LabVIEW Learning Materials

See also: category:LabVIEW fundamentals

This page provides a recommended set of resources for LabVIEW programmers. It breaks the content across six phases of maturity and experience so that users may self-identify what content is most relevant for them based on their experience. Most of the content is crowd-sourced and freely available from ni.com and other sources like YouTube.

LabVIEW Programming Basics

Introduction to LabVIEW Environment

• LabVIEW Overview
• Part 1: Creating your first VI
• Part 2: Introduction to Loops and Structures
• Part 3: Basic Analysis of Data
• Part 4: Basic Hardware Connectivity

Data Types & Structures

• LabVIEW Data Types Overview
• Arrays and Clusters Tutorial
• Overview of For Loops

User Interface Design

• Using event structures to capture user interactions
• Introduction to Panes for UI Organization
• Programmatically changing UI controls using property nodes
• Creating resizeable user interfaces
• Creating Custom Controls
• Creating Professional User Interfaces

Asynchronous Messaging

• Introduction to queues for sending messages between processes
• Queues, Notifiers, and Semaphores
• Queues and Notifiers in LabVIEW
• Overview of Queues
• Tutorial on Using Notifiers

Advanced Execution Control

• Dynamically loading VIs
• Launching clones of a VI
• Dynamically loading classes
• Launching a dynamically dispatched VI programmatically

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in LabVIEW

• OOP Concepts in LabVIEW
• Object-Oriented Programming in LabVIEW Tutorial

Debugging Tools

• Debugging Tools in LabVIEW
• Debugging Techniques in LabVIEW

Build and Deployment

• Building Executables and Installers
• Deploying LabVIEW Applications

LabVIEW Software Patterns

State Machines

• NI White Paper on State Machines
• State Machines Tutorial

Queued Message Handlers (QMH)

• Queued State Machine Overview
• Queued Message Handler Architecture Overview
• QMH Video Tutorial

Producer/Consumer Architecture

• Producer/Consumer Architecture White Paper
• Producer/Consumer Architecture Tutorial

Event-Driven Programming

• Event Structures in LabVIEW
• Event-Driven Programming Tutorial

Tooling and Development Processes

Configuration Management=

• Setting up Git for LabVIEW
• Version Control in LabVIEW Tutorial

Static Code Analysis

• VI Analyzer Overview
• VI Analyzer in Action

Unit Testing

• JKI VI Tester for Unit Testing
• Unit Testing in LabVIEW with Caraya

Software Design Patterns and Best Practices

Modular Programming and Code Reuse

• NI Guide to Reusing Code
• Modular Programming in LabVIEW

Error Handling

• Best Practices for Error Handling
• Error Handling Techniques

Software Frameworks

DQMH

• Delacor’s DQMH Toolkit OverviewThis is the official page for the DQMH toolkit, which includes a summary of features and download links.

• DQMH User GuideThe official DQMH user guide with detailed explanations of how to use the framework.

• NI's DQMH Community PageNI community hub dedicated to discussions around the DQMH framework, where developers share best practices, examples, and troubleshooting tips.

• Introduction to DQMH (YouTube by Delacor)A quick introduction to DQMH for beginners, focusing on the key features and benefits of using this framework.

• How to Use the DQMH Module Template (YouTube)A step-by-step guide for setting up and using the DQMH module template in your LabVIEW projects.

• DQMH Core Concepts and Demonstration (YouTube)In-depth coverage of core DQMH concepts like requests, broadcasting events, and using helper loops.

DQMH Use Cases and Advanced Topics

• Advanced DQMH Techniques (YouTube)This video explores advanced features like nested modules, scripting tools, and best practices for event handling within DQMH.

• Developing Modular Applications Using DQMH (NI YouTube Channel)A deep dive into how to build modular and scalable applications using DQMH. It covers real-world use cases and best practices.

• Integrating DQMH with Other Frameworks (YouTube)A tutorial that shows how to integrate DQMH with other architectures like Actor Framework or Command-Response patterns.

