Team LAVA

Congrats to François Normandin as UI Tools is now Compatible with LabVIEW!



The second highest download in the LAVA-CR is now available by just firing up your copy of VIPM and download it straight from the LabVIEW Tools Network!.



UI Tools is currently CwLV Standard and will be applying for CwLV Silver in the near future.


As always, additional thanks to David_L, Will and the LabVIEW Partner Program Team.

Kind Regards

Jonathon Green
Team LAVA Administrator

Thanks to Ton's efforts the Code Capture Tool is now Compatible with LabVIEW - or as we like to say CwLV
Just fire up your copy of VIPM to download it straight from the LabVIEW Tools Network.
Search for it by name or just type in LAVA!



Thanks to David_L, Will, the LabVIEW Partner Program Team and of course Ton and Yair for this great tool.


Kind Regards

Jonathon Green
Team LAVA Administrator

I have just completed the process of taking the Open Source tool Rename LVOOP Labels from a Standard to a Silver Addon on the LabVIEW Tools Network and it was a rewarding experience as a LabVIEW developer.

The items that I have to resolve in the Standard package in this case included:

• Adding more comprehensive documentation
  
• Integrating help into the LabVIEW Help menu
  
• Making the Examples I created more visible
  
• Adding Example Finder support
  
• Testing for compatibility in LabVIEW 2011 (which is currently the latest version of LabVIEW).

This blog entry shows how I was able to cover these requirements pretty easily. I hope it helps other developers publish their packages (either through LAVA or on their own) on the LabVIEW Tools Network.

In terms of documentation, I wanted to make use of the VIPM Information Screen as it contains information on compatible OSes and compatible LabVIEW versions (among other things). So I proposed that there was no need to duplicate this information and I simply referred the end-user to this screen in VIPM when I needed to. This was allowed.

On a side note it would be really cool if I could invoke this screen from LabVIEW - so it would be better integrated with my tool. I already have added the idea for an VIPM API in the VIPM Idea Exchange, and this is another use case - please vote for it



I made use the of the existing support from the LAVA-CR to cover the Help integration requirement by invoking the tool's LAVA-CR webpage from the Help Menu (as an afterthought I should have added a link to the tool's LAVA support forum too). As it turns out, this information is pretty much the same that appears in the VIPM Information Screen and as I couldn't invoke that, it was handy to have this webpage to point to which contains documentation, instructions on how the tool works, installation directories etc... and it made a great Help resource.



I was able to make my Examples more visible by adding an additional item to the Tools Menu which invoked my Example Project (.lvproj) and opened the Block Diagram of a Top-Level Example VI that contained instructions and links to all Example VIs. I also added detailed instructions to each Example VI so it's purpose was as clear as possible.



I created a Example Finder file (.bin3) and installed it to <examples>\exbins which where it must be installed to be compatible with LabVIEW 2011 (this location is also backwards compatible with older versions of LabVIEW). So examples for this Tool can be searched for in the Example Finder.



In summary, by completing the Silver Compatible with LabVIEW process I learned a lot (about the process) and have been able to create a better tool which, end-users can see by looking at it's CwLV level on the LabVIEW Tools Network. I also get to use these cool logos:



Thanks heaps to Crelf, Ton and David_L for their help in taking this to Silver


Kind Regards

Jonathon Green
Team LAVA Administrator

Check out the new article Guide for LAVA Package Building in VIPM to see how to meet the Requirements and Recommendations for publishing a package through LAVA on the LabVIEW Tools Network using VIPM. It contains a downloadable example package.

The guide may also help users new to VIPM as it is a simple walk through of all the VI Package Building screens.

Additionally the LAVA Palette package is now available for download on the LabVIEW Tools Network which meets the Compatible with LabVIEW standards (namely the installation location of the main palette).

This now means UI Tools and Code Capture Tool will be able to complete their releases - watch out for them on the LabVIEW Tools Network in the near future!


Kind Regards

Jonathon Green
Team LAVA Administrator

Team LAVA is happy to announce that Ton Plomp and Yair Neeman will be releasing their Code Capture Tool on the LabVIEW Tools Network.

This is the most downloaded file in the LAVA-CR - with 4,235 downloads to date - and will be great to see it published through LAVA on the LabVIEW Tools Network.

Awesome!

Check out the new Team LAVA logo in this Article, created by LAVA's very own Vugie!
The logo incorporates the LAVA name and logo into a community/team theme.

I love it!

If you want to get involved and publish your package through LAVA onto the LabVIEW Tools Network then please PM me or post in the LAVA Code on LabVIEW Tools Network forum.


Kind Regards

Jonathon Green
Team LAVA Administrator

Team LAVA Requirements and Recommendations for publishing code through LAVA onto the LabVIEW Tools Network are now available in this Article.
LAVA is a facilitator and as such we have tried to keep these to a minimum and as flexible where possible.
Requirements have been designed with reuse, robustness, promotion of the LAVA Community, easy of installation and organisation in mind.
Another one of our goals is that we want you to be creative!

