C# .NET TDMS library

[ShawnWeaver]

I originally sent this question to customer service but was directed here... If I'm in the wrong place, please point me in the right direction.

I'm working on an application that just needs to read TDMS files generated by other applications, so I'm just looking for a .NET library (a managed assembly) I can use to read TDMS files. I'm just wondering if any library exists that I can just download and use, or if I need to purchase something (Measurement Studio for instance) to get the library I need (and if it is included with something, am I allowed to pull out the library and use it elsewhere?).

This line from the TDMS file format page ( http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/3727 ) seems to indicate it would require a purchase:

"Note: Access to the TDM Streaming .NET Class Library is restricted to the Professional and Enterprise editions of Measurement Studio."

So am I right assume I'd need to purchase the Professional Edition just to get access to the library? And again, would I be allowed to use it in programs other than anything created Measurement Studio?

I found an old C library ( http://ni2.intellisurvey.com/run/2007codelicenseagree ), and I found a thread ( http://forums.ni.com/t5/Measurement-Studio-for-NET/Read-a-TDMS-with-c/m-p/464660 ) that seems related, but that thread started in 2007 (updated in 2009), and the answers only talk about using Measurement Studio, while I'm more interested in just reading the files, and not so much in Measurement Studio.

Thanks for any help.

[Kyle_M]

Shawn,

We actually have a knowledgebase article about reading and writing TDMS files in various environments here: 

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/A3663DE39D6A2C5A86257204005C11CA

You should be able to integrate the C library into a .net project and get it to work, but to do it natively in .net, yes, professional Measurement Studio will be required. You would also be able to use the libraries in non-measurement studio applications. 

Regards,

Kyle Mozdzyn

Applications Engineering

National Instruments

[ShawnWeaver]

Thanks for the information, Kyle.

I have one additional (probably stupid) question:

I checked with some of my coworkers and apparently one of us already has a copy of Management Studio (I believe it's the Professional edition), so we already have a copy of the library I need floating around. Do I need to purchase my own license to Management Studio Professional to use the TDMS library legit? (My assumption is yes, but I figured I'd ask anyway)

Thanks again.

[Kyle_M]

Shawn,

You can access TDMS files without measurement studio by using our C/C++ TDMS Dll here under the "TDM C DLL" section: http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/3727

Our licensing policy has a single license being good for a single user on up to three computers (Lets say a home, desk computer, and a lab machine), or a single computer with many users (like a community lab bench). 

Regards,

Kyle Mozdzyn

Applications Engineering

National Instruments

[Kyle_M]

Shawn,

For clarification, the C TDM DLL does have a limited feature set, including not supporting the streaming of TDMS. Its more of a lite version than a C version of the full TDMS feature set in Measurement Studio.

Regards,

Kyle Mozdzyn

Applications Engineering

National Instruments

[jiri_b]

Hi everyone,

I was trying to include the "nilibddc.dll" distributed in the "c_dll_tdm.zip" archive via NI pages into my C# code made in Visual Studio 2013 in order to be able just to read and write TDMS files easily, but found the error message shown in the attached image. The same appears for both 32 and 64-bit versions of the dll as well as for any other dll in that '\dev\bin\' directory...  Does anyone have any idea how to include and use the dll? If installed, I can use also VS2010 but am not sure if it is of any help. Looks like there is some incompatibility issue.

Thank you for your answer.

[jiri_b]

UPDATE: Coded things in C (w/o using VS) and everything works fine...

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[wombat44]

I'm working on using the TDMS dll in VS 2015 and got the same message about not being able to recognize nilibddc.dll as a valid COM object.  I haven't solved it yet, but I found this thread interesting:

https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/c194f361-afcb-47ac-81e9-8be60cbc25a0/a-reference-to-t...