Random Ramblings on LabVIEW Design

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Re: LabVIEW is neither easy or optional!!!!!

swatts
Active Participant

Happy Weekend Wielders of the little Wiring Tool thing.

 

Our book "A Software Engineering Approach to LabVIEW" was published in 2003, we actually started writing it in 2001. A telling passage is shown below

 

"We have often complained to all those who would listen that the marketing of LabVIEW is a huge millstone. In our opinion, LabVIEW is an extremely feature-rich, mature, and robust software development environment. Unfortunately, LabVIEW is portrayed, and regarded, as an easy tool for those wishing to write applications but who have little or no software engineering or programming experience.

It is true that easy things are easy to do in LabVIEW, as indeed they are in many other comparable languages such as Visual Basic. But, go beyond a quick data acquisition (DAQ) application and often chaos ensues. Why? Because a large majority of the LabVIEW community have little or no experience in software engineering or programming"

 

And I always thought it was curious that you could spend $$$$$ on a license for LabVIEW and yet only use 4 VIs to get and report a measurement.

 

The marketing campaign that caused me the greatest pain was

LabVIEW is Easy

Nope it's not

 

So for years we've banged away at this, and last year we made some progress. Apparently NI Marketing and Sales peeps should now not be saying LabVIEW is Easy.

 

 

Instead we have

 

 

 

"Programming is optional"

 

 

Well that's much better............

 

 

I'm being sarcastic!!!

 

 

 

For anything >"hello world" it's mandatory!!!!!

 

 

Deep breathes and a Gin & Tonic I think

 

Have a great weekend

Steve

Steve


Opportunity to learn from experienced developers / entrepeneurs (Fab,Joerg and Brian amongst them):
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PiDi
Active Participant

I've had a client who expected to integrate quite big system in almost zero time, because "LabVIEW is just blocks and wires, what's hard in this?". And now I know I should be glad with "LabVIEW is Easy". With NXG marketing he'd be expecting exactly zero time, because "Programming is optional" 😄 

 

(Fun fact: LabVIEW NXG Core 1 & 2 courses enter dreaded programming topics at about 2:30 hour mark and never leave them. That is about 5-10% of "Non-optional" content in the course).

swatts
Active Participant

And disappointed customers don't come back. The shame of it is, is that LabVIEW is really really good. You'd think that would be enough!

Steve


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Intaris
Proven Zealot

Never has the difference between engineering and marketing been so bloody obvious (and mutually deleterious) than with NI.

 

I'd love to play a game of rugby against NIs marketing strategists..... I can't play rugby but that wouldn't be a problem.....

Matt-A.
Member

I'm glad the last 15 years of programming was easy and now unnecessary.  Smiley Very Happy

swatts
Active Participant

Which is very nearly precisely what I said (add a few effs and geoffs for flavour)

Steve


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2Pale4TX
Member

Even with a programming background, I find LabView not easy to use at all. I would love to switch to C++ and finish my test stand with that instead.

SercoSteveB
Active Participant

Hi 2Pale4TX

 

I would urge you to stick with LabVIEW.  I felt the same as you when I was first exposed to LabVIEW after years of programming in C.  On my first LabVIEW day I remember spending quite a bit of time trying to work out how to change the text of a Label (hadn't found the Tools Palette at that point!!!).

 

What I find comforting when picking up an additional language is that the Software Engineering (the difficult bit) is the same and it's the syntax, semantics and the new ways of doing things (e.g. interfacing with TestStand) which can be a challenge.  In my opinion the benefits I get from using LabVIEW makes any such challenge worth the effort.

 

Steve

swatts
Active Participant

Other languages always suck! As does other peoples software....

 

LabVIEW fits my brain very well, but it doesn't fit everyone's brain (nor does it need to). 

I came from a background of various text based languages.

Steve


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SercoSteveB
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"Other languages always suck! As does other peoples software...". bit harsh.

swatts
Active Participant

Not my opinion, but an observation of a not uncommon position...

Steve


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2Pale4TX
Member

It probably doesn't help that I'm trying to figure out and edit someone else's code. It is 30 TestStand sequence files and each sequence file calls between 6 and 9 Labview files that of course have another 1 or 2 within it and then trying to figure out where the stupid .txt and .csv files plug into all of this. Oh and by the way, this is my first real experience with either program and the guy that wrote it retired.

 

Oh, and why do neither programs have a Zoom Feature?!?! The text is soooooo small.

 

Anyway, I will stop my complaining now.  I will keep at it, but I definitely do not find it intuitive.

SercoSteveB
Active Participant

I feel your pain, and refer you to Steve's comment from earlier.  Probably best not to open the zoom can of worms.  Specific problems you are having can be posted here for LabVIEW and here for TestStand lots of people willing to help.

 

Steve