Project Design & Maintenance

[JimboH]

I've been using Labview for 6 years now for research and one of the most confusing things for me is how code is supposed to be managed. I have been using Tortoise SVN with folder organization but with things getting more complicated I am starting to wonder what the "right" way of doings things is.

I've looked through a variety of posts and official documentation and haven't found what I am looking for (or haven't realized it was what I needed).

I'm using LV2009 32 bit, JKI TotoiseSVN Tool 2.2.0.186 (demo), Tortoise SVN 1.7.6, Win 7 x64, and have little interest in actual code deployment.

Features I am looking for:

- avoiding cross linking problems

- prompts to save a vi only when it has been changed

- svn integration

- code that works with multiple developers instead of corrupted files (mainly thinking about project files)

My code base consists of project or modules (not lvproj) just a set of code in a directory & subdirectories. When I am running a program, many of these modules will run together and collect data, with a messaging system in between where necessary. In addition I have generic code libraries (not lvlib), with generic functions (math, string, table, server, etc). It seems like my code libraries should be lvlib files. After some reading it seems like Project Libraries can be used for preventing namespace collisions. On a side note the term Labview Project Libraries is very confusing because I think of Labview Project Explorer which I have no gathered does nothing for changing the namespace. I did happen to find this link, which helped get me started but I'm still not understanding some things.

As a general rule I pretty much want library membership to always apply to files that are in my libraries directory, which doesn't seem possible.

Question 1: How do I delete a library file via SVN and remove it from the project. I am using the JKI TSVN toolbox and removal of the file doesn't seem to effect removal from the library.

Question 2: If I create a vi and later decide to move it into the library, how do I accomplish this in Labview with SVN tracking. For example, if I create a vi in one of my modules and realize that it is fairly generic and would be better in a library, how do I move it to the library (ideally on disk and into the library file) so that both Labview and SVN are happy. Another situation might be moving a file from one module to another module, ideally I could move both library association and disk location.

Question 3: If I am running multiple modules, how do I ensure that they have no namespace collisions? Should these be libraries as well? Do I only need a project if I want to deploy my code?

Question 4: When someone creates a vi outside of the library but in the library directory how can this be detected and fixed?

Question 5: Is there any way to get better svn integration into the lvlib and lbproj right click menu? My current approach would be to do this through the tools menu (tools -> TortoiseSVN -> rename). Side note, this doesn't doesn't currently work on my computer although the actual TortoiseSVN through Windows Explorer works just fine.

Question 6: My files are constantly prompting for saving. It seems like most of these are changes from other files and not the file I changed. Since I don't know really know how this works I am not sure what exactly is going on. The end result though is that I want to minimize version changes (as tracked through SVN). I seem to remember reading somewhere that in LV2010 you can separate source code and compiled code. Thoughts? Would this be fixed by better lvlib and lvproj usage or is something else going on?

Thanks,

Jim

[todd]

Question 1: How do I delete a library file via SVN and remove it from the project. I am using the JKI TSVN toolbox and removal of the file doesn't seem to effect removal from the library.

The .lvlib file contains a list of files in the library. If you double-click on an lvlib file, a list of VIs in that library shows up. Right-click on a file to "Remove From Library". Then check in the lvlib file.

[JimboH]

Todd,

Thanks for the reply. It seems your suggestion only modifies the library, not the vi on disk. I realize that sometimes that behavior is desirable (library mod only) but is there not an option which does both?

Thanks,

Jim

[todd]

Oops, I forgot something. The vi knows it's part of an lvlib, too. Take a vi that's in a library, copy it somewhere else on disk, then open it - it looks for the lvlib.

[asbo]

Isn't there a File > Remove from Library command? Is this programmatically accessible?

[todd]

There's a "DisconnectFromLibrary" invoke node.

[drjdpowell]

Question 6: My files are constantly prompting for saving. It seems like most of these are changes from other files and not the file I changed. Since I don't know really know how this works I am not sure what exactly is going on. The end result though is that I want to minimize version changes (as tracked through SVN). I seem to remember reading somewhere that in LV2010 you can separate source code and compiled code.

The changes are probably recompiles caused by subVI changes. Separating compiled code from source code should stop this. I’ve upgraded to 2011 recently and separated compiled code and it seems to work well so far.

Question 3: If I am running multiple modules, how do I ensure that they have no namespace collisions? Should these be libraries as well? Do I only need a project if I want to deploy my code?

I generally put all subVI’s in libraries libraries (or class libraries), other than test code.

Question 2: If I create a vi and later decide to move it into the library, how do I accomplish this in Labview with SVN tracking. For example, if I create a vi in one of my modules and realize that it is fairly generic and would be better in a library, how do I move it to the library (ideally on disk and into the library file) so that both Labview and SVN are happy. Another situation might be moving a file from one module to another module, ideally I could move both library association and disk location.

Personally, I move VIs such that the Project is happy and just let SVN consider the file deleted and created new in another place. Makes your SVN repository bigger, but this isn’t a big issue.