Software:LabVIEW

Short description: System-design platform and development environment

LabVIEW

Developer(s)	National Instruments
Initial release	1986 (1986)
Stable release	LabVIEW NXG 5.1 LabVIEW 2023 Q3 / July 2023 (2023-07)
Written in	C, C++, C#
Operating system	Cross-platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
Type	Data acquisition, instrument control, test automation, analysis and signal processing, industrial control, embedded system design
License	Proprietary
Website	www.ni.com/labview

Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW) is a system-design platform and development environment for a visual programming language developed by National Instruments.

The graphical language is named "G"; not to be confused with G-code. The G dataflow language was originally developed by LabVIEW. LabVIEW is commonly used for data acquisition, instrument control, and industrial automation on a variety of operating systems (OSs), including macOS and other versions of Unix and Linux, as well as Microsoft Windows.

The latest versions of LabVIEW are LabVIEW 2023 Q1 (released in April 2023) and LabVIEW NXG 5.1 (released in January 2021). NI released the free for non-commercial use LabVIEW and LabVIEW NXG Community editions on April 28, 2020.

Dataflow programming

The programming paradigm used in LabVIEW, sometimes called G, is based on data availability. If there is enough data available to a subVI or function, that subVI or function will execute. The execution flow is determined by the structure of a graphical block diagram (the LabVIEW-source code) on which the programmer connects different function-nodes by drawing wires. These wires propagate variables and any node can execute as soon as all its input data become available. Since this might be the case for multiple nodes simultaneously, LabVIEW can execute inherently in parallel. Multi-processing and multi-threading hardware is exploited automatically by the built-in scheduler, which multiplexes multiple OS threads over the nodes ready for execution.

Graphical programming

LabVIEW integrates the creation of user interfaces (termed front panels) into the development cycle. LabVIEW programs-subroutines are termed virtual instruments (VIs). Each VI has three components: a block diagram, a front panel, and a connector pane. The last is used to represent the VI in the block diagrams of others, calling VIs. The front panel is built using controls and indicators. Controls are inputs: they allow a user to supply information to the VI. Indicators are outputs: they indicate, or display, the results based on the inputs given to the VI. The back panel, which is a block diagram, contains the graphical source code. All of the objects placed on the front panel will appear on the back panel as terminals. The back panel also contains structures and functions which perform operations on controls and supply data to indicators. The structures and functions are found on the Functions palette and can be placed on the back panel. Collectively controls, indicators, structures, and functions are referred to as nodes. Nodes are connected using wires, e.g., two controls and an indicator can be wired to the addition function so that the indicator displays the sum of the two controls. Thus a virtual instrument can be run as either a program, with the front panel serving as a user interface, or, when dropped as a node onto the block diagram, the front panel defines the inputs and outputs for the node through the connector pane. This implies each VI can be easily tested before being embedded as a subroutine into a larger program.

The graphical approach also allows nonprogrammers to build programs by dragging and dropping virtual representations of lab equipment with which they are already familiar. The LabVIEW programming environment, with the included examples and documentation, makes it simple to create small applications. This is a benefit on one side, but there is also a certain danger of underestimating the expertise needed for high-quality G programming. For complex algorithms or large-scale code, a programmer must possess extensive knowledge of the special LabVIEW syntax and the topology of its memory management. The most advanced LabVIEW development systems offer the ability to build stand-alone applications. Furthermore, it is possible to create distributed applications, which communicate by a client–server model, and are thus easier to implement due to the inherently parallel nature of G.

Widely-accepted design patterns

Applications in LabVIEW are usually designed using well-known architectures, known as design patterns. The most common design patterns for graphical LabVIEW applications are listed in the table below.

