Designing a self test program in labview of an attached hardware

[Dennis_Knutson]

I'm posting from my phone. Can you attach a snippet of the block diagram?

[Bob_Schor]

Dennis,

     The Block Diagram is 4000 x 3000 pixels!  I don't think you want that on your phone (but I've attached it anyway ...).

Bob Schor

[Bob_Schor]

You need to learn to create readable Block Diagrams.  Start with striving to keep them on a standard monitor screen (strive for 1280 x 1024 pixels or smaller).  Use sub-VIs to "hide messy details".  Use loops and other design features to do the same thing over and over again (arrays work very well with loops).  Use InRange and Coerce to check if values are in range (see Snippet, in LabVIEW 2012 -- I don't have LabVIEW 2009 on this machine).  Notice how much more compact, not to mention intuitive, the InRange code at the bottom is compared to your method.

Once you have reduced your Block Diagram to a point where you can see and comprehend the Big Picture (that is, what you are trying to do), you will have a much easier time finding and fixing the problems it is having.

Bob Schor

[Dennis_Knutson]

Bob,

Thanks and you are correct. That program is just plain wrong and does not show even the slightest attempt at a self test. I'm going to just back away from this thread. The op needs those LabVIEW tutorials.

[Dennis_Knutson · Accepted solution]

A design pattern that you should pay particular attention to when you get around to the tutorials is the state machine. It would be simple to modify to add a state for self test of the measurement hardware as well as making your VI run numerous tests without starting and stopping each time.