Using Multiple Versions of LabVIEW with TestStand

[Josh_W]

This post is to continue the discussion of using multiple versions of LabVIEW VIs with TestStand.  The discussion began in this thread.

j_dodek said:

Another thing NI should think about is LabViewVersions and TS:
I have TS2.0 programms that use dll from VC6,8 or CVI6,7,8 in the same file. They run under all new TS versions without any modifications!!
But it is impossible to run vis from LV6,7,8 under the same TS. Well masscompile ! but then they wont run under old stuff.
Well i am not afraid of upgrading TS. But of masscompiling a !!TESTED!! vi to new vi-version.

[Josh_W]

j_dodek,

It is possible to call VIs written in multiple versions of LabVIEW from TestStand if you use the LabVIEW runtime engine.  Every LabVIEW step has advanced options, and one of those options is to always run the VI with the LabVIEW runtime engine (LabVIEW RTE).  If you select this option, then TestStand will choose the correct version of the LabVIEW RTE to run your VI, and will allow multiple RTEs to be used.

Are you running your VIs with the runtime engine or are you using LabVIEW development?

How are you deploying your VIs?

We'd like to understand your use case in a bit more detail so that we can improve TestStand.

[RayFarmer]

Hi Josh,

The ability to select the LV RTE in the LabVIEW adaptor came in version 3.0 of TestStand. I think Juergen said he was using TS2.0 and therefore only has the Runtime Server or the LabVIEW development system as options in the LabVIEW Adaptor.

Regards

Ray Farmer

[j_dodek]

Hi Josh,

Thanks for opening this thread!

I hope this will be also interesting for other members here.

Ok let me introduce.

I am not a LV-guy. I usually do my stuff in C++ or C# as dll

My collegues are doing most stuff in LV. When i came

to the company in 2001 the things were done in LV6.i and TS2.0

Then i tried to  start upgrading to TS3 to TS4 in 2006 just on maschines
that are using my dll stuff. Because there were no problems. As i said

you clould load the old TS2-files on the TS4 engines without any modifications

even no reopening or resaving to TS4 was neccassary. This was great !

But really frustrating was LV. Ok i am honest i am not crack in LV but i understand

programminig technics and i got some experience in TS over the years.

The major problem is attachted in the zip file. There is an old LV6.1 vi and llb

and a TS2-file. Just try to run this on a TS4 maschine.

I have figured out a reasonable solution to handle the vi version problem.

The solution was masscompiling. I started from LV8.0 to latest. In seperate network

drive-folders i store the vi's. Now a i can switch between LV versions on TS maschines by

just changing only two things in TS: LV adapter's version and change one search path to that version.

The advantage is that i have set only the TS StationSettings. There is no need for reopening and saveing TS files.

Disadvantage is MASSCOMPILE!

This i only working in the plant i am responsible. But there is an other plant where i have no networkrights and

all that stuff. There we have over  50 Ts2.0 files with most 200 LV6i vi stepcalls. On this old files sometimes the vis are using absolute

pathes instead of rellative !! So upper stuff will cause an error exception of not finding files during runtime.

I dont want to reopen all that files. They should just run in lastest TS without any modifcations

Greetings

Juergen 

[glennjammin]

I had this issue a while back and NI support helped me out.  The gave me an example using the Teststand api to change the LV RTE on the fly.  See attached.

[hay123]

Hi,

I am using Teststand 2.0.1 and labview 6.1. When I change the teststand adapter option to "TestStandLVRTS",  I encountered error which saying

"file not found, Error code:-18002". At the same time, another teststand window showing "Teststand Labview Runtime Server. Press stop to quit. Server build w/ labview 5.1.1".

What I suspect is labview version that I used is higher then the RT version. I tried to change the RT version through above code. But I found that in activeX adapter module, there is no "setServerInfo" under the callMethod box. I checked some articles and it said those method only for teststand 3.5 or later version. (http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/C078C4325CD2287D8625725F007CC49F)

Also I tried to installed the RT 5.1.1 version, but it makes no different. Anyone know the solution, please kindly letting me know. Many thanks.

p/s: it works if I choose "Labview" under Labview Std Prototype Adapter.

Hay

[RayFarmer]

Hi,

What you have to do is rebuild the Runtime Server. all the code and build files are provided in the TestStand folder under the Runtime Server folder.

You have to make sure all the VI's used are at the same version.

The Runtime Server is not the same as the LabVIEW Runtime Engine therefore installing RTE 5.1.1 is not the complete story. To get the Default Runtime Server to work you would have to build all you VI's with LabVIEW 5.1.1

Hope this helps you

Regards

Ray Farmer