What type of drawing is a ladder diagram?

A ladder diagram is primarily classified as an electrical schematic because it visually represents the control circuits in a manner that resembles a ladder, where the rails represent power supply lines and the rungs represent control elements such as relays, switches, and other devices. This format is specifically designed to help electricians and engineers understand how electrical components are interconnected and how they operate within a system, facilitating troubleshooting and design processes.

Pictorial diagrams serve a different purpose by providing a visual representation of components and their physical layout rather than focusing on their electrical connections. Rung diagrams, while often associated with ladder diagrams, typically refer to the specific representation of control logic in ladder format—essentially a subset of electrical schematics—and thus do not fully encompass the broader category identified. Power diagrams focus more on the electrical supply and distribution rather than detailing control circuit logic, which is the essence of what a ladder diagram conveys.