Can VirtualBench be programmed in C (Or anything other than LV)

[TaranjeetHullon]

VirtualBench looks awesome !

Can it be programmed in any other languages besides LV ?

-- Taranjeet

[Justin_P]

Hello Taranjeet!

I'm glad that you share the same enthusiasm we have about this new product.

LabVIEW is the only API we provide at this time.

[bstreiff]

As Justin notes, there is not presently an API for any language other than LabVIEW.

However, VirtualBench does not require programming (in any language) to use it. The included VirtualBench application software is intended to cover most interactive uses out-of-the-box.

[Justin_P]

Good catch, I was thinking he was only asking about the programatic/automated side of VirtualBench.

Taranjeet, you can download the Windows application for VirtualBench here.  It allows you to use it in "demo mode" with simulated signals.  Its the best way to get a feel for the VirtualBench user experience.

[johngardner58]

It appears that the DLLs are .NET assemblies.  So it looks possibl to manipulate it from .NET  it wouldn't surprise me to see a COM interface but nothing is registered that I can tell.

Without documentation it might be a bit hard, but  NationalInstruments.SoftFrontPanel.Model looks like a good starting place.  Not having an automation interface (documented) would be a deal killer.   At a minimum it needs COM bt a published .NET interface would be even better.

[JohannS]

While it may be possible to program VirtualBench using the .NET assemblies, it is not intended to be a public API. The interfaces are not documented and may change without notice. Developers are encouraged to use the LV API, which is documented and has examples, for application development.

[johngardner58]

I get that but we don't use LV.  We use code for all our NI automation (PXI typically).   I also understand the risks.  You really need to have a COM, C/C++ and .NET api

[WilliamEarle]

We're happy to announce version 1.1 adds a C API.

http://www.ni.com/download/ni-virtualbench-driver-1.1.1/5116/en/

Regards,

William Earle

[Daniel.K]

Looks promising, is there any documentation, headerfiles, examples for the API?

Thanks,

Daniel

[ZachHindes]

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@Daniel.K wrote:

Looks promising, is there any documentation, headerfiles, examples for the API?

Thanks,

Daniel

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Yes, when you install the new driver you get everything necessary to get started.

• Header: ProgramFiles/National Instruments/Shared/ExternalCompilerSupport/C/include/nivirtualbench/nivirtualbench.h
• Libs: ProgramFiles/National Instruments/Shared/ExternalCompilerSupport/C/lib32 (and lib64)
• Examples: USER_DIR/Public Documents/National Instruments/VirtualBench ANSI C Examples (also linked from start menu)
• Documentation (concept only): USER_DIR/Public Documents/National Instruments/VirtualBench Documentation (also linked from start menu)