LabVIEW Style Book, The (Paperback)

Drawing on the experiences of a world-class LabVIEW development organization, The LabVIEW Style Book is the definitive guide to best practices in LabVIEW development.

Leading LabVIEW development manager Peter A. Blume presents practical guidelines or “rules” for optimizing every facet of your applications: ease of use, efficiency, readability, simplicity, performance, maintainability, and robustness. Blume explains each style rule thoroughly, presenting realistic examples and illustrations. He even presents “nonconforming” examples that show what not to do—and why not.  While the illustrations in the print book are in black and white, you can download  full-color versions from the publisher web site for free.

Coverage includes

• Significance of style: How good style improves quality and actually saves time over the full project life cycle
• Before you code: Configuring your LabVIEW environment, and organizing your files on disk and in the LabVIEW project
• LabVIEW project specifications: A specialized standard for specifying LabVIEW application requirements
• Efficient VI layout and development: front panel, block diagram, icons, and connectors
• Data structures: Choosing data types, efficient use of arrays and clusters, and special considerations with nested data structures
• Error handling strategies: Trapping and reporting errors for robust and reliable applications
• Design patterns: Standard VI architectures and application frameworks that promote good style
• Documentation: Essential rules for source code documentation and streamlining the process
• Code reviews: Enforcing a style convention using a checklist, the LabVIEW VI Analyzer Toolkit, and peer reviews
• Appendixes: Convenient glossary and style rules summary

This book will be indispensable to anyone who wants to develop or maintain quality LabVIEW applications: developers, managers, and end users alike. Additionally, it will also be valuable to those preparing for NI’s Certified LabVIEW Developer or Certified LabVIEW Architect exams, which contain significant content on development style.

Foreword by Darren Nattinger 

Preface 

Acknowledgments 

About the Author 

Chapter 1          The Significance of Style 

Chapter 2          Prepare for Good Style 

Chapter 3          Front Panel Style 

Chapter 4          Block Diagram 

Chapter 5          Icon and Connector 

Chapter 6          Data Structures 

Chapter 7          Error Handling 

Chapter 8          Design Patterns 

Chapter 9          Documentation 

Chapter 10        Code Reviews

Appendix A       Glossary 

Appendix B       Style Rules Summary 

Index 

Peter Blume is the founder and president of Bloomy, a National Instruments Select Integration Partner that specializes in LabVIEW-based systems development. Since LabVIEW Version 2.5, Blume and his staff of engineers have solved more than a thousand industrial applications for customers throughout the northeastern United States. To promote consistent quality among multiple developers in multiple offices, Blume established and evolved the company’s LabVIEW development practices.

Blume has written and presented multiple LabVIEW style-related presentations, including Bloomy Controls’ Professional LabVIEW Development Guidelines at NIWeek 2002 and Five Techniques for Better LabVIEW Code at NIWeek 2003. He also has published technical articles in various trade publications, including Test & Measurement World, Evaluation Engineering, Electronic Design, and Desktop Engineering.

Blume holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Connecticut. He is a National Instruments Certified LabVIEW Developer and Certified Professional Instructor. The company has offices in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. For more information, visit www.bloomy.com.

Readers who want to contact Blume regarding style-related suggestions, questions, or comments may do so at the following email address: lvstyle@bloomy.com . Readers interested in contracting Bloomy for a LabVIEW development project should call us directly or contact us through our website at www.bloomy.com/quote.

Foreword by Darren Nattinger  xv

Preface xvii

Acknowledgments  xx

About the Author  xxii

Chapter 1          The Significance of Style  1

Chapter 2          Prepare for Good Style  21

Chapter 3          Front Panel Style  47

Chapter 4          Block Diagram  87

Chapter 5          Icon and Connector  129

Chapter 6          Data Structures  157

Chapter 7          Error Handling  203

Chapter 8          Design Patterns  239

Chapter 9          Documentation  299

Chapter 10        Code Reviews  319

Appendix A       Glossary  339

Appendix B       Style Rules Summary  349

Index  357

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.