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DavidAMoore

Format Value function should have required inputs

Status: Declined

Any idea that has received less than 8 kudos within 8 years after posting will be automatically declined.

None of the inputs to the Format Value function are required. The Format and Value inputs should be required, because without both of those the function is pointless.

David A. Moore, Ph.D.
President
Moore Good Ideas, Inc.
7 Comments
X.
Trusted Enthusiast
Trusted Enthusiast

You mean you want to give up the ability to do this without breaking your diagram?

 

ScreenHunter_004.jpg

Quantum_Code_Monkey
Member

I agree both should be required.  I can see the argument for having format input be optional, even if it's a rare case, but I can't imagine a good use case for not wiring the value input.

CMal
Active Participant

Keep in mind that changing an input on an existing function from "recommended" to "required" would break a lot of people's VIs.  For that reason alone, I don't think this should be implemented.

SteveChandler
Trusted Enthusiast

Could the function have required inputs when dropped from the new version but existing functions be left alone? Or does it require that existing functions be converted when saving under the new LabVIEW version? I seem to remember a comment from Aristos Queue indicating you could update functions like this without breaking existing code. Of course now I cannot find it.

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LabVIEW 2012


DavidAMoore
Member

I could imagine people using it without the format wired being annoyed that their code broke, but I would want my code to break if value wasn't wired (which was how I discovered this issue).

David A. Moore, Ph.D.
President
Moore Good Ideas, Inc.
X.
Trusted Enthusiast
Trusted Enthusiast

If you read the note at the end of the detailed help for that function, it says:

 

ScreenHunter_001.jpg

 

If you drop said "Format into String" function on a diagram, it breaks your code, because the Value input happens to be required. The format one is not, and in fact is not needed, it will just format using a default format.

 

I think you have a good point anyway, but you'll have a hard time fighting the backward compatibility rear-guard... 🙂

Darren
Proven Zealot
Status changed to: Declined

Any idea that has received less than 8 kudos within 8 years after posting will be automatically declined.