing an extensible markup language (XML) schema for the protocol of the PLC. In another aspect, a method for configuring a programmable logic controller (PLC) having a protocol includes utilizing the schema to validate at least one XML file parsed from a comma separated variable (CSV) file created by a configuration tool for a protocol different than the protocol of the PLC. In another aspect, a method for configuring a programmable logic controller (PLC) having a protocol includes utilizing the schema to validate at least one XML file parsed from a comma separated variable (CSV) file created by a configuration tool.