Migrating Community Edition Code to LabView Professional

[anst1994]

Background:

I've been inspired by a work related project just recently, so I've started a similar one at home using the LabView Community Edition and have been making a lot of progress due to somewhat laxer review processes... A day later it becomes apparent I'm about to be assigned to the very project that inspired my own. My own project is not completed at this point and I do not intend to continue working on it.

Problem:

Not only have I solved a lot of the problems I'm about to encounter at work already, I've also been using a lot of the best practices and patterns I've become familiar with through my job for my own project.

Resolving the situation:

I'm now wondering what the intended degree of separation between private and commercial projects is. I see several potential solutions (all assuming consent given by the employer):

1. Reusing finished code:
   1. I'm allowed to migrate VIs/Libraries/Classes from the Community Edition to the Professional one.
   2. I'm allowed to migrate VIs/Libraries/Classes from the Professional Development System to the Community Edition (reasonable proof available, like timestamped version control)
   3. Both
   4. Neither
2. Reusing code partially by copying/pasting between block diagrams:
   1. Community -> Professional
   2. Professional -> Community
   3. Both
   4. Neither
3. Reusing code partially by manually replicating identical algorithms:
   
   1. Community -> Professional
   2. Professional -> Community
   3. Both
   4. Neither
4. Reusing code partially by manually replicating similar functionality:
   
   1. Community -> Professional
   2. Professional -> Community
   3. Both
   4. Neither
5. I must refuse participating in producing code I have completed in the Community Edition
6. I must refuse producing code for this project.
7. I must turn down the assignment including giving advise to my colleagues

Kind Regards,

Andreas

[Bob_Schor]

As I understand it, you cannot use LabVIEW Community Edition (meaning the software system, installed on your personal PC, used by you to develop LabVIEW routines for your own personal use, non-commercial, non-academic) to develop code for commercial or academic use.

So don't do that.  Leave your personal PC at home, go to your Work Environment, use your Work PC with your Company-licensed version of LabVIEW installed on it, and start coding all over again.  Having just worked out some of the algorithms and data structures you'll need to use from your earlier work at home, this should be fairly quick to do.  Just be sure to keep the two code bases strictly separated -- if, as you seem to indicate, you intend to stop working on the Project at home, it would probably be prudent to delete the code produced with Community Edition and do all of your future development at work.

I do not believe the intent of Community Edition was to forbid us from "playing around" with algorithms and such that arise in the course of "doing one's job".  You can't "bring your work home" with you to use Community Edition (but if the Company gives you a laptop with their licensed "Professional" Edition installed, there's no reason you can't use that system at home, but check on Overtime Rules ...), but if you want to "teach yourself LVOOP" or "learn FPGA" by taking Tutorials or writing "learning code" at home in the evening, you can bring this enhanced knowledge back to work and be a more effective LabVIEW Developer.

The Opinions Expressed Here are not only my own, but seem logical and sensible to me, and consistent with what I believe is the Spirit of the Community Edition License.

Bob Schor

[altenbach]

Read the license agreement. If you qualify for the "home usage exception", you can just activate with your company license at home to keep the spirit alive. You probably can just change the activation if you already have the home version installed.

The problem has become more important with Covid issues where many more employees have to work from home and NI has reacted.

Another alternative is to use your work computer from anywhere (e.g. chrome remote desktop). If the connection is fast and reliable and you have matching monitor resolution in full-screen mode, editing VIs works just fine this way.

All code should be fully compatible. Of course the home version bundles some extra stuff (e.g. Arduino/Lynx, etc.).

[drjdpowell]

As long as you aren't doing paid-for work with the Community Edition I don't think there is any problem making use of that unpaid work to support further work that is paid.  

And the bottom line is to not use the Community Edition to do NI out of income they fairly should make.  Since you already paid for a professional licence, you aren't doing that.