I expect the Article to be dynamic in that it will get refined over time.
If you have any feedback, questions or want me to go into more detail about the design decisions be sure to leave a Comment on the Article (which will by synchronized to the Forums) so we can have a good discussion about it.

If you are happy to meet these Requirements and would like to proceed with joining Team LAVA and publishing a package through LAVA on the LabVIEW Tools Network please PM me.

Never used VIPM or OpenG Package Builder? That's ok, in the near future I will be releasing workflows that show how to use these products and conform to the Requirements.
What to see something specific? Just let me know!


Kind Regards

Jonathon Green
Team LAVA Administrator

Today, I will be discussing a few features of this Team LAVA initiative and demonstrating using a VIPM package that has already been released on the LVTN and published through LAVA. Yes! Of course we tested the process before releasing it to the Community! If you have a keen eye you might have already seen it:



Rename LVOOP Labels is a simple LabVIEW Tool that made for a great test package for several reasons.



Now, interaction defines a Community, but to me it has always been more than that. I believe it is also defined by the support and help of others, and the return of such things, which makes the Community interaction grow and the Community itself become stronger.

I have mentioned previously that Team LAVA Developers will be able to leverage Community resources to achieve more. Aside from the concept of members helping each other, what are these resources I am talking about?

Supporting resources have been setup on LAVA whereby each package will have its own sub-forum in the new LAVA Code on LabVIEW Tools Network forum (a more informative name for end users than Team LAVA). The new forum looks like this:



Each package’s sub-forum will be a dedicated place where authors can respond to end user questions, update release information about the package, create tutorial videos or anything else they want (go ahead – be creative!). We are trying to be in line with higher level LVTN certification requirements.



If the package started life out in the LAVA-CR then it will already have an information page there. If not, one will be created. The LAVA-CR page will be the Product Homepage link for the package:



The current Support Thread will be locked and users will be redirected to the new LAVA-LVTN forum:



Some new features of the LAVA site we are currently working to implement include:

• The LAVA-CR page's Support Topic will link to the new LAVA-LVTN sub-forum for that package
  
• The LAVA-CR page's Download button will link to NI's website, as opposed to a file, so the package can be downloaded directly from VIPM (now active!)

As you can see, we are leveraging some of the resources of the LAVA-CR for this process because it makes sense to do so, but they are two different places to publish and host code (I will be blogging more about the relationship between the LAVA-CR and the LAVA-LVTN in the near future).


Mad props to Michael for his hard work on making all this come together on the LAVA forums.

The package will have a page on the LVTN too (obviously!). Here you can see it in the VIPM LVTN Browser:



In terms of roles, I will be acting as Administrator for this process and I will be the sole person liaising with NI in submitting packages to the LVTN under LAVA. This reason for this is two-fold:

• This was requested by LAVA Administration
  
• The initiative requires management
  
• It will simplify interaction with Team LAVA from NI’s perspective

What is your role in this initiative? Well, we have given the concept wings - now its up to you to make it fly!


Interested in releasing a package to the LVTN through LAVA? Please leave a comment.


Kind Regards

Jonathon Green
Team LAVA Administrator

Team LAVA officially welcomes UI Tools to the mix!

Top LAVA-CR author François Normandin (aka the man in the kilt) who has a total of 16,951 file downloads, and counting, will be releasing his awesome UI Tools package on the LVTN through LAVA in the near future.

Awesome!

The LabVIEW Tools Network (LVTN) is really cool. It’s kinda like the App Store but for LabVIEW. So, what does publishing to the LVTN mean? Well as a Developer it means:

• End users can easily find, browse, buy and download your code all in the one spot on NI's website or through using the new LVTN browser in VIPM 2011
  
• Your package will receive more exposure as anyone who was VIPM installed will see it immediately
  
• You can choose the Compatible with LabVIEW level that’s right for your code e.g. apply for a Standard level, or take it up a notch and get Silver or Gold certified.

Now, I by no means wish to pigeon hole the concept, but I really see Team LAVA benefiting non-company-affiliated development: those of us who do not have the infrastructure to release and support packages through a large company, either because we are sole-contractors or we do additional development on the side (so to speak).


With that in mind and with regards to how the LabVIEW ecosystem works, publishing to the LVTN through LAVA may not be for everyone as you may:

• Work for a company whereby you must publish your code through them
  
• Want to publish your code under your own brand
  
• Wish to password protect, license or obfuscate your code (more on standards later)
  
• Prefer to publish to the LAVA-CR
  
• Want to submit your code to OpenG
  
• (Or something else I haven’t thought of)

If you choose to publish packages to the LVTN under the LAVA brand, it will mean that:

• You will retain copyright (i.e. Author and Copyright fields in VIPM)
  
• Your code will be peer-reviewed by other LAVA Developers in Team LAVA
  
• More people will recognize the LAVA brand making your code more visible
  
• You will be helping to promote and grow the LAVA Community
  
• You will be contributing to giving LAVA a presence on the LVTN
  
• It will help you to achieve Silver or Gold certification by leveraging Community resources

If you have any feedback on the above, or want to let me know what Team LAVA means to you, please leave a comment.


Kind Regards

Jonathon Green
Team LAVA Administrator