Select RunTime-Version for Compiler

[FelixDifferent]

Idea

The idea is to implement an option to choose for which RunTime-Version you want to compile your executable.

With this you could always use the newest LabVIEW development version but do not need to update all systems with a RunTime-Version.

Background

When changing from LabVIEW 2019 to LabVIEW 2020, you need to update every RunTime-System also to version 2020.

This is difficult, if you have many worldwide runtime systems with different projects, where you can not easily update a RunTime-Version because of technical restrictions in production or access to the system.

This results in parallel use of different LabVIEW development versions for all of your projects.

Means a mess because once open a project in the wrong/newer LV-Version you have to store all changes "for older LV-Version" to continue work in right version.

Or, to avoid this, not upgrading to a newer LabVIEW development version and still working for example with LV16 in all projects.

Conclusion

Best way would be if you can update all projects to LV20 development system, but still be able to directly built executables for older runtimes.

[wiebe@CARYA]

How about stuff that is in LV2020 and not in the earlier versions (AKA progress)?

EDIT: Not being sarcastic, what about it? Generate an error?

[FelixDifferent]

Also thought about that and honestly I do not have a perfect solution by myself.
But generating an error could be a possible way.

Sure, it can be annoying, if you are using new functions by accident and can not compile anymore.

But from my point of view the most increasment is in the development environment and not in the compiler/runtime. Means it would be more advantage than disadvantage for me.

No function is perfect and suitable for all, we will see, if I am the only one with this wish based on the Kudos

[User002]

Here are some options I thought of on new versions/functionality and not being able to compile in old versions. (In my order of preference, and probably in order of hardest to easiest to implement.)

• If an old version is selected, have a display (or optional pop-up) showing the incompatible features for the version.
• If an old version is selected, display a message saying "Cannot compile to this runtime version because of new LabVIEW features."
• Grey-out old versions so that the programmer can't select them, but can see that they aren't available.
• Simply don't show old versions that can't compile.
• Allow selection of old versions, but throw an error when the compile is attempted.

Of course, detecting when new features are actually being used might require a lot of background work that I, as a LV programmer, can't see. Otherwise, this Idea might be easier to implement, too.