Who is presenting at NI Week?

[Daklu]

Don't forget to register...

Done!  (And how did I not know about this community until today?)

[FabiolaDelaCueva]

Hi Daklu,

We are pleased you to have you here.

I mentioned the community at the CLA Summit, if you look at the members we have some from out of Austin. We are still working on improving the experience for remote attendees and you will be our first remote presenter. So this will be exciting.

Thanks again for accepting to present and "see you" tomorrow.

Fab

[Daklu]

Michael Lacasse asked this question during the presentation:

"Question for Daklu (not urgent): Have you ever assembled UML diagrams that succinctly and sufficiently describe your architecture using Actors?  NIs AF is lacking satisfactory UML documentation in my opinion. This presents an obstacle to adoption."  (Emphasis added)

The short answer is no.  As always, I have a longer answer too. 

The long answer is, yes, I have used UML to describe an application's design I have implemented using actors.  I don't think that's what you're asking though--I think you're asking if I've documented the general patterns I use to build apps.  That answer is no.

First, my approach to actors isn't an architecture, a framework, or a design pattern.  It's more of a development methodology or style than anything else.  (I purposely haven't added an actor framework to LapDog because I haven't been able to invent one that is more effective than what I currently do.)  I don't know how to use UML to describe a methodology.

Second, although the UML class diagram doesn't necessarily mean "these are classes in my source code," that is usually how it is used and interpreted.  However, AoD and OOP are orthogonal ideas.  My goal, not only with this presentation but with all my posts on the subject, is to help people understand the fundamentals of AoD by removing all the complexities of OOP.  Once people understand the basic building blocks--actor, MHL, helper loop, msg transport, etc.--and how they fit together then it becomes very easy to implement those ideas however you want.  I believe using UML to describe the relationships would strengthen the connection between AoD and OOP in people's minds.

Third, I haven't been able figure out how to "succinctly and sufficiently" describe what I do.  UML diagrams won't be enough.  I've started white papers 3 or 4 times trying to get the information in my head out in a way that is understandable.  These slides are the closest I've been able to get to that goal.  I have an outline for a new paper (tentatively titled, "Agile Actors for LabVIEW Programmers") that formed the foundation of these slides.  We'll see if I get anywhere with it.