llb and mnu files

[jyang72211]

Do I have to make a llb first, and make the mnu next, so that I can make the mnu to the library?   

[Dennis_Knutson]

You should never be creating an llb. For an instrument driver, you should be creating a lvlib. You can then create the mnu files and add them to your project.

[jyang72211]

oh, so I shouldn't create an llb, huh?  That's good to know.  If I just use a lvlib for my driver and I need to distribute my driver, how would I do that?  Do I distribute all the files in a file structure in a zip file?  Is that the best way?  BTW, why is creating a llb such a bad idea?  Why is lvlib so much better?  Thanks!

How would the user install my lvlib and the files?  What about the path linkage that is associated with the file?  I don't want the user to see a bunch of broken links.  Thanks!

Yik

[Dennis_Knutson · Accepted solution]

Have you seen the tutorial on Developing Instrument Drivers? The project-style driver was introduced with LabVIEW 8.0 and has a couple of advantages. You avoid VI name collisions and the structure is suitable to source code control. The old llb lumps everything into a single file that is not suitable for source code control of individual VIs. An llb also has the serious disadvantage that if a single VI in it is corrupt, the entire llb is unreadable.

Assuming you are using 8.x, you can look at the shipping 34401 driver to see the structure of a project-style driver.

The distibution would be as a zip file, just as NI does it. As long as the driver is installed in the instr.lib folder (where you would also be developing in), There would not be any broken links.