A redesigned NI-DAQ driver framework and two new interactive assistants for data acquisition and instrument control further speed development through automatic code generation and interactive instrument control. Two new modules extend LabView to new areas of test. The FPGA module enables application development to run in field programmable gate arrays on the vendor’s reconfigurable hardware. The PDA module is used to create portable handheld measurement and control applications on Microsoft Pocket PC or Palm OS personal digital assistants. In addition, LabView 7 Express provides upgraded features for previously available modules. Development of deterministic, real-time and embedded control applications is simplified with the addition of an RT Communication Wizard for use with the Real-Time module. The Datalogging and Supervisory Control Module is also upgraded with new features including an enhanced historical database with faster performance, and database compliance with industry standards such as SQL 92 and ODBC 2.5, resulting in more effective searches. “Before LabView, engineers and scientists had to make a tradeoff between the power, flexibility and scalability of traditional programming languages and the ease-of-use and interactivity of configuration-based tools,” says James Truchard, president and chief executive officer at the vendor. “With the release of LabView7 Express, we are closing the gap between easy and powerful.” LabView 7 Express is available for Windows 2000/NT/XP/98, Mac OS, Linux and Sun Solaris.
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