Editor’s Pick: LabVIEW 2016

Dear DE Reader:

If you’ve ever attended NIWeek or one of National Instruments’ traveling training sessions, you know that users of NI’s LabVIEW system design software revere it like the fans of a rock star. NI has just released the 2016 version of LabVIEW, which we take a look at in today’s Pick of the Week write-up. And if you always wondered what the fuss is about, here’s your chance to give LabVIEW a whirl for 45 days.

The LabVIEW 2016 release offers engineers and scientists building measurement and control systems all sorts of enhancements, many of which are intended to bring speed, simplicity and productivity improvements to your code development efforts. LabVIEW 2016 sees enhanced interoperability with Python and third-party devices as well as new support for more than 500 instruments.

Of course, LabVIEW 2016 is fully compatible with the latest NI hardware technologies for design and test, embedded control and monitoring, including the company’s new 1GHz vector signal transceiver. And LabVIEW 2016 adds new support for the new 64-bit versions of a slew of LabVIEW add-on modules.

For current users, the highlight development in LabVIEW most probably will be something called channel wires. Basically, channel wires let you connect two parallel sections of code without forcing an execution order. In other words, you make the connection and data gets communicated between the sections of code but you don’t create a data dependency.

If you have made this link using a Rube Goldberg-like coding contraption in the past, you should find that this new methodology will improve code readability and reduce development time greatly. In today’s write-up there’s a “before and after” illustration that shows you this new approach.

One interesting development for LabVIEW users is the new NI Software Technology Preview program. This program gives you a sneak peak into NI’s software development technologies and provides a way for you to help make sure that new LabVIEW features are useful for your application needs.

You can learn more about LabVIEW 2016 starting with today’s Pick of the Week write-up. Make sure to hit the video link for a whirlwind tour. And if you haven’t given LabVIEW a serious look in awhile, hit the link to get an evaluation copy. It’s available in four flavors so that you can evaluate it in your application area. Hit today’s Pick of the Week link and start rocking.

Thanks, Pal. – Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, DE