a few (50) IVI questions

[Odd_Modem]

Hi,

 I have a few IVI questions. My software base is LabVIEW 7.1.1, with IVI Compliance 2.3, VISA 3.31, MAX 3.1.1 and NI GPIB-PCI interface cards, and these are stable, predictable systems running LV executables without IVI interaction (I do everything with VISA). The sticking point with Upper Management has been that these softwares work only with one set of equipment because I challenge IDN of the equipment and exit with an error if it is not my set. The project stack has come to the point where the new project will want to use the IVI Oscilloscope, and I have my IVI action engine working with three different scopes over Ethernet using IVI, and the measurements involved can be handled by the IVI scope command set.

My 5.0 questions...
1. I see that the rest of the world has moved on and that I am in the middle of the IVI timeline. Which version of IVI am I using, according to IVI.org?
2. I need to deploy the test to the far reaches. I know that I can just copy the configuration store XML but I will need a tool to mix-in new apps in the future. Does this tool exist? In LabVIEW?
3. What can I get away with in a deployment? Can I just copy dlls to the IVI\bin file and modify the XML or do I have to make installers that call installers?
4. What the heck is "Repeated Name Capability"?
5. In MAX, do I really have to "Save IVI Configuration" before switching tabs in MAX? It seems like I do.
6. Will these IVI driver dlls break with LabVIEW 8.5 and all it's associated stuff (VISA, MAX etc.)
7. I see the knowledgebase article about configuring MAX. Is this available in every spoken language? 🙂

Thanks in advance.

[MXI Master]

Hi Odd_Modem,

This is quite the laundry list of questions.

Here are some good Developer Zone articles to get you going with IVI.

DevZone: Using IVI drivers to Build Hardware -Independent Test Systems with LabVIEW

DevZone: Creating or Modifying IVI Class Simulation Drivers

1. NI is currently using Compliance package 3.5
2. Adding new apps should not be too hard as long as they not running at the same time as other programs, you can run into communication errors with this.
3. Just like any other DLL, make sure they are in the right place when you call them. A lot of this is addressed in the LabVIEW build specification for your application.
4. I would worry about it, I can't find any real documentation on it. I don't think it will hurt you.
5. Not sure about this one, I have no problem switching Tabs without saving. But if it makes you save, I guess you have to.
6. You should have no problems with your IVI drivers in LabVIEW 8.5 as long as they are not from before LabVIEW 4.
7. What can I say, National Instruments is a global company.

Good luck, and you may get quicker responses when you only ask one or two questions per thread at a time.

[NathanT]

Hello Odd_Modem,
   Please find your questions and my answers to them below:

1. I see that the rest of the world has moved on and that I am in the middle of the IVI timeline. Which version of IVI am I using, according to IVI.org?

Both ICP 2.3 and 3.2 (the current version) are compliant with the current IVI Class Specifications.

Taken from the ICP 2.3 Readme”

“IVI Compliance Package 2.3 installs the following components:

• IVI class drivers
• IVI class driver LabWindows/CVI support
• IVI class driver C++ wrappers for Measurement Studio
• IVI class driver wrappers for LabVIEW 7.1 and 8.0
• IVI class driver examples for LabWindows/CVI, LabVIEW, and Measurement Studio
• IVI Shared Components, version 1.2.1
• IVI configuration plug-in for Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) 3.0 and later
• Online help ”

All IVI drivers need the shared components, so that is the most important version number.  However, I strongly recommend that you upgrade to ICP 3.2, which includes IVI Shared Components, version 1.5.0.  The official IVI website is ivifoundation.org.  You can find all of the specification documents there.

2. I need to deploy the test to the far reaches. I know that I can just copy the configuration store XML but I will need a tool to mix-in new apps in the future. Does this tool exist? In LabVIEW?

This tool does not exist, see the response to question 3 for information on deployment.

3. What can I get away with in a deployment? Can I just copy dlls to the IVI\bin file and modify the XML or do I have to make installers that call installers?

What we recommend for deploying your IVI system:

    A.  Make an installer in LV that includes the current versions of MAX, VISA, ICP, NI-488.2 and of course the LV RTE

    B.  Create another installer that first calls the installer that you made in LV, and then calls the IVI specific driver installers.  You do this so that the specific drivers are registered correctly.  This installer can also install the copied IVI ConfigStore XML, so you won’t have to re-do the logical names and other settings.

    C.  Create a set of instructions that tell your end user how to discover the Ethernet Scopes in MAX and create VISA aliases for them.

[NathanT]

4. What the heck is "Repeated Name Capability"?

Found at: http://www.ivifoundation.org/docs/IVI-5.0_Glossary_v1.01.pdf

The Repeated Capability Name is: The name published by an IVI driver or class specification to refer to a particular repeated capability. For example, the IviScope class specification defines “Channel” as a repeated capability name.

5. In MAX, do I really have to "Save IVI Configuration" before switching tabs in MAX? It seems like I do.

That is not the behavior that I am seeing in MAX 4.3 with ICP 3.2.  Saving the IVI configuration saves the IVI Configuration Store XML file, so you should save it whenever you want changes made to that XML file, which the class drivers then use to get configuration information from.  Upgrading MAX and ICP should resolve that issue.

6. Will these IVI driver dlls break with LabVIEW 8.5 and all it's associated stuff (VISA, MAX etc.)

The DLLs will not cause problems, BUT ICP 2.3 does not include support for LabVIEW 8.5, which is another reason to upgrade to ICP 3.2.  If you install LabVIEW 8.5 on your current system and open your application in LabVIEW 8.5, it would be missing all of the IVI VIs.  The same thing would happen if you had a VISA application and had not yet installed the version of VISA that supports LabVIEW 8.5.

7. I see the knowledgebase article about configuring MAX. Is this available in every spoken language? 

Many of our Knowledgebase Articles have been translated into multiple languages, but just because you can find one Article that has been translated into one language does not mean that it has necessarily translated into other languages.  It would be great to have all of our content translated into every spoken language, but I don’t think that we have the resources for that.

Cheers,

NathanT