LabWindows™/CVI™ SQL Toolkit 2.3 for Windows

August 2015


This file contains important information about the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit, including installation instructions and known issues. For more information about LabWindows/CVI, refer to the LabWindows/CVI Readme or to the LabWindows/CVI Release Notes. For more information about the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit, refer to the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit Help.


System Requirements

Installation Instructions

Activating the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit

External Compilers

Distribution of an SQL Toolkit Executable or DLL

Product Security and Critical Updates

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Accessing the Help

Finding Examples

Automating the Installation of NI Products

How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

Legal Information

System Requirements

To run the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit 2.3, you must have the following items:


  • LabWindows/CVI 7.0 or later

    Note  If you want to build 64-bit applications for the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit, you must have LabWindows/CVI 2009 or later.
  • Microsoft operating systems:
    • Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
    • Windows 8.0 (32-bit and 64-bit)
    • Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), including Starter Edition
    • Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit)
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2 (64-bit)
    Note  LabWindows/CVI supports only R2 editions of Windows Server

Installation Instructions

You can install all of your LabWindows/CVI products—including the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit—using the LabWindows/CVