Shared Variable Properties and DSC

[David Moerman]

Is there a way to assign engineering units to a shared variable as a configuration parameter?  This should be on the "Scaling" page of the shared variable properties.  It seems this is a logical and convenient place to track units.  Assigning units programmatically using the Scaling:Units property is awkward (to say the least).

On similar lines, why aren't shared variable properties automatically saved to the DSC historical database?  Every trace should have a set of information that exposes ALL the shared variable properties that created it.  Take something like engineering units for example:  then you would know what kind of historical trace you are looking at!  This seems so basic I can't imagine why it was missed.

Unless I missed something -- please enlighten me.

Regards,

David Moerman
TruView Technology Integration Ltd.

[MattP]

Hello David,

You are correct in that the units property is not exposed on the Scaling page of hte Shared Variable properties dialog, and it sounds like you are already well aware of the existing method to access this property through the property node interface.  As you have also discovered, the Citadel database that we use with DSC does not have a built-in provision for storing metadata about the shared variable from which a trace originates.  You can emulate this with, for example, an array of strings which is also logged to the database, with each string containing the metadata for a particular trace. 

Since it seems like having these features would benefit you, I encourage you to let our DSC development group know your needs by filling out product feedback, accessible on our site at http://www.ni.com/contact   .  This will send a feature request directly to the appropriate R & D group, who reads and evaluates every suggestion made.  This is your most direct way to let us know what features would best meet your needs.