Labview 5.1 on Linux Kernel 2.6: is it possible?

[Andrea_B]

Hello,

I tried to install LV5.1 on UBUNTU 8.04 with kernel 2.6. It doesn't start replying "Floating point exception (core dumped)".

Can LV5.1 work with recent kernels?

Thanks,

Andrea

[SFK]

Hello Andrea,

LabVIEW 5.1 for Linux/x86 was built for Linux kernels 2.0.x and 2.2.x, as described in the release notes. Theoretically, it should be working on systems with higher kernel versions too, but we cannot guarantee this for all possible kernels and distributions. Maybe your distribution uses a buggy system library, as described here...

Best regards,

Sebastian 

[Andrea_B]

I have tried the installation on Ubuntu 7.01 and OpenSUSE 11, but in both cases the "Floating Point Exception" stays there. As the versions are quite new, I don't expect problems with the libraries mentioned in tha article that you linked.

Now I see three alternatives:

1. Go to LV8.5 with an updated HW and try to recompile the software of 5.1: most likely in the upgrade of the software it will stop working. Is it possible to go from 5.1 to 8.5 or there are some intermediate conversions needed?
2. Install an older linux distro supporting 5.1 and run the software. The risk is that the old linux will not work with an updated hw. But in this case, do you have an idea of which is the most updated linux that should work with the LV5.1?
3. Search for old hardware and install old linux. But this solution is quite hard to implement.

 I don't know which of these solutions would work properly and with the shortest time. From your experience, which one could work?

Thanks for the help.

Andrea

[SFK]

Hello Andrea,

as I wrote before, LabVIEW for Linux 5.1 was designed for Kernels 2.0.x and 2.2.x. Please understand that we cannot test each and every LabVIEW version with all distributions and kernels available.

If you use a modern PC with standard i386 hardware, it should still be compatible with the older Linux kernel versions, although there will not be any support for enhanced features like 3D graphics (but these are not required by LabVIEW 5.1 anyway). This would be my solution of choice, if you have multiple VI applications.

The other option would be to recompile your LabVIEW 5.1 code to a more recent LabVIEW version. As you correctly presumed, LabVIEW 5.1 code is not directly compatible to LabVIEW 8.5, you will need to use an intermediate version like LabVIEW 6 or 7.1 to "translate" the VIs.

Best regards,

Sebastian 

[Andrea_B]

Thanks for your information and help.

I will try an older distro.

Andrea