Course contents

1. Labview basics– virtual instruments, data flow, palettes

2. Structures– for, while, case, ...– editing techniques

3. Controls&Indicators– arrays, clusters, charts, graphs

4. Modular programming + recording– SubVIs– File I/O

5. Analysis– Linear algebra, Signal processing, Mathscript

6. Communication between loops– Producer/Consumer, State Machine, Local variables

7. Instrument control– DAQ, GPIB, Serial, Data collection

Array

• Variable sized collection of data elements that are all the same type

Array

• How to make an array from front panel

Array

• Color of the icon reflects the data type of the array

Multidimensional array

• How to add dimensions to the array

Auto-indexing• How to make an array from the block diagram

Auto-indexing

• Auto-indexing on loops

Auto-indexing

• Auto-indexing overrides the loop count setting

2D array

• Auto-indexing can create multidimensional arrays

Common wire types

Array functions

• Array size

• Initialize Array– input determines the data type– if zero is wired to dimension size an empty array is created

Array functions

• Build Array– concatenates multiple arrays or appends elements

Array functions

• Array subset: select a portion of an array

Array functions

• Index array– select an

element from an array

Polymorphism

• Some functions accept inputs of different dimensions– such as add, multiply, divide

Cluster

• Fixed-sized collection of data elements of mixed type• Reduces the number of wires and connector terminals in

subVIs

Cluster order

• Ordered according to when elements were placed in cluster

• Program won’t execute if there are inconcistencies in the cluster order

Cluster functions: Bundle

• Assemble into a new

• Replace old elements

Cluster functions: Unbundle

• Extract components of a cluster

Cluster functions: (Un)bundle by name

• Instead of cluster order one can refer to the cluster elements by name

Charts and Graphs

• Chart show data by appending new data to existing plot• Graphs display pregenerated arrays

Waveform chart

• One can select between three different update modes– Strip, scope, or sweep

Multiple traces on Chart

• Depending on the input data, chart can show multiple plots or it can update multiple points on a single run– see Charts.vi for information

(Help >> Find Examples >> Building User Interfaces >> Displaying Data >> Graphs and Charts >> Charts.vi)

Stacked plots

• With multiple plots one can choose between stacked or overlayed plots

Clear chart

• Empty the chart by selecting clear chart

Chart history

• One can change the length of the chart history

Waveform graphs

• Use graphs to plot existing data all at once• Ideal for uniformly distributed arrays• If only one array is wired to the graph, it assumes X0=0 and

ΔX=1

Waveform graph

• Wire a cluster defining X0 and ΔX

Multiple graphs

• Bundle arrays to make multiple plots

• For more ways to use waveform graphs see:– Help >> Find Examples >> Fundamentals >> Graphs and Charts >>

Waveform Graph.vi

Cursors on Graphs

• From Visible Items >> Cursor Legend one can create cursors– right-click on cursor legend and select Create Cursor– cursor can be Free or tied to the plot

Annotations on Graphs

• One can create annotations to graphs– they can be free

or tied to the plot

XY Graph

• For uneven sample intervals or dependent variables (e.g. x vs y)

• Possibility to build XY graph with Express VI– see also: Help >> Find Examples >>

Fundamentals >> Graphs and Charts >> XY Graph.vi

Customizing charts and graphs

• Autoscaling– Right-click and select auto-

scaling for X- or Y-axes– Scales the axes so that all

data points are visible

Axes scaling

• When AutoScaling is off one can change the axis scales by typing in the number that is needed

Plot properties

• Appearance– change visibilities

• Display Format– change format and precision

of e.g. scale numbering

• Plots– appearance of plots: name,

line style, marker

• Scales– tick styles, tick positions

Plot properties

• One can change the line styles etc. from the Plot Legend

Graph palette

• Graph palette can be used for zooming or to pan the graph

zoom pan

Export image or data

• Right-click >> Export

Keynotes