Common design patterns for LabVIEW applications

Design pattern	Purpose	Implementation details	Use cases	Limitations
Functional Global Variable	Exchange information without using global variables	A shift register of a while loop is used to store the data and the while loop runs only one iteration in a "non-reentrant" virtual instrument (VI)	Exchange information with less wiring	All owning virtual instruments (VIs) are kept in memory.
State machine	Controlled execution that depends on past events	Case structure inside a while loop pass an enumerated variable to a shift register, representing the next state; complex state machines can be designed using the Statechart module	• User interfaces • Complex logic • Communication protocols	All possible states must be known in advance.
Event-driven user interface	Lossless processing of user actions	GUI events are captured by an event structure queue, inside a while loop; the while loop is suspended by the event structure and resumes only when the desired events are captured	Graphical user interface	Only one event structure in a loop.
Master-slave	Run independent processes simultaneously	Several parallel while loops, one of which functions as the "master", controlling the "slave" loops	A simple GUI for data acquisition and visualization	Attention to and prevention of race conditions is required.
Producer-consumer	Asynchronous of multithreaded execution of loops	A master loop controls the execution of two slave loops, that communicate using notifiers, queues and semaphores; data-independent loops are automatically executed in separate threads	Data sampling and visualization	Order of execution is not obvious to control.
Queued state machine with event-driven producer-consumer	Highly responsive user-interface for multithreaded applications	An event-driven user interface is placed inside the producer loop and a state machine is placed inside the consumer loop, communicating using queues between themselves and other parallel VIs	Complex applications

Benefits

Interfacing to devices

LabVIEW includes extensive support for interfacing to devices such as instruments, cameras, and other devices. Users interface to hardware by either writing direct bus commands (USB, GPIB, Serial) or using high-level, device-specific drivers that provide native LabVIEW function nodes for controlling the device.

LabVIEW includes built-in support for NI hardware platforms such as CompactDAQ and CompactRIO, with a large number of device-specific blocks for such hardware, the Measurement and Automation eXplorer (MAX) and Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA) toolsets.

National Instruments makes thousands of device drivers available for download on the NI Instrument Driver Network (IDNet).

Code compiling

LabVIEW includes a compiler that produces native code for the CPU platform. The graphical code is converted into Dataflow Intermediate Representation, and then translated into chunks of executable machine code by a compiler based on LLVM. Run-time engine calls these chunks, allowing better performance. The LabVIEW syntax is strictly enforced during the editing process and compiled into the executable machine code when requested to run or upon saving. In the latter case, the executable and the source code are merged into a single binary file. The execution is controlled by LabVIEW run-time engine, which contains some pre-compiled code to perform common tasks that are defined by the G language. The run-time engine governs execution flow, and provides a consistent interface to various operating systems, graphic systems and hardware components. The use of run-time environment makes the source code files portable across supported platforms. LabVIEW programs are slower than equivalent compiled C code, though like in other languages, program optimization often allows to mitigate issues with execution speed.

Large libraries

Many libraries with a large number of functions for data acquisition, signal generation, mathematics, statistics, signal conditioning, analysis, etc., along with numerous for functions such as integration, filters, and other specialized abilities usually associated with data capture from hardware sensors is enormous. In addition, LabVIEW includes a text-based programming component named MathScript with added functions for signal processing, analysis, and mathematics. MathScript can be integrated with graphical programming using script nodes and uses a syntax that is compatible generally with MATLAB.

Parallel programming

LabVIEW is an inherently concurrent language, so it is very easy to program multiple tasks that are performed in parallel via multithreading. For example, this is done easily by drawing two or more parallel while loops and connecting them to two separate nodes. This is a great benefit for test system automation, where it is common practice to run processes like test sequencing, data recording, and hardware interfacing in parallel.

Ecosystem

Due to the longevity and popularity of the LabVIEW language, and the ability for users to extend its functions, a large ecosystem of third party add-ons has developed via contributions from the community. Most of these add-ons are available for direct download and installation into LabVIEW using VI Package Manager (VIPM), the official package manager for LabVIEW add-ons. National Instruments also hosts a marketplace for both free and paid LabVIEW add-ons called the NI Tools Network.

User community

There is a low-cost LabVIEW Student Edition aimed at educational institutions for learning purposes. There is also an active community of LabVIEW users who communicate through several electronic mailing lists (email groups) and Internet forums.

