The LabVIEW Style Book

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Copyright

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks.

Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have

been printed with initial capital letters or in all capitals.

U.S. Corporate and Government Sales

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Blume, Peter A.

Q185.B568 2007

005.4'38—dc22

2006035871

Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission

must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission

in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding

permissions, write to:

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Pearson Education, Inc.

Rights and Contracts Department

To the employees of Bloomy Controls who contributed to the evolution of this topic within our organization. To my wife,

Phia, and daughter, Eva, for their patience, love, and support.

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Foreword..................................................................................................................................................................6

Preface.....................................................................................................................................................................7

IntendedReader..................................................................................................................................................7

Organization........................................................................................................................................................7

1.2.StyleVersusTimeTradeoff........................................................................................................................27

2.PrepareforGoodStyle......................................................................................................................................29

2.1.Specifications.............................................................................................................................................29

2.2.Design.........................................................................................................................................................36

2.3.ConfiguretheLabVIEWEnvironment........................................................................................................39

3.4.GUINavigation...........................................................................................................................................80

3.5.Examples....................................................................................................................................................84

Endnotes............................................................................................................................................................94

4.BlockDiagram...................................................................................................................................................95

4.1.Layout.........................................................................................................................................................95

4.2.Wiring.......................................................................................................................................................100

4.3.DataFlow..................................................................................................................................................108

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Endnotes..........................................................................................................................................................159

6.DataStructures................................................................................................................................................160

6.1.DataStructureDesignMethodology.......................................................................................................160

6.2.SimpleDataTypes....................................................................................................................................174

6.3.DataConstructs........................................................................................................................................183

7.3.PrioritizingErrors.....................................................................................................................................222

7.4.ErrorHandlingTips...................................................................................................................................226

7.5.Examples..................................................................................................................................................230

Endnotes..........................................................................................................................................................238

8.DesignPatterns...............................................................................................................................................239

8.1.SimpleDesignPatterns............................................................................................................................241

8.2.StateMachines.........................................................................................................................................254

8.3.CompoundDesignPatterns.....................................................................................................................266

8.4.ComplexApplicationFramew orks...........................................................................................................271

8.5.Examples..................................................................................................................................................284

9.3.IconandVIDescription............................................................................................................................308

9.4.OnlineDocumentation.............................................................................................................................309

9.5.Examples..................................................................................................................................................312

Endnotes..........................................................................................................................................................315

10.CodeReviews................................................................................................................................................316

10.1.Self‐Reviews...........................................................................................................................................316

10.2.PeerReviews..........................................................................................................................................332

Endnotes..........................................................................................................................................................336

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