LabVIEW For Everyone

1236 Pages·2007·39.25 MB·English

LabVIEW for Everyone: Graphical Programming Made Easy and Fun, Third Edition

By Jeffrey Travis, Jim Kring

...............................................
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Pub Date: July 27, 2006
Print ISBN-10: 0-13-185672-3
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-13-185672-1
Pages: 1032

Table of Contents | Index

The #1 Step-by-Step Guide to LabVIEWNow Completely Updated for LabVIEW 8!

Master LabVIEW 8 with the industry's friendliest, most intuitive tutorial: LabVIEW for Everyone,
Third Edition. Top LabVIEW experts Jeffrey Travis and Jim Kring teach LabVIEW the easy way:
through carefully explained, step-by-step examples that give you reusable code for your own
projects!

This brand-new Third Edition has been fully revamped and expanded to reflect new features and
techniques introduced in LabVIEW 8. You'll find two new chapters, plus dozens of new topics,
including Project Explorer, AutoTool, XML, event-driven programming, error handling, regular
expressions, polymorphic VIs, timed structures, advanced reporting, and much more. Certified
LabVIEW Developer (CLD) candidates will find callouts linking to key objectives on NI's newest
exam, making this book a more valuable study tool than ever.

Not just what to do: why to do it!

Use LabVIEW to build your own virtual workbench

Master LabVIEW's foundations: wiring, creating, editing, and debugging VIs; using controls
and indicators; working with data structures; and much more

Learn the "art" and best practices of effective LabVIEW development

NEW: Streamline development with LabVIEW Express VIs

NEW: Acquire data with NI-DAQmx and the LabVIEW DAQmx VIs

NEW: Discover design patterns for error handling, control structures, state machines, queued
messaging, and more

NEW: Create sophisticated user interfaces with tree and tab controls, drag and drop,

LabVIEW for Everyone: Graphical Programming Made Easy and Fun, Third Edition

By Jeffrey Travis, Jim Kring

...............................................
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Pub Date: July 27, 2006
Print ISBN-10: 0-13-185672-3
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-13-185672-1
Pages: 1032

Table of Contents | Index

The #1 Step-by-Step Guide to LabVIEWNow Completely Updated for LabVIEW 8!

Master LabVIEW 8 with the industry's friendliest, most intuitive tutorial: LabVIEW for Everyone,
Third Edition. Top LabVIEW experts Jeffrey Travis and Jim Kring teach LabVIEW the easy way:
through carefully explained, step-by-step examples that give you reusable code for your own
projects!

This brand-new Third Edition has been fully revamped and expanded to reflect new features and
techniques introduced in LabVIEW 8. You'll find two new chapters, plus dozens of new topics,
including Project Explorer, AutoTool, XML, event-driven programming, error handling, regular
expressions, polymorphic VIs, timed structures, advanced reporting, and much more. Certified
LabVIEW Developer (CLD) candidates will find callouts linking to key objectives on NI's newest
exam, making this book a more valuable study tool than ever.

Not just what to do: why to do it!

Use LabVIEW to build your own virtual workbench

Master LabVIEW's foundations: wiring, creating, editing, and debugging VIs; using controls
and indicators; working with data structures; and much more

Learn the "art" and best practices of effective LabVIEW development

NEW: Streamline development with LabVIEW Express VIs

NEW: Acquire data with NI-DAQmx and the LabVIEW DAQmx VIs

NEW: Discover design patterns for error handling, control structures, state machines, queued
messaging, and more

NEW: Create sophisticated user interfaces with tree and tab controls, drag and drop,

subpanels, and more

Whatever your application, whatever your role, whether you've used LabVIEW or not, LabVIEW
for Everyone, Third Edition is the fastest, easiest way to get the results you're after!

LabVIEW for Everyone: Graphical Programming Made Easy and Fun, Third Edition

By Jeffrey Travis, Jim Kring

...............................................
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Pub Date: July 27, 2006
Print ISBN-10: 0-13-185672-3
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-13-185672-1
Pages: 1032

Table of Contents | Index

Copyright

About the Authors

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. What in the World Is LabVIEW?

Overview

Key Terms

What Exactly Is LabVIEW, and What Can It Do for Me?

Demonstration Examples

Wrap It Up!

Additional Activities

Chapter 2. Virtual Instrumentation: Hooking Your Computer Up to the Real World

Overview

Key Terms

Using LabVIEW in the Real World

The Evolution of LabVIEW

What Is Data Acquisition?

What Is GPIB?

Communication Using the Serial Port

Real-World Applications: Why We Analyze

A Little Bit About PXI and VXI

Connectivity

LabVIEW Add-on Toolkits

LabVIEW Real-Time, FPGA, PDA, and Embedded

Wrap It Up!

Chapter 3. The LabVIEW Environment

Overview

Key Terms

Front Panels

Block Diagrams

LabVIEW Projects

SubVIs, the Icon, and the Connector

Activity 3-1: Getting Started

Alignment Grid

Pull-Down Menus

Floating Palettes

The Toolbar

Pop-Up Menus

Help!

Express VIs

Displaying SubVIs as Expandable Nodes

A Word About SubVIs

Activity 3-2: Front Panel and Block Diagram Basics

Wrap It Up!

Chapter 4. LabVIEW Foundations

Overview

Key Terms

Creating VIs: It's Your Turn Now!

Activity 4-1: Editing Practice

Basic Controls and Indicators and the Fun Stuff They Do

Wiring Up

Running Your VI

Useful Tips

Wrap It Up!

Additional Activities

Chapter 5. Yet More Foundations

Overview

Key Terms

Loading and Saving VIs

Debugging Techniques

Activity 5-1: Debugging Challenge

Creating SubVIs

Documenting Your Work

A Little About Printing

Activity 5-2: Creating SubVIsPractice Makes Perfect

Wrap It Up!

