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The NI VeriStand 2010 Custom Device Developer’s Guide is provided as a "beta" document. An "alpha" version of the guide was used within NI and among select beta testers for six months. The feedback from these users was integrated into this version of the guide. This guide is a work in progress. While this guide was written using NI VeriStand 2010, the principles and practices contained in it are applicable for NI VeriStand 2011 and beyond. Your questions, comments, concerns and suggestions are welcome. Please use the Feedback Forum for the NI VeriStand 2010 Custom Device Developer's Guide.
Table of Contents
- Conventions
- Introduction
- When do you Need a Custom Device
- Custom Device Risk Analysis
- Planning the Custom Device
- Implementing the Custom Device
- Debugging and Benchmarking
- Distributing the Custom Device
- Custom Device Tips and Tricks
- Upgrading NI VeriStand 2009 Custom Devices to 2010
- Beyond the Template Frameworks
- Custom Device Development Job Aid
NI VeriStand is a ready-to-use, open software environment for configuring real-time testing applications, including hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test systems. With NI VeriStand, you can configure real-time input/output (IO), stimulus profiles, data logging, alarming, and other tasks; implement control algorithms or system simulations by importing models from a variety of software environments; and build test system interfaces quickly with a run-time editable user interface complete with ready-to-use tools. See NI Developer Zone Tutorial: What is NI VeriStand for more information.
When necessary, you can customize and extend NI VeriStand’s open environment with LabVIEW, ensuring it always meets application requirements. The purpose of this document is to provide the background, design decisions, and technical information required to understand and develop custom devices in NI VeriStand 2010.
The custom device developer's guide in the attached PDF is broken down into the following chapters.
Conventions
Describes the formatting and typographical conventions used throughout the guide.
Introduction
Defines an NI VeriStand custom device.
Provides a table of directories and aliases.
Describes the custom device configuration framework.
Describes the custom device engine framework.
Describes the purpose and genesis of the custom device XML file.
When do you Need a Custom Device
Describes the three main gaps that can be filled with an NI VeriStand custom device.
Custom Device Risk Analysis
Identifies the main risks associated with custom device development.
Provides resources that can negate these risks for some requirements.
Identifies the NI Training and Certification courses that mitigate some risks.
Planning the Custom Device
This section provides a detailed and sequential process for planning the custom device. All common custom device components are considered through the exploration of an example device. These include:
- Channels
- Properties
- Decimation
- Hierarchy
- Default Pages
- Extra Pages
- Globally Unique Identifiers
- Build Specifications
- Types of Custom Device Engines
Modules from the NI VeriStand custom device LabVIEW API are presented along with the requirements they fulfill.
The Primary Control Loop's two modes of operation are outlined.
Implementing the Custom Device
This section walks through custom device implementation by continuing the example device presented in the previous section. LabVIEW screen shots, XML snippets, and best practices are provided.
Debugging and Benchmarking
All the common custom device debugging techniques are covered and compared.
Distributing the Custom Device
This section describes the recommended and alternate methods of distributing the custom device.
Custom Device Tips and Tricks
This section reveals a number of best-practices, time-savers, and advanced custom device programming techniques including:
- Engine Events
- Block Read and Block Write
- Working with String Constants
- Custom Error Codes
- Custom Device Utility VIs
- Triggering
- Advanced Custom Device XML Tags
Upgrading NI VeriStand 2009 Custom Devices to 2010
This section details the process for upgrading custom devices from NI VeriStand 2009 to 2010.
Beyond the Template Frameworks
This section explores some of the advanced architectures available to fill custom device requirements. It points to existing examples of advanced custom device architectures for your reference.
Custom Device Development Job Aid
The final section of the NI VeriStand 2010 Custom Device Developer's Guide is a one-page summary of custom device development provided for your reference.
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