Additional NI Software Idea Exchange

We are doing testing of our complex Logic devices (CPLDs and FPGAs).

With this effort we are finding from the FPGA designers, that to cover testing requirements for the CPLD we need to generate 100’s of code files that validate all the test cases per our requirements.

The designers then creates 100s of VCD files from ModelSIM that Test Engineering then has to convert to HWS files using the digital Waveform Editor 3.0 in order to run on the HSDIO cards.

Since the effort is currently manual, we were looking to automate the importing tools from DWE 3.0.

as my project grows the amount of files to test wil grow to 1000's of files. Automation of the import and export wizard would help substantially.

However, Digital Waveform Editor 3.0 does not support scripting or provide LabVIEW APIs to do so.

We are currently looking at a Windows scripting engine to do this by mouse clicks but would prefer a LabVIEW API implementation to control this operation.

It would be great to create APIs that can script the import and export functions of the DWE 3.0

I see that the .LLB libraries are there in the DWE directory but no documentation to use for scripting. I believe this is possible to script but not without a lot of trial and error on my part.

Is NI looking into creating APIs with hooks into Digital Waveform Editor (DWE) for scripting conversions from VDC files to HWS files?

This is my thoughts on the API from the Import Export wizard.

API functions:

Import File

<ctl>VCD or ASCII (enum)

Import Wizard Select Signals

<ctl> Array of Signal Names

<indicator> Array of selected Signal Names

Import Wizard set Signal Name Type

Drive, Compare, or Bidirectional (Enum)

<ctl> Array of Signal Names

Import Wizard Sample Method - On Edge of VDC signal

Select Sampling Method

Select VCD Signal

Sample on: Rising Edge, Falling Edge, Both Edges (Enum)

Delay After Rising Edge (sec)

Import Wizard Sample Method - Fixed timebase or Rate

Cycle Time for Sampling (sec)

Sampling Start Position (sec)

Frequency (Hz)

Retrieve from File (T:F)

File Path (path)

Export File

Save As: HWS or ASCII or Binary (enum)

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I write C# code and I tend to write wrapper classes and methods like: DmmHelper.MeasureDcVoltage( DmmRange range = DmmRange.TenVolt, DmmDigits digits = DmmDigits.FiveAndHalf): double

This routine instantiates, configures, measures and disposes the DMM instrument. That way I can load Test Panels at breakpoints debugging. DAQs are handled with a using {} statement, the inputs or output are valid only within the brackets otherwise the instrument is shutdown and outputs go to 0.

I write unit tests to test my code. It would be nice to use a simulated instrument that I could programmatically configure so that it would measure values that I programmatically inject: Data like: DC voltages, current. AC voltages and current, Digitized voltage or current waveforms, and Resistance etc. I inject the data and when I get measurement the simulated instrument returns the data. The simulation seems to extremely simple stuff but I have not found a good programmatic interface that supports the entire capability of the PXI instrument (Dmm, DAQ, switch matrix, power supply etc.)

Either that or I need to be able to derive my own simulated instrument.

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[Edited on 8/28/2014 by moderator Diego Carvajal (dcarvaja)] [Image included in original post as requested] To help debug medium and large real-time test sequences, it would be very useful if there was a sequence step that allowed the user to specify a console message.

Much like the Print Debug String VI helps debug issues when building custom devices, this step would allow the developer to insert specific console flags and see what part of his/her real-time sequence is executing.

I was thinking for very large systems that use the same channel configuration for multiple channels on the system configuration can be very tedious. A work around for this is the API to build a system definition file but for those customer's with limited or no LabVIEW or .NET experience this isn't valid.

Since we can test the IO channels in MAX by creating tasks for all of our hardware I would like to add the ability to pull the configuration information from a task we've created in MAX and apply them to our channels in VeriStand. So in stead of setting MIN, MAX, input configuration, shunt resistor location and value for 100 channels I can configure it in one location (MAX) and apply the settings to all my Current Channels.

The other issue is if the channel doesn't support all the configurations from each page then we need to contact NI support to add functionality. Recently I worked with a LVDT sensor for a SCXI chassis. This allows customers to have an instant workaround rather than having for NI to allocate resources to update the page.

By adding MAX task to act as the template for our channels we can edit the parameters for all channels of the same setup from one location (MAX) vs each individual page. This also allows you to test individual channels instantly in MAX to make sure the configuration is valid without resolving other errors across the whole system definition.

Again this is more for deployments where they have 100s of channel similarly configured where configurating each channel is tedious but they are not unique.

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I was asked to post this here instead of in the VLM forum:

Every time there is a new update of LabVIEW we typically hunt down the installation disks from ni.com as soon as they are available, and start the process of making volume license installers...(Or, if the update seems less exciting, we wait patiently for the shipped DVDs).

I wish it the whole provcess could be made smoother. Based on the volume license installers we have, the VLM could simply subscribe to newer versions.

When 2014 comes out, the package would automatically go out to all the VLMs out there, and new volume license installers would pop up on our local VLM as soon as the software was ready...OR, alternatively, the VLM could be hosted by NI instead (possibly supported by a local VLM for offline use), so that the process of creating new installers were really done by NI (or automatically by NI hardware that is) based on whatever setup we as VLM admins had chosen...and the source material from NI.

(This idea came about as a side note to this related discussion about LabVIEW cloud services).

MTO

PS. Why do I have to assign this idea a label when the only available labels (I'm not allowed to create a new one) is unrelated to MAX, Veristand or the System Config API?

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When running a stimulus profile in NI Veristand, there is currently no direct way of enabling/disabling Alarms in real time sequences. It would be great to have this capability for use in real time sequence when you are transitioning a channel value with an initial set of abort limits to a new set of abort limits. With the current set up while transitioning depending on the rate of change of the channel value we may hit the upper or lower limits to an abort condition and trigger a procedure even though we actually meant to change the channel to different value with new channel limits.

With VLM 3.1, a number of default reports are available (License Activity, Client Activity, ...).

Some of the default reports (License Activity, Seat utilization and Seat Utilization (Concurrent)) have a License field that the user need to complete.

The issue I have is that we are using different licenses (Dev Suite, Dev Suite with Data Management, Dev Suite with FPGA, ...) and that I cannot generate a report that includes all licenses together.

My request is to have the possibility to select "All licenses" in the License field.

I am more than willing to validate this feature in an alpha/beta release.

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When configuring a system definition file in VeriStand, you can spend a lot of time expanding all of the tree items even if there's only one other item under it. I think it would be nice if the tree auto expanded down to the first set of user-added branches. For example, say I have a simple System Definition as shown below:

If I want to get down to the CAN port I've added, I need to expand Controller, Hardware, Chassis, NI-XNET, and CAN. It would be nice if, assuming the only hardware I've added is the CAN Port, that when I expand Hardware it automatically expands all the way down to CAN 1 since it's the first node I've added. Obviously if I'd also added a DAQ card I'd be ok with it only expanding down to under chassis. Alternatively, or in addition, a button that completely expands the currently highlighted section would be nice.