Some PLCs enforce a strict left-to-right, top-to-bottom execution order for evaluating the rung logic. This is different from electro-mechanical relay contacts, which in a sufficiently complex circuit may either pass current left-to-right or right-to-left, depending on the configuration of surrounding contacts. The elimination of these "sneak paths" is either a bug or a feature, depending on programming style.
More advanced instructions of the PLC may be implemented as functional blocks, which carry out some operation when enabled by a logical input and which produce outputs to signal, for example, completion or errors, while manipulating variable internally that may not correspond to discrete logic.