LabSQL vs LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit

[nitulandia]

Hello,

I'm trying to educate myself a bit on accessing databases from LabVIEW.

I'm working on a project on which I'll need to get data from a database (MySQL) - a pretty simple task - Anyhow, I found LabSQL http://jeffreytravis.com/lost/labsql.html and this is what I'll use as it meets my needs.

I'm curious about the following: Why would a user go with NI's LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit vs LabSQL ? If any of you readers have used the toolkit before, could you list some of the benefits? I don't know much about the toolkit, other than what I've found on NI's webpage:

http://www.ni.com/toolkits/lv_db_conn.htm

I'm having a hard time understanding why would someone pay for software when is available free of charge? I'm not trying to insult anyone here. Maybe my lack of understanding of features available in the toolkit made me wonder that.

I look forward to your comments.

Cheers,

[Val Brown]

I've used the DCT for several years and found it very useful. I'm also on Premier support for the Professional Development System so, for me, having access to AEs who know what they're doing (that's the Premier part) I know that I can find out what I need to fairly quickly -- and definitively. I was never that interested in using LabSQL as it was a third party tool, not NI officially supported. Now don't get me wrong. I know Jeffrey and his work is exemplary but I really wanted something that would be eligible for "official" support.

Your situation might be very different. If you're no on SSP or Premier status then you probably want to use tools that can be supported in other ways, like via user forums. The you might reasonably ask: "Why pay for something you can get for free?" But even if I weren't on SSP (and Premier status) I'd probably still go with the DCT because my primary RMDBS target was Access not MySQL.

[Mark Yedinak]

I am in a very similar situation as Val. For teh majority of time that I have been using LabVIEW I have been on the SSP. I also use the developer suite which includes the database connection toolkit. I like to have the official support behind the toolkit and for me this would justify getting the license if it wasn't already included with the developer's suite.

[Yair]

One nice feature the DBCT has is its parser which allows you to wire a cluster (as a variant) and it parses it into its datatypes automatically for inserts. This saves you some work.

You can do this fairly simply yourself, however, if you start with some of the OpenG variant VIs, as they do most of the heavy lifting.

The DBCT also has some convenient wrappers, which, if memory serves, LabSQL does not. Personally, I feel that the DBCT is somewhat lacking (e.g. it doesn't have an UPDATE wrapper, which I wrote fairly quickly and I don't really like the way it handles times, although I can't say I looked closely at it), but I don't use it enough to be able to really pass judgement.