LabVIEW graphical programming cookbook: 69 recipes to help you build, debug, and deploy modular applications using LabVIEW

252 Pages·2014·3.922 MB·English

by  Yang, Yik

LabVIEW Graphical
Programming
Cookbook
69 recipes to help you build, debug, and deploy
modular applications using LabVIEW
Yik Yang
BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
LabVIEW Graphical Programming Cookbook
Copyright © 2014 Packt Publishing
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First published: January 2014
Production Reference: 1160114
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
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ISBN 978-1-78217-140-9
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Cover Image by Zarko Piljak ([email protected])
Credits
Author Copy Editors
Yik Yang Sayanee Mukherjee
Lavina Pereira
Reviewers
Amit Dongol Project Coordinator
Chris Larson Venitha Cutinho
Qizhen Ruan
Proofreader
Justin Smith
Amy Johnson
Acquisition Editor
Indexer
Rubal Kaur
Mehreen Deshmukh
Lead Technical Editors
Production Coordinator
Madhuja Chaudhari
Conidon Miranda
Mandar Ghate
Cover Work
Technical Editors
Conidon Miranda
Tanvi Bhatt
Dipika Gaonkar
Monica John
Neha Mankare
About the Author
Yik Yang is a test engineer living in Chicago who has specialized in automation and data
analysis. Having worked in multiple fields such as semiconductor, automotive, and power,
he has experience with different types of automation and understands what are the
industries' needs.
He started his career after receiving his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical
Engineering at Virginia Tech. In his career, he worked on automation projects that used
CompactDAQ, PXI, FPGA, and so on in LabVIEW. He has also spent a lot of time with Lean
Six Sigma and statistical analysis with JMP. He is a certified Professional Engineer (PE)
in North Carolina and a Certified LabVIEW Developer (CLD).
I would like to thank my wife Qian and my son Elijah. They have given me
a tremendous amount of love and support in the process of finishing this
book. Most importantly, I would like to thank God, as without him I would not
be alive and capable of writing this book after my terrifying bicycle accident,
when I was directly hit by a truck.
About the Reviewers
Amit Dongol is a Ph.D candidate (Physics). He is working on setting up a research lab
with LabVIEW interface for data acquisition.
Chris Larson has been using LabVIEW for nine years. Currently he is working as a
researcher and developer of cloud-based functionality for LabVIEW. He is an expert at
developing systems that take advantage of the connected world and Internet.
Chris learned LabVIEW while working at 3M's SEMS Research and Development lab. While
at 3M, he created numerous LabVIEW-based systems to develop and manufacture products
for 3M's divisions including safety and security, display and graphics, and health care.
His contributions include antenna designs for RFID file tracking, improved manufacturing
of retro-reflective materials, improved quality control for display brightening films, and
improved high-speed manufacturing of specialty medical tapes.
Qizhen Ruan is a software engineer. He has over 13 years of experience in LabVIEW
development. He has designed and developed many LabVIEW features.
Justin Smith has a degree in Computer Science from Tennessee Technological University,
and is currently a Systems and Solutions Integrator for an industrial IT firm in Nashville,
Tennessee. He develops core software for interfacing with third-party hardware and software
and has recently introduced this software as modules in LabVIEW. Primarily a Java developer,
Justin has been using open source tools to allow the code to be run from within LabVIEW.
Having grown up around computers in the '80s, Justin had always known that he wanted to
pursue a career in computing. After working as an intern in college and spending over a year
in Central Mexico for his company, he realized all the good that can be done by helping to
improve industrial processes (safety, quality, efficiency). This made him decide that he wanted
to continue working in a industrial IT and automation. He also felt that the manufacturing
industry has yet to see the same technological revolutions as other business sectors through
the advances of companies such as Facebook and Google.
Justin has been working for Summit Management Systems, Inc of Nashville Tennessee for
nearly 10 years. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in business, Summit Management Systems
offers custom integration and process solutions worldwide for the industrial and manufacturing
sector as well as several stand-alone software packages that aid in data acquisition from
industrial devices and software for manufacturing workflow management systems.
I would like to thank my father for all the opportunities that he has given
me to make me who I am. From allowing me to grow up around computers
to encouraging me to enter the software development field, he is the reason
I was able to work on this book and review it. Thanks Dad.
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Table of Contents
Preface 1
Chapter 1: Understanding the LabVIEW Environment 5
Introduction 5
Configuring essentials 6
Configuring quick drop 9
Using debug tools 10
Creating custom probe 12
Compiling EXE 14
Debugging EXE 16
Compiling a standalone application 19
Chapter 2: Customizing the User Interface 21
Introduction 21
Customizing controls 22
Adding a menu for runtime 27
Creating a dialog 30
Sizing the dialog automatically 33
Using 2D picture control 38
Updating controls with an action engine 40
Creating a simple animation 44
Creating subpanels 45
Chapter 3: Working with Common Architectures 49
Introduction 49
Working with a case structure 50
Working with an event structure 52
Working with loops 57
Using the state machine architecture 59
Using the master slave architecture 64