Why does NI forces me to buy a support contract?

[mikeporter]

Some descriptions can be confusing, but if you tell us what the problem is we might be able to explain it. And yes, it might take a bit longer because you have to post a question and wait for a reply, but the upside is that you will be getting your question answered by someone who might have (literally) decades of experience using LV.

Don't get me wrong, most of the folks in product support are good people, but career-wise that job is a stop-over. The really good ones go on to bigger and better things like being project managers or corporate vice-presidents (given enough time of course).

Mike...

[eph1]

Hello Jeff,

it is not gripe, what I am doing here (as some others have written), I am only a little bit frustrated, and astonished, too. While programming with LV I often have these "little questions", which took much time to answer, if you do not know the answer. Most of them should be answered in the LV help, to my opinion, but they don't. So I have to call NI, ask my question and get an answer. This will take me about 15 minutes, and the LV engineer as well. Not very economical.

Writing to to forum works as well, but took much more time.

My problem was: I tried to build a dll with the application builder. The error code was 2147221480.

Greetings

eph1

[rolfk]

Actually many things are documented in the online help file that gets installed on your harddrive. What is usually difficult is to find it in the several 1000 pages worth of information. Of course there are still things that are missing but adding more information to the help doesn't make finding it easier.

But since you refuse to even mention what the actual error was and the according error message, the solution to your problem seems not so relevant to you.

[Intaris]

We probably could have solved your problem for you already (Totally free of charge!) if you'd just have the common sense to actually post details about the error......

[jcarmody]

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My problem was: I tried to build a dll with the application builder. The error code was 2147221480.

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I assume you've already tried https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ani.com+error+2147221480.  If you have, you should mention what solutions you've considered and why you've ruled them out.  You've already had a bunch of LabVIEW heavy-hitters in this thread (incredibly heavy - so heavy that they'd never last as phone-answering technical support for NI).

Spoiler

Me?  I'd never even get past the phone interview. 😄

[KathrynB]

Assuming that we are looking at the same error code as in this thread http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Building-DLL-Error-2147221480/td-p/1975581 (two seconds on standard web serach engine with the terms "labview errors 2147221480") from 18 months ago, then the conversation there might give you some hints - and the fact that an applications engineer was the first responder, all be it a little while later, should tell you something about the fact that NI do keep an eye on the boards - you might just have to have more patience if you don't have a service contract. After all, it's someone in a similar role you'd end up dealing with on the end of a phone probably... That thread also tells me that just building a dll and getting that error isn't enough information for anyone to help you.

For those little questions - the chances are you aren't the first one to ask them, which is why my LAST port of call is usually the support phone line, search for it online, and see what you can find first - you might even learn more than just the answer to your one question and find out something you never knew before and grow even more in your programming ability... Or at least I find that I do...

[eph1]

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I assume you've already tried https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ani.com+error+2147221480.  If you have, you should mention what solutions you've considered and why you've ruled them out.  You've already had a bunch of LabVIEW heavy-hitters in this thread (incredibly heavy - so heavy that they'd never last as phone-answering technical support for NI).

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Unfortunately nothing in this search helps me.

Perhaps the prototyp of the build is usefull:

void Zahlentest(float ZahlSingle, double ZahlDouble, int32_t ZahlInt32, int16_t ZahlInt16, LVBoolean *Boolean, float *ZahlSingleOut, double *ZahlDoubleOut, int32_t *ZahlInt32Out, int16_t *ZahlInt16Out)

Greetings

eph1

[DianeS]

Your boolean is the problem, I believe.  Try changing it to an I32 and pass that instead. 

The error explanation tells you (basically) that you're trying to pass an invalid type (a function or parameter is illegal).  I added a Boolean to one of my function calls in a DLL I build from LV code, just to see, and I got the same error you describe here.  I don't think you can pass a boolean data type.