Home Bundle Edition

National Instruments provides a low cost LabVIEW Home Bundle Edition.

Community Edition

National Instruments provides a free-for-non-commercial use version called LabVIEW Community Edition. This version includes everything in the Professional Editions of LabVIEW, has no watermarks, and includes the LabVIEW NXG Web Module for non-commercial use. These editions may also be used by K-12 schools.

Criticism

LabVIEW is a proprietary product of National Instruments. Unlike common programming languages such as C or Fortran, LabVIEW is not managed or specified by any third-party standards committee such as American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Non-textual

Since G language is non-textual, software tools such as versioning, side-by-side (or diff) comparison, and version code change tracking cannot be applied in the same manner as for textual programming languages. There are some additional tools to make comparison and merging of code with source code control (versioning) tools such as subversion, CVS and Perforce.

No zoom function

There is no ability to zoom in to (or enlarge) a virtual instrument (VI) which will be hard to see on a large high-resolution monitor. However, the ability to zoom has been added into LabVIEW NXG. On May 23, 2023, during the morning keynote address at the NI Connect conference in Austin, Texas, it was announced that zoom capability is expected in the Summer 2023 release of LabVIEW. Since adding the undo feature in LabVIEW 5.0 (May 1998), zoom has been the most requested feature.

Release history

In 2005, starting with LabVIEW 8.0, major versions are released around the first week of August, to coincide with the annual National Instruments conference NI Week, and followed by a bug-fix release the following February.

In 2009, National Instruments began naming releases after the year in which they are released. A bug-fix is termed a Service Pack, for example, the 2009 service pack 1 was released in February 2010.

In 2017, National Instruments moved the annual conference to May and released LabVIEW 2017 alongside a completely redesigned LabVIEW NXG 1.0 built on Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).

Name and version	Build number	Date	Notes
LabVIEW project begins		April 1983
LabVIEW 1.0		October 1986	for Macintosh
LabVIEW 2.0		January 1990
LabVIEW 2.5		August 1992	first release for Sun and Windows
LabVIEW 3.0		July 1993	Multiplatform
LabVIEW 3.0.1		1994	first release for Windows NT
LabVIEW 3.1		1994
LabVIEW 3.1.1		1995	first release with "application builder" ability
LabVIEW 4.0		April 1996
LabVIEW 4.1		1997
LabVIEW 5.0		February 1998
LabVIEW RT		May 1999	Real-time
LabVIEW 6.0 (6i)	6.0.0.4005	26 July 2000
LabVIEW 6.1	6.1.0.4004	12 April 2001
LabVIEW 7.0 (Express)	7.0.0.4000	April 2003
LabVIEW PDA module		May 2003	first release of the module
LabVIEW FPGA module		June 2003	first release
LabVIEW 7.1	7.1.0.4000	2004
LabVIEW Embedded module		May 2005	first release
LabVIEW 8.0	8.0.0.4005	September 2005
LabVIEW 8.20		August 2006	native object-oriented programming
LabVIEW 8.2.1	8.2.1.4002	21 February 2007
LabVIEW 8.5	8.5.0.4002	2007
LabVIEW 8.6	8.6.0.4001	24 July 2008
LabVIEW 8.6.1	8.6.0.4001	10 December 2008
LabVIEW 2009	9.0.0.4022	4 August 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
LabVIEW 2009 SP1	9.0.1.4011	8 January 2010
LabVIEW 2010	10.0.0.4032	4 August 2010
LabVIEW 2010 f2	10.0.0.4033	16 September 2010
LabVIEW 2010 SP1	10.0.1.4004	17 May 2011
LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS		August 2011	2010 SP1 with some modules
LabVIEW 2011	11.0.0.4029	22 June 2011
LabVIEW 2011 SP1	11.0.1.4015	1 March 2012
LabVIEW 2012	12.0.0.4029	August 2012
LabVIEW 2012 SP1	12.0.1.4013	December 2012
LabVIEW 2013	13.0.0.4047	August 2013
LabVIEW 2013 SP1	13.0.1.4017	March 2014
LabVIEW 2014	14.0	August 2014
LabVIEW 2014 SP1	14.0.1.4008	March 2015
LabVIEW 2015	15.0f2	August 2015
LabVIEW 2015 SP1	15.0.1f1	March 2016
LabVIEW 2016	16.0.0	August 2016
LabVIEW 2017	17.0f1	May 2017
LabVIEW NXG 1.0	1.0.0	May 2017
LabVIEW 2017 SP1	17.0.1f1	Jan 2018
LabVIEW NXG 2.0	2.0.0	Jan 2018
LabVIEW 2018	18.0	May 2018
LabVIEW NXG 2.1	2.1.0	May 2018
LabVIEW 2018 SP1	18.0.1	Sep 2018
LabVIEW NXG 3.0	3.0.0	Nov 2018
LabVIEW 2019	19.0	May 2019
LabVIEW NXG 3.1	3.1.0	May 2019
LabVIEW 2019 SP1	19.0.1	Nov 2019
LabVIEW NXG 4.0	4.0.0	Nov 2019
LabVIEW 2020 and LabVIEW NXG 5.0 Community Edition		April 2020	first releases
LabVIEW 2021	21.0	August 2021
LabVIEW 2022 Q3	22.3	July 2022
LabVIEW 2023 Q1	23.1	January 2023
LabVIEW 2023 Q3	23.3	July 2023

