> I'm deciding which to buy, could someone point out the differences
> between the 2 (labview 5.1 and labwindows/cvi). Basically state what one can
> do and the other can't. Also is it possible to write code in labview or is
> it only graphical?
>
The two products are very similar in what they can do, but they take very
different approaches to get there. Neither of them "write code", but they
both allow you to write code, compile it and execute it.
LabVIEW is a bit more of a rapid application development environment with
a simpler language syntax based on dataflow and graphical icons that you
wire together.
LabWindows is a development environment that tames C a bit to make it safer
and more friendly. It uses strict ANSI C, but can detect memory and array
err
ors before they do as much damage as traditional C. They also allow for
immediate execution of a C snippet and writing code by filling out dialogs.
Both of these environments will probably do what you want, but if you don't
know C at all, you probably want to try out LabVIEW. If you know C pretty
well, then you probably want to use LabWindows CVI.
There is also a bundle of the two plus some other tools that sells at a
discount.
I believe that you can request an evaluation of both products to try
before you buy.
Greg McKaskle
