Fix XControls

[Intaris]

Ok I'm going to try again.

I've already posted ideas on XControls before HERE and HERE but here's another try.

My feeling is that XControls COULD be a wonderful addition to the LabVIEW universe.  However....

1. XControls are kind of weird.  The implementation is kind of unusual and I finf the help available being not overly helpful.  I HAVE implemented XControls but I find myself having to re-scratch my head every time I take on such a proposal.  I would love a more intuitive way to work with XControls.  Even a state diagram showing what's called when would help.

2. XControls are buggy.  I've reported on these before but NI seems to not take this seriously.  There are two issues which make XControls unusable for me (I'm willing to overlook the complexity).

2a. Synchronicity.  Updating a value to an XControl terminal will return control to the calling code IMMEDIATELY event hough the XControl may require some time to process tha data.  This is completely inconsistent with existing LabVIEW behaviour.

2b. Dynamic events don't work properly with XControls.  If I register for a dynamic event in an XControl, firing the event will not "awaken" the XControl but the events will queue up until a valid event DOES happen at which point all the backlogged events get processed in a hurry.

If points 2a and 2sb w2ere addresses, 99% of my problems would go away but at the moment, XControls are just not worth the effort for most applications I could otherwise use them for.

Come on NI, you can do better.

Shane.

[Intaris]

Quick question....

Have these already been fixed?  If so, why has nobody communicated this?  I just checked the event registration thingy and it seems to work now.

Also there seems to be a fix for the update speed problem.

Any more concise comments on these points please?  I was completely unaware that these issues had been adressed at all.

[drjdpowell]

I think the issue is tha XControls are interfaced with regular Controls, which are UI elements somewhat disconected from the rest of the code.  When you write to a regular control terminal or local variable, you return to the calling code immediatly, unless you select "Synchronous Display" for the control or use Value(signalling) Property nodes.

[vitoi]

I hate to see a frustrated LabVIEW programmer, so I've given this kudos. Haven't tried XControls, but then if I do one day, I'd want it to be as effortless as possible.

[PaulG.]

XControls are black arts and as far as I can tell haven't really "caught on" as much as I would expect. Maybe it's because of their complexity and counter-intuitiveness you mentioned. I've played with them but they seem to be way too much work for what you get out of them.

[Darren]

National Instruments will not be implementing this idea. There is no further feature development planned for XControls.