Repositories and libraries

OpenG, as well as LAVA Code Repository (LAVAcr), serve as repositories for a wide range of Open Source LabVIEW applications and libraries. SourceForge has LabVIEW listed as one of the possible languages in which code can be written.

VI Package Manager has become the standard package manager for LabVIEW libraries. It is very similar in purpose to Ruby's RubyGems and Perl's CPAN, although it provides a graphical user interface similar to the Synaptic Package Manager. VI Package Manager provides access to a repository of the OpenG (and other) libraries for LabVIEW.

Tools exist to convert MathML into G code.

Related software

National Instruments also offers a product named Measurement Studio, which offers many of the test, measurement, and control abilities of LabVIEW, as a set of classes for use with Microsoft Visual Studio. This allows developers to harness some of LabVIEW's strengths within the text-based .NET Framework. National Instruments also offers LabWindows/CVI as an alternative for ANSI C programmers.

When applications need sequencing, users often use LabVIEW with the TestStand test management software, also from National Instruments.

The Ch interpreter is a C/C++ interpreter that can be embedded in LabVIEW for scripting.

DSP Robotics' FlowStone DSP also uses a form of graphical programming similar to LabVIEW but is limited to the robotics industry.

LabVIEW has a direct node with modeFRONTIER, a multidisciplinary and multi-objective optimization and design environment, written to allow coupling to almost any computer-aided engineering tool. Both can be part of the same process workflow description and can be virtually driven by the optimization technologies available in modeFRONTIER.

See also

• Comparison of numerical-analysis software
• Dataflow programming
• Fourth-generation programming language
• Visual programming language
• Graphical system design

Related software titles

• Lego Mindstorms NXT, whose programming environment NXT-G is based on LabVIEW and can be programmed within LabVIEW.
• 20-sim
• LabWindows/CVI
• MATLAB/Simulink
• Virtual instrumentation
• CompactDAQ
• CompactRIO
• TOMVIEW

Free and open-source packages

• PWCT — GPL license
• DRAKON — public domain, with some open-source components

Further reading

• Bress, Thomas J. (2013). Effective LabVIEW Programming. [S.l.]: NTS Press. ISBN 978-1-934891-08-7. 
• Blume, Peter A. (2007). The LabVIEW Style Book. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-145835-2. 
• Travis, Jeffrey; Kring, Jim (2006). LabVIEW for Everyone : Graphical Programming Made Easy and Fun. (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-185672-3. 
• Conway, Jon; Watts, Steve (2003). A Software Engineering Approach to LabVIEW. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. ISBN 0-13-009365-3. 
• Olansen, Jon B.; Rosow, Eric (2002). Virtual Bio-Instrumentation : Biomedical, Clinical, and Healthcare Applications in LabVIEW. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. ISBN 0-13-065216-4. 
• Beyon, Jeffrey Y. (2001). LabVIEW Programming, Data Acquisition and Analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. ISBN 0-13-030367-4. 
• Travis, Jeffrey (2000). Internet Applications In LabVIEW. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. ISBN 0-13-014144-5. 
• Essick, John (1999). Advanced LabVIEW Labs. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-833949-X. 

