CVI for LINUX

[Wendy L]

Hello everyone,

I know this thread has been going on for a few years now, but I wanted to update whoever is interested on the latest LabWindows/CVI modules that we've released to try to address your multiplatform support needs:

So we now have a Real-Time Module, which allows you to develop LabWindows/CVI apps on a Windows machine and run on a real-time PXI or PC target.

Also, to partly address the main subject of this thread, in August, we release the Run-Time Module for Linux, which similarly allows you to develop on a Windows machine as you always have with CVI, and then run your application on multiple Linux distributions.

That's a brief overview of the latest modules, but if you want more information on what hardware is supported and also a more in-depth discussion on the module, take a look at the following resources:

Real-Time Module: www.ni.com/lwcvi/realtime

Run-Time Module for Linux: Introduction to the Run-Time Module for Linux Whitepaper

Thanks.

[km4hr]

The last message in this series was dated 2006. Has there been any recent movement in NI's position this issue?

By the time NI realizes there's sufficient demand to begin work on this product it may be too late. Remember Motif? It was the defacto Unix widget set for many years. Now few even know it exists. It's been replaced by other tools. It's developers were too rigid and unwilling to adapt until it was too late.

Linux use has grown substantially since 2006. With companies doing everything they can to reduce costs it's hard to imagine that they will ignore costs associated with Windows licensing when they have a more reliable alternative. Microsoft themselves recently announced major headcount reductions. If MS loses monopoly control of the PC then watch out below. There's no reason for NI to go down with the ship.

I image it's a major effort for NI to develop a stand-alone Linux version of CVI but that makes it all the more important to get started. NI should at least be able to make a definitive statement regarding future direction by now.

In a similar vein, who remembers VMS? When I started working with industrial computers (1980's) it was assumed that VMS would live forever. Those who ignore history...

[Guillaume Dargaud]

I don't see the rest of this discussion, but I assumed you revived an old
thread.
NI does indeed have a Linux version of CVI.
It works reasonably well and I use it daily on several projects as we
decided to stop developing for Windows (we make our own custom hardware so
need our own drivers and those are so much easier to do under Linux).

The problems I see with CVI Linux are the following:
- NI doesn't advertise or push it very much
- it's not distributed with the rest of the "all inclusive license deal"
- there are quite a few bugs
- last version came out in 2007 and the next one is scheduled for 2010.
That's a bit slow...
- there's no user interface editor so you still need to develop on the
Windows version.

But like I said, it exists, it works and it's incredibly useful.
--
Guillaume Dargaud
http://www.gdargaud.net/
Hardware /nm./: the part of the computer that you can kick.