I need to defend Labview from some co-workers previous experience.

[James Bennett]

I had a co-worker state the following....
Labview does not have revision control nor compile function, which are essential for a multi-site
utilization. Is this true? How do I defend Labview to ensure him that Labview will work for our application? He based his comments on Labview 5 years ago. What version was he using?

[BJD1613]

Ok here we go I think you will get alot of replies but I guess I will start....

1. LabVIEW does have source code control and can integrate with probably one of the most powerful source code control programs Visual Source Safe by Microsoft.

2. As far as revision history, there is a setting to enable a popup window to enter comments every time the vi is saved, closed, etc. This revision history is kept on a vi basis. So the history goes wherever the vi goes.

3. LabVIEW does its own compliling and doesn't burden the user with the problems of syntax. Ask your co worker how easy it is to make a window with 3 buttons? Actually ask them how long it will take? Compare it to LV and there should be the real answer.

4. So far I have not found 1 think th
at LV cannot do that C++ can. The biggest benefit is the development time or lack of development time when in LV.

I am just opening the can of worms I am sure others will reply and pick up where I left off.

By the way I started as a C++ and Assembly programmer... 🙂

[Joe_H]

I went through the same thing were I work at. All the programmers here work with visual basic 6. .NET and visual C++ to do a lot of hard core coding simply because they have been doing it for years. I am the lab manger here now and i purchased Labview 7 express. Now when it comes to building test for production and other projects they come to me because i can do them faster in labview than they can in any form of coding. do this find something simple that you can do in labview (ie connect to GPIB) have your coworker do the same and see who gets done faster with same results.

HAHAHAHA you'll be drinking coffee for at least 30 min. before he does.

god bless have fun (Isn't this exciting)

[Dennis_Knutson]

Five years ago, LabVIEW did have source code control and the ability to create executables but only if you bought the professional version. I use Visual Source Safe for my revision control and I'm not that familiar with LabVIEW's built-in one. The application builder is and was available separately but it' worth buying the pro version because then you also get the diff tool to compare either VI's or hierarchies.

[RobCole]

Five years ago that should have been LabVIEW 4 or 5. But then, as we've seen here, some people keep versions around forever. I have always worked with the professional packages, so I've always had access to compilers for LabVIEW.

Where I work now, we use Perforce for revision control. It works great. I've also used Visual Source Safe and I'll stick to Perforce, thanks. You can even set the client to automatically sign out the code if you change to edit mode on the diagram.

AS others have said - LabVIEW excels at equipment connectivity. An example from my past: a C programmer had spent 2.5 days building a terminal type of program to talk to our equipment. He gave me the DLL that he was using for communications and watched as I built the same program in LabVI
EW and completed in 15 minutes. His comment was that he was probably going to be relegated to supporting the old code while I made the new code and for the most part he was right.

Rob

[Greg_McKaskle2]

> Labview does not have revision control nor compile function, which are
> essential for a multi-site
> utilization. Is this true?

There are more detailed documents on the NI site. You might want search
there and forward the links to the coworker.

The short answer is that LV is compatible with numerous revision control
systems, Source Safe, Perforce, etc. If you purchase the professional
edition, the revision control will be somewhat more integrated into the
LV menus, but you can use the revision control client app without this.

All LV VIs are compiled, but I don't know what is meant by having a
compile function. Perhaps the Dr. VI article on the LV compiler will
answer his question, or perhaps he wants a make system.

And of course, feel free t
o ask more detailed questions or have him post
the questions here directly. LV has been used for quite large projects,
and often hearing of other people's usage is better than an analytical
listing of features.

Greg McKaskle

[BeckyB]

Hello James -

This webpage offers a number of white papers and other technical documents concerning LabVIEW as a programming language. A few articles exist discussing how LabVIEW compiles code. There is also a great paper on how LabVIEW can increase your company's productivity.

I hope this helps you make your case! Have a great day!

Becky B.
Applications Engineer
National Instruments