04-16-2009 05:46 PM
Hello all,
I've developed a LabVIEW demo app that I'd like to show people who don't necessarily have LV installed on their computer. It would be really cool if the LV application builder/installer could be used to package an application and the LV run-time engine on a CD-ROM or DVD (so the user could run the LabVIEW app right off the disk and would not have to install the demo on his/her hard disk). Anyone done this sort of thing before?
Thank you very much!
Oliver Barrett
CLAD
www.linkedin.com/in/orbarrett
04-16-2009 08:59 PM
Hi Oliver,
Unfortunately there is no way I know of to run a LabVIEW application off of a disk without installing the LabVIEW Run-Time Engine on the client system. I agree with you in that would be an excellent feature to have - the application could access the LabVIEW GUI elements and libraries off of the CD instead of the client's hard drive!
I am also interested in seeing if others have found a way to do this, can you post your question on the LabVIEW forums linked below to appeal to a greater audience?
http://forums.ni.com/ni/board?board.id=170
If nothing else, our LabVIEW developers should see your post and note the great feedback!
That being said, it is very common for people to build professional LabVIEW applications for distribution on CDs or DVDs. However, in order to build an applicaiton you will need to either have LabVIEW Professional or the Application Builder. If you have either of these software packages, then you can follow these steps to build an installer:
LabVIEW Professional for Windows: http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/2441
LabVIEW Applicaiton Builder for Windows: http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/10731
Here are some useful LabVIEW How-Tos which cover these topics in more detail: http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361E-01/TOC28.htm
These topics include:
Building a stand-alone application: http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361E-01/lvhowto/building_a_stand_alone_app/
Building an installer: http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361E-01/lvhowto/installer_ex/
Regards,
Erik
Northern California Field Engineer
National Instruments
04-21-2009 08:02 PM
Hello Erik,
Thank you for the helpful info! I've posted this question on the NI forum per your suggestion.
Best regards,
Oliver Barrett
04-23-2009 08:38 AM
Yes, you can run LabVIEW exe's without the RTE - see http://forums.lavag.org/Runtimeless-Installer-and-LabVIEW-applications-t122.html and http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=170&thread.id=226209
Christopher G. Relf
Chief Architect
04-27-2009 01:30 PM
Hello Chris,
Thank you very much for the RTE-less option info, I'm looking forward to researching that.
Regards,
Oliver
04-30-2009 03:00 PM
No worries It may or may not work for you (it really depends on what version of LabVIEW you're using and what components they call). Good luck!
05-21-2009 08:28 PM
Hi Oliver,
Well, why you do not try something different (out-of-box-thinking)? - i.e. on customer computer run a Virtual machine (VM), and let it run your LV application (preinstalled in VM).
Instead of trying to run LV exe on customer computer without installing LV RTE you can run it on preinstalled VM - much more easy and flexible.
Typical VM with preinstalled WinXP or Linux is about 3GB, so if you use DVD 4.7GB there is a plenty of space available.
If you haven't played with VMs before, I will suggest Sun's VirtualBox, Microsoft's VirtualPC and VMWare's VMPlayer - all of them are free and fun to work with - I personally use more than 10 VMs - both Windows and Linux OS. I will suggest to place VM(s) on Flash Drive or external HDD. The only downside (when VM is not used regularly) can be that if VM is connected to Internet it can try to update the installed SW (waste time), but this should not be an issue for your case - a standalone VM probably will suffice (if your application is not networked). Also you can find many prebuilt VMs on Internet and add LV RTE and your application to them.
However note that the customer computer may need to install VM software (but it can be provided on DVD as well).
Another option is to look at is 'Live CD's - again hundreds are available on Internet. However adding your stuff to them is more complicated.
You would like to do the research yourself, because I can not write all details here. Just start by 'google' for Virtual Box. However if you need more help, please feel free to contact me back.
Regards,
Emil