Matt, you're confusing two ideas and you really shouldn't. You've discussed that it CAN be done. That's an entirely different discussion from WILL ALWAYS be done. When setting up your system, you're assuming a perfect system for every run. That's a bad assumption to make. You need to re-evaluate your design and look for a design that CAN run for 15 days and 15 hours rather than one that WILL. Look at it from the viewpoint that it will run that long only if you allow it to continue. If it is designed to last that long when you allow it to do so, it fits the CAN model. What you're doing now is dangerous design. Really, it should be mocked.
Richard, there are people here that are helping. You're not one of them. It's not "generally unacceptable." It's entirely asinine. It's terrible design. Matt is clearly new to the environment and you're starting him with bad habits. This is like teaching a child it's ok to strip in public. Sure, people will probably laugh because the "kid doesn't know any better." But, it's not helping the child. Your guidance is detrimental to the child. Similarly, offering bad practices is detrimental to a new programmer. Here's what's more disturbing. In order to show that you understand the problem being pointed out, you post code that still can't be expected to respond within less than 3 seconds. While that is more responsive than your original terrible code, this is STILL bad practice. The design you put forth is shortsighted and shouldn't be considered a viable solution for a first program, let alone one that you're suggesting shows expertise.
Rather than give Matt a broken example to feed your ego, why don't you point him towards a design that will actually benefit his application? When you're called on your ego stroking, own it. There's no point pretending you were doing something beneficial. Anyone with a basic understanding of your code realizes it was bad advice.
Matt, there are dozens of examples available to show you how to use timing appropriately. The Elapsed Time Express VI makes this very easy to manage. Put yourself on a better path and learn to use the tools designed for the task you want to perform. Stop using Richard's hammer to work with your screw.