Community Contributions

• DQMH Best Practices on GitHubThis repository contains best practices for using DQMH, contributed by the community. You’ll find code examples, comments, and strategies for building robust systems.

• DQMH Forum (LabVIEW Community)A place to ask questions, find tutorials, and get tips from experienced DQMH users.

Hardware and Instrumentation Connectivity

DAQmx Basics

• DAQmx Fundamentals Guide
• DAQmx Basics Video Tutorial

Instrument Control

• LabVIEW Instrument Control Overview
• Communicating with Instruments in LabVIEW

Determinism and Real-Time Execution

• Introduction to LabVIEW Real-Time
• Real-Time Systems Tutorial

Community and Best Practices

LabVIEW Style Guidelines

• LabVIEW Style Guideline
• NI Forums

LabVIEW Community and User Groups

• LabVIEW User Groups and Community Events
• GCentral: Open-Source Community for LabVIEW

Connectivity and Report Generation

Database Connectivity

• Using LabVIEW with Databases
• Database Connectivity in LabVIEW

Formal Training

Formal training on LabVIEW is available from several providers. Offerings differ based on prior LabVIEW experience level and the preferred delivery method. Common delivery methods include:

• In-person instructor-led
• Remote instructor-led (usually through a web conference)
• Online self-paced (usually through a combination of pre-recorded lecture videos and exercise solution videos)
• Self-paced with a manual

National Instruments has a suite of courses ranging from beginner to advanced as well as several specialty topics such as LabVIEW Real-Time and LabVIEW Connectivity. National Instruments offers all common delivery methods mentioned above except online self-paced. Other LabVIEW training providers such as Sixclear provide this online self-paced environment. Sixclear's same curriculum is also delivered through in-person instructor-led training. Durability is another provider of in-person instructor-led training.

Recommended training courses for those with no knowledge of LabVIEW are the National Instruments Core 1 and Core 2 courses, the Sixclear LabVIEW Fundamentals I and II courses, or the Durability LabVIEW 101 and 102 courses. All sets of courses are geared to a user with little to no LabVIEW experience and teach the proficiencies outlined by the Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer (CLAD) exam as well as simple DAQ and instrument control.

Common arguments justifying formal training revolve around the idea that the sum cost of developers' time is greater than the cost of training because:

• the LabVIEW graphical programming paradigm is appreciably different than traditional text-based programming
• costly mistakes commonly occur when moving from simple LabVIEW applications to more complex applications, especially when developing parallel loop applications

Alternatives to Formal Training

National Instruments maintains a list of LabVIEW reference books as an alternative to formal training.

Another alternative to formal training are half-day "LabVIEW Hands-On" workshops offered by National Instruments. Recommended follow-ups are the "G Programmer's reference manual" and the LabVIEW "User Manual" found in the LabVIEW documentation.

External Links

Some online tutorials:

• VI High LabVIEW Video Tutorial Blog by Sixclear
• Some NI courses, including videos (requires an active support contract with NI)
• VI Shots LabVIEW Video Tutorials
• NI Tutorials (including videos and exercises) - http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/7466
• More links at NI's site - http://www.ni.com/training/labview.htm
• Software Engineering with LabVIEW (generally requires some LabVIEW knowledge) - http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/7117
• Connexions Tutorial (written by NI) - http://cnx.org/content/col10241/latest/
• LabVIEW Tutorials - http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/GeneralInterest/LabView.html
• Videos of NI's LabVIEW Core 3 course (8 full lessons) - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3E1DD4C18D357331
• Tutorial videos (some are free) - http://www.fafiles.com/
• Learning LabVIEW - http://learnlabview.blogspot.com/
• LabVIEW Tutorial Basics (BEKA, German) - http://www.fu-net.de/lv/lv01/
• LabVIEW Tutorial Advanced Techniques (BEKA, German) - http://www.fu-net.de/lv/lv02/