Chapter 15: LabVIEW Code Extensions

Chapter 15: LabVIEW Code Extensions

Brian Paquette

SensArray Corporation

Overview

Even though LabVIEW provides you with broad functionality, times may arise when you would like to do something that isn?t possible with LabVIEW?s included feature set. If you couldn?t extend LabVIEW?s capabilities, at best you might work around the lapse, and at worst you might glumly abandon your idea. The developers of LabVIEW at National Instruments foresaw this dilemma and included means to broaden LabVIEW?s reach. These are the Code Interface Node (CIN) and the Call Library Function , collectively referred to here as code extensions . With these doorways, you can add your own conventional text-oriented code, access the operating system, and incorporate libraries provided by other programmers.

National Instruments has provided good documentation on CINs and the Call Library Function. Rather than parroting information that LabVIEW?s own documentation already records, I am going to provide additional information here to broaden your understanding of this subject. In learning how to use CINs and the Call Library Function, be very sure to study the LabVIEW documentation, especially the LabVIEW Code Interface Reference Manual. Excellent overviews exist in that documentation. Be sure to read the CIN Common Questions Section; LabVIEW 4 and 5 users can also get details of CIN functions in the LabVIEW on-line documentation available through the Help menu.

Descriptions

We?ll start off by looking at the methods available for accessing code extensions from LabVIEW: CINs, Call Library Functions, and Shared Libraries. At the core of...

< Previous Excerpt Next Excerpt >

Purchase This Book

LabVIEW POWER Programming

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 15: LabVIEW Code Extensions

Contact Preferences

This is embarrasing...

Customize Your GlobalSpec Experience

Select Your Free Newsletters

Industry Newsletters

Select Your Free Product Alerts

This is embarrasing...