Additional Activities

Chapter 6. Controlling Program Execution with Structures

Overview

Key Terms

Two Loops

Shift Registers

The Case Structure

Dialogs

The Sequence StructureFlat or Stacked

Timing

The Timed Structures

The Formula Node

The Expression Node

The While Loop + Case Structure Combination

Wrap It Up!

Additional Activities

Chapter 7. LabVIEW's Composite Data: Arrays and Clusters

Overview

Key Terms

What Are Arrays?

Creating Array Controls and Indicators

Using Auto-Indexing

Two-Dimensional Arrays

Activity 7-1: Building Arrays with Auto-Indexing

Functions for Manipulating Arrays

Activity 7-2: Array Acrobatics

Polymorphism

Activity 7-3: Polymorphism

Compound Arithmetic

All About Clusters

Interchangeable Arrays and Clusters

Error Clusters and Error-Handling Functions

Wrap It Up!

Additional Activities

Chapter 8. LabVIEW's Exciting Visual Displays: Charts and Graphs

Overview

Key Terms

Waveform Charts

Activity 8-1: Temperature Monitor

Graphs

Activity 8-2: Graphing a Sine on a Waveform Graph

XY Graphs

Chart and Graph Components

Activity 8-3: Using an XY Graph to Plot a Circle

Activity 8-4: Temperature Analysis

Intensity Charts and GraphsColor as a Third Dimension

Time Stamps, Waveforms, and Dynamic Data

Mixed Signal Graphs

Exporting Images of Charts and Graphs

Wrap It Up!

Additional Activities

Chapter 9. Exploring Strings and File I/O

Overview

Key Terms

More About Strings

Using String Functions

Activity 9-1: String Construction

Parsing Functions

Activity 9-2: More String Parsing

File Input/Output

Wrap It Up!

Additional Activities

Chapter 10. Signal Measurement and Generation: Data Acquisition

Overview

Key Terms

DAQ and Other Data Acquisition Acronyms

How to Connect Your Computer to the Real World

Signals 101

Selecting and Configuring DAQ Measurement Hardware

Wrap It Up!

Solutions to Activities

Chapter 11. Data Acquisition in LabVIEW

Overview

Key Terms

Understanding Analog and Digital I/O

NI-DAQmx Tasks

Advanced Data Acquisition

Wrap It Up!

Chapter 12. Instrument Control in LabVIEW

Overview

Key Terms

Instrumentation Acronyms

Connecting Your Computer to Instruments

SCPI, the Language of Instruments

VISA: Your Passport to Instrument Communication

Instrument Control in LabVIEW

Wrap It Up!

Chapter 13. Advanced LabVIEW Structures and Functions

Overview

Key Terms

Local, Global, and Shared Variables

Property Nodes

Invoke Nodes

Event-Driven Programming: The Event Structure

Type Definitions

The State Machine and Queued Message Handler

Messaging and Synchronization

Structures for Disabling Code

Halting VI and Application Execution

Cool GUI Stuff: Look What I Can Do!

Wrap It Up!

Chapter 14. Advanced LabVIEW Data Concepts

Overview

Key Terms

A Word About Polymorphic VIs

Advanced File I/O: Text Files, Binary Files, and Configuration Files

Configuration (INI) Files

Calling Code from Other Languages

Fitting Square Pegs into Round Holes: Advanced Conversions and Typecasting

You Can Be Anything: Variants

Wrap It Up!

Additional Activities

Chapter 15. Advanced LabVIEW Features

Overview

Key Terms

Exploring Your Options: The LabVIEW Options Dialog

Configuring Your VI

The VI Server

Radices and Units

Automatically Creating a SubVI from a Section of the Block Diagram

A Few More Utilities in LabVIEW

Wrap It Up!

Chapter 16. Connectivity in LabVIEW

Overview

Key Terms

Your VIs on the Web: The LabVIEW Web Server

Emailing Data from LabVIEW

Remote Panels

Self-Describing Data: XML

Sharing Data over the Network: Shared Variables

Talking to Other Programs and Objects

Talking to Other Computers: Network VIs

Databases

Report Generation

Wrap It Up!

Chapter 17. The Art of LabVIEW Programming

Overview

Key Terms

Why Worry About the Graphical Interface Appearance?

Arranging, Decorating, Resizing, Grouping, and Locking

Vive l'art: Importing Pictures

Custom Controls and Indicators

Adding Online Help

Pointers and Recommendations for a "Wow!" Graphical Interface

How Do You Do That in LabVIEW?

Memory, Performance, and All That

Programming with Style

Wrap It Up!

Concluding Remarks

Appendix A. CD Contents

Appendix B. Add-on Toolkits for LabVIEW

Application Deployment and Module Targeting

Software Engineering and Optimization Tools

Data Management and Visualization

Real-Time and FPGA Deployment

Embedded System Deployment

Signal Processing and Analysis

Automated Test

Image Acquisition and Machine Vision

Control Design and Simulation

Industrial Control

Appendix C. Open Source Tools for LabVIEW: OpenG

Free Open Source Software

OpenG.org: Home of the LabVIEW Open Source Community

Appendix D. LabVIEW Object-Oriented Programming

Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming

LabVIEW Object-Oriented Programming

Built-in LabVIEW Object-Oriented Programming Features

Appendix E. Resources for LabVIEW

LabVIEW Documentation and Online Help

Appendix F. LabVIEW Certification Exams

Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer (CLAD) Exam

Certified LabVIEW Developer (CLD) Exam

Certified LabVIEW Architect (CLA) Exam

Glossary

Symbols

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Index

Copyright

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed
as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a
trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters or in all capitals.

The authors and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or
implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is
assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the
information or programs contained herein.

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