Articles on specific uses

• Desnica V, Schreiner M, Vladan; Schreiner, Manfred (October 2006). "A LabVIEW-controlled portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometer for the analysis of art objects". X-Ray Spectrometry 35 (5): 280–286. doi:10.1002/xrs.906. Bibcode: 2006XRS....35..280D. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/112748693/ABSTRACT. 
• Keleshis C, Ionita C, Rudin S, C.; Ionita, C.; Rudin, S. (June 2006). "Labview [sic] graphical user interface for micro angio-fluoroscopic high resolution detector". Medical Physics 33 (6): 2007. doi:10.1118/1.2240285. http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=MPHYA6000033000006002007000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=Yes. 
• Fedak W., Bord D., Smith C., Gawrych D., Lindeman K., W.; Bord, D.; Smith, C.; Gawrych, D.; Lindeman, K. (May 2003). "Automation of the Franck-Hertz experiment and the Tel-X-Ometer x-ray machine using LABVIEW". American Journal of Physics (AAPT) 71 (5): 501–506. doi:10.1119/1.1527949. Bibcode: 2003AmJPh..71..501F. http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=AJPIAS000071000005000501000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=Yes. 

Articles on education uses

• Belletti A., Borromei R., Ingletto G., A.; Borromei, R.; Ingletto, G. (September 2006). "Teaching physical chemistry experiments with a computer simulation by LabVIEW". Journal of Chemical Education (ACS) 83 (9): 1353–1355. doi:10.1021/ed083p1353. Bibcode: 2006JChEd..83.1353B. 
• Moriarty P.J., Gallagher B.L., Mellor C.J., Baines R.R., P. J.; Gallagher, B. L.; Mellor, C. J.; Baines, R. R. (October 2003). "Graphical computing in the undergraduate laboratory: Teaching and interfacing with LabVIEW". American Journal of Physics (AAPT) 71 (10): 1062–1074. doi:10.1119/1.1582189. Bibcode: 2003AmJPh..71.1062M. http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=AJPIAS000071000010001062000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=Yes. 
• Lauterburg, Urs (June 2001). "LabVIEW in Physics Education". A White Paper About Using LabVIEW in Physics Demonstration and Laboratory Experiments and Simulations.. http://www.lauterburg.ch/UrsLPublications/LV-PhysicsWPPrint.pdf. 
• Drew SM, Steven M. (December 1996). "Integration of National Instruments' LabVIEW software into the chemistry curriculum". Journal of Chemical Education (ACS) 73 (12): 1107–1111. doi:10.1021/ed073p1107. Bibcode: 1996JChEd..73.1107D. 
• Muyskens MA, Glass SV, Wietsma TW, Gray TM, Mark A.; Glass, Samuel V.; Wietsma, Thomas W.; Gray, Terry M. (December 1996). "Data acquisition in the chemistry laboratory using LabVIEW software". Journal of Chemical Education (ACS) 73 (12): 1112–1114. doi:10.1021/ed073p1112. Bibcode: 1996JChEd..73.1112M. 
• Ogren PJ, Jones TP, Paul J.; Jones, Thomas P. (December 1996). "Laboratory interfacing using the LabVIEW software package". Journal of Chemical Education (ACS) 73 (12): 1115–1116. doi:10.1021/ed073p1115. Bibcode: 1996JChEd..73.1115O. 
• Trevelyan, J.P. (June 2004). "10 Years Experience with Remote Laboratories". International Conference on Engineering Education Research (ACS). http://telerobot.mech.uwa.edu.au/Information/Trevelyan-INEER-2004.pdf.