LabVIEW vs. Wonderware

[CharlesS]

Is LabVIEW anything like Wonderware and what are the pros/cons?  I am looking for HMI software and also needing to monitor realtime measure/data. Was wondering if LabVIEW or Wonderware was my answser?

[SamboNI]

Hi Stacy,

I'm actually not too familiar with Wonderware, but if you have some LabVIEW programming background, interacting with PLCs using the DSC module and interacting with touch panels using the Touch Panel Module is fairly straightforward.

ni.com/dsc
ni.com/hmi

Anyone else (who is probably less biased) have an opinion on Wonderware?

Best of luck in your application,

[Brian_Beal]

I have a little WonderWare experience from years back.  I found it to be limited in what it could do, dificult to learn, and expensive(you always needed to buy more tags).  I have always used Specview for SCADA applications.  That is a great package if Specview has drivers for your instruments, or you can get your intruments to talk to Specview using OPC, DDE, Modbus, or ActiveX.  The logic engine in it is very limited,though.  I am right now into the meat of my first DSC Module project, and should know shortly if I like it or not.

[YuGen]

InTouch (Wonderware) is a visualisation tool from the enterprise-level system "FactorySuite".
So you can not directly compare it with LabVIEW. It depends on what are you developing.

I used InTouch 8.0 about 3 years ago for one project (about a year) and don't pretend to be a judge. I don't know its current state (it seems to be IT 9.5).

IMHO

Some of InTouch advantages:
- Very easy way to communicate with PLC's. Dozens of IOServers for different PLC's brands and communications channels (serial, TCPIP, etc.).
- Very easy way to use touch-screens.
- Reliability.
- As a part of the FactorySuite, it can be easily connected with the factory-level information system (Industrial Application Server, InSQL, etc.)..

Some InTouch disadvantages (IT 8):
- Very poor programming language (QuickScript). It did not even have arrays! (To manage array of strings, I used invisible ListBox 🙂 )
- The license price depends on the number of supported tags. As the language does not have global variables, one has to use "Memory Tags" instead.
- Developers have to renew the developer's license every year. You have to buy RT licenses for every targe computer.