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New 2014 LabVIEW Champion: David Snyder

Member Profile - David Snyder

Name: Dave Snyder

Home: Maple Valley, Washington, USA

Programming Languages:  LabVIEW, C#, VB, VBA, bits of other things

Certification: CLA, CRR (Certified Rabble Rouser)

Used LabVIEW Since:  2006 - LabVIEW 8

Applications Areas:  Desktop applications, cRIO, Mfg test systems, Motion control, Vision, Actor-Oriented Programming

User Groups:  Seattle, WA.  Portland, OR.  Architect's User Group

Discussion Groups:  LAVA, Actor Framework, LapDog API

Articles:  approx a dozen in various states of incompletion

Books:  (See my posts on the forums)

Biography:

I started programming LabVIEW in 2006 when I stumbled on the Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  Intrigued, I installed a 30-day trial and coded up a contestant--Toe Jam.  Toe Jam ended up finishing in the middle of the pack, but I had fun writing it.  Later on that year I accepted a new position as a test engineer for Microsoft's Zune, responsible for testing the capacitive touchpad (and later the capcitive touch screen.)  As part of my job, I had to create a 2-axis robotic system to precisely control an artificial finger, so naturally I turned to LabVIEW.

Over the next several years I became more experienced with LabVIEW and eventually decided I wanted to return to programming rather than be a test engineer.  Around 2009 I accepted a position as a developer with the XBox Accessories team, creating test tools for the product design teams.  It was while working on a complex RF testing application for XBox controllers that I discovered that, contrary to what I had read on the forums, the QSM was not the bee's knees.  There were no guidelines available to users explaining how to integrate a QSM loop with other loops, what kind of commonly promoted techniques were safe or not safe, or how to refactor a QSM as it grew in complexity.  Without any guidelines, our applications inevitably grew into a big ball of mud as we frantically tried to satisfy the test engineers' ever-changing requirements.

Dissatisfied with the constant grind and problems with the status quo, I started looking for smarter ways to develop software.  In particular, I wanted to write software in a way in which it is not only easy to change what the software is supposed to do, but it is easy to predict what the software actually will do after the change is made.  I focused on implementing code that satisfies the requirements now, not implementing code that satisfies what the requirements might be next month.  I also wanted to take advantage of arguably the single biggest advantage Labview has over most text languages--cheap multithreading.  Above all, I didn't ever want to code myself into a corner that was difficult to get out of. 

I spent the next several years experimenting with various ideas and implementations, posting ideas on LAVA, and taking bits and pieces of what worked while discarding those things that did not.  The old school Labview programmers I was working with were content to continue doing things the same way they had been, so I left Microsoft and started a consulting business while refining my techniques.  Eventually I realized what I had was an agile approach to actor-oriented programming in Labview.  The philosophy I took towards my coding methodology now had a name:  Agile Actors.  Over the past couple years I have become a vocal proponent of actor-oriented programming and have tried--with varying levels of success--to teach AOP to other developers.

Comments
CRoebuck
Member Member
Member
on

A very well deserved recognition Dave. Your LAVA posts on OO design in particular have contributed significantly to my own personal understanding a growth and I thank you for that. Well Done !

Don't forget to give Kudo's for a good answer !

LabVIEW Champion
Certified LabVIEW Architect
Certified TestStand Architect
FabiolaDelaCueva
Active Participant Active Participant
Active Participant
on

Congratulations Dave! I agree with Chris Roebuck, your posts have been great and you should write a book for real. Liked your comment that for books you added "see my posts on the discussion groups":)

For an opportunity to learn from experienced developers / entrepeneurs (Steve, Joerg, and Brian amongst them):
Check out DSH Pragmatic Software Development Workshop!

DQMH Lead Architect * DQMH Trusted Advisor * Certified LabVIEW Architect * Certified LabVIEW Embedded Developer * Certified Professional Instructor * LabVIEW Champion * Code Janitor

Have you been nice to future you?
Mark_Yedinak
Trusted Enthusiast Trusted Enthusiast
Trusted Enthusiast
on

Welcome aboard Dave.



Mark Yedinak
Certified LabVIEW Architect
LabVIEW Champion

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
Daklu
Active Participant
Active Participant
on

Thank you everyone, I appreciate it.  I can see I need to edit my profile... the bio was a placeholder until I get more time to put together something real.

"you should write a book for real"

Others have suggested that too and to be perfectly honest I have thought about it, but...

  1. About what?  Sure, Labview, but what specifically?  My forum posts touch on lots of different subjects--there isn't really a unifying topic.
  2. It takes me 8-10 hours to write a lengthy forum post.  Translate that speed into book length and I'll be writing until I'm dead.
  3. My thoughts and opinions are continuously evolving.  Even if I could write it in one year it would be outdated as soon as I finished it.

On the other hand, I came very close to not graduating high school because of writing classes, and I admit there is some appeal to giving my former teachers the proverbial bird by writing a book. 

GregFreeman
Trusted Enthusiast Trusted Enthusiast
Trusted Enthusiast
on

Dave, I think a lot of your posts can be summed up in that you are explaining the OO programming paradigm in a way that makes sense to a functional programmer. I know many of your posts did that for me. I believe that is a large gap in the functional to OO transition, especially for LV Programmers. Many people just pick up an OO book but lack that segue. You can be the light!

swatts
Active Participant Active Participant
Active Participant
on

Dave

I actually like the process of researching and writing, it's quite cathartic

I hated the fact you never keep the rights to the book (especially when your publisher cocks up the print quality)

You're unlikely to get time invested back directly as money, but it does push up your personal Kudos when going for jobs (Book=Expert, it doesn't actually matter that much about content)

Editors sort out your writing for you, they're scarily good at that.

You just need a brain with some original ideas and the time and energy to follow it through. A good exercise is plan out a book that you would like to read, we liked the original Motley Fool books and tried to make ours like that.

If you need any help it's here.

Steve

Steve


Opportunity to learn from experienced developers / entrepeneurs (Fab,Joerg and Brian amongst them):
DSH Pragmatic Software Development Workshop


Random Ramblings Index
My Profile

Daklu
Active Participant
Active Participant
on

Okay, I was able to carve out some time to write a real bio, but I don't see any way to edit the document.  Am I missing something or just stupid?  (Or maybe both?)

crossrulz
Knight of NI Knight of NI
Knight of NI
on

Daklu wrote:

Am I ...just stupid?


                   

I don't think you could be in this club if that were the case.

It is likely on Kelly's end.  She needs to give you write access to the document.


GCentral
There are only two ways to tell somebody thanks: Kudos and Marked Solutions
Unofficial Forum Rules and Guidelines
"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" - 2 Corinthians 3:5
Hunka
NI Employee (retired)
on

Dave, please try it now.....

Daklu
Active Participant
Active Participant
on

Thanks Kelly.  It renders funny in IE 11, but it's not that big a deal.

crossrulz
Knight of NI Knight of NI
Knight of NI
on

"that I discovered that, contrary to what I had read on the forums, the QSM was not the bee's knees"

That actually explains a lot of your LAVA posts (just remember, it really isn't a state machine )

It's good to have you aboard, Dave.  Much deserved.


GCentral
There are only two ways to tell somebody thanks: Kudos and Marked Solutions
Unofficial Forum Rules and Guidelines
"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" - 2 Corinthians 3:5
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