state machine?

[tbd]

Hi bmunden,

      You can certainly implement the logic you described, the question of whether to buffer the "temporary" data in memory or on disk is up to you.  (The phrase "append data to matrix" suggests that you're building a multi-dimensional result-array?)  If data-sets are acquired quickly and any specific data-set isn't particularly important, then accumulating to (2D?) array and spitting it out in a single file-operation sounds reasonable.  If this array takes a long time to acquire and/or is difficult (or impossible) to reproduce, then maybe it's worth using the disk as your temporary storage.  Either way you'll implement it just like your pseudo-code.  The attached VI shows both methods!

Cheers!

[bmunden]

The state machine's while loop will naturally defer the saving of data until it's finished executing, so I just used that.

[tbd]

Hi bmunden,

      Another "natural" way to order execution is via "data dependency".

... glad you have a solution that works for you.

Cheers!

[glstill]

Thanks to all.  I have a statemachine in another file.  In each state, i plan to dequeue the queue that i created and use the dequeued element for the next state.

I do understand statemachines very well.  In my other file, i have a while loop, shift register, and case structure.  The shift register is initialized to the init state which is where i want to put the SUBVI that i am questioning about.  The dequeued element would be wired to the shift register inside each of the states.

[Mark_Yedinak]

If you are using a queue there is no need to wire the dequeued item to a shift register. Simply dequeue the element. Either the element itself is the next state or the queued data is a cluster containing the next state. The dequeue should occur right before the case statement and the next_state data is the wired to the case selector.

[JÞB]

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glstill wrote:

Thanks to all.  I have a statemachine in another file.  In each state, i plan to dequeue the queue that i created and use the dequeued element for the next state.

I do understand statemachines very well.  In my other file, i have a while loop, shift register, and case structure.  The shift register is initialized to the init state which is where i want to put the SUBVI that i am questioning about.  The dequeued element would be wired to the shift register inside each of the states.

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Whoops-I sent too many links- GL's OP is HERE

[hecmar.arreola]

Just as a /aside, I disagree with the application of the name State Machine (as in the JKI template) in the context of LabVIEW.  That particular state machine is actually a simple subroutine execution method.  I'll go a step further and say that the built in Producer/Consumer Event template is superior and that a string based message system is very error prone.

But since it is already an established name and people are familiar with it, I digress.

What I consider a State Machine, I have renamed to State Controller to avoid confussion when talking with other LabVIEW users.  My background and understanding of "State Machine" is best defined as Synchronous and Non-synchronous Finite State Machines.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite-state_machine

Message Edited by Nickerbocker on 03-03-2010 12:26 PM

[JÞB]

Valid point.  consider it "jargon" for LabVIEW like "Functional Global"

[Mark_Yedinak]

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Nickerbocker wrote:

Just as a /aside, I disagree with the application of the name State Machine (as in the JKI template) in the context of LabVIEW.  That particular state machine is actually a simple subroutine execution method.  I'll go a step further and say that the built in Producer/Consumer Event template is superior and that a string based message system is very error prone.

But since it is already an established name and people are familiar with it, I digress.

What I consider a State Machine, I have renamed to State Controller to avoid confussion when talking with other LabVIEW users.  My background and understanding of "State Machine" is best defined as Synchronous and Non-synchronous Finite State Machines.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite-state_machine

Message Edited by Nickerbocker on 03-03-2010 12:26 PM

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I very rarely use string based state machines for the reasons you mentioned. I prefer to use discrete state defintions using typedefed ENUMs.

[hecmar.arreola]

Definitly.  Type-def'd Enums is the way to go.