Field Point references

[Ivan Codwoggler]

I am converting a test rig from using Fieldpoint to NI DAQmx. Unlike DAQmx,  The Fieldpoint IO references are defined in a  the FieldPoint.IAK file which is edited in MAX.   

I have found references in the code which are not defined in the IAK file.  What will happen if these are called?  Will the Fieldpoint VI generate an error?  Is there a default way in which they are handled, or can I be confident that these references are just not called?

In an ideal world, an undefined reference would cause the VI to appear as broken,  I am sure this is true for DAQmx, but it appears not to be so for Funny old Fieldpoint.  

   BR,   Ivan 

[Bob_Schor]

Hello, Ivan.

I typed into Google "NI Fieldpoint" (because I'd never heard of "Fieldpoint") and the second seach "find" when I did that was called "Transitioning from Compact Fieldpoint to CompactRIO".  I think it might have at least some of the information you are looking for.

Bob Schor

[tst]

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@Ivan Codwoggler wrote:

I have found references in the code which are not defined in the IAK file.  What will happen if these are called?  Will the Fieldpoint VI generate an error? 

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FieldPoint has been end-of-life'd about a decade ago, so the behavior might depend on your LV version. It's possible newer versions won't handle this the same way.

FieldPoint has something called an IO point, if I remember correctly. This is a purple wire like the DAQmx channel or task wire and it serves the same purpose - you feed it into a read or write VI to actually interact with the relevant channels. Like DAQmx, it also has a corresponding drop down control/constant where you can select from identified cards/channels.

I believe the drop down control and wire were built into LV, even if you don't have FP installed and will therefore "work" (i.e. not throw an error) even if you don't have FP installed. It is possible that you will get a popup when running an EXE referencing a channel if you don't have the relevant channel configured in the relevant IAK file on that computer. I remember this exists, but don't know if this was caused by the list itself or by a function using that channel.

If you don't have FP installed, then you won't have the relevant VIs and DLLs and you won't be able to load the EXE at all. If you did install it, but the hardware doesn't exist, then the read/write VIs will throw errors.

My suggestion is that if you no longer have FP hardware in the project, you should remove everything in the code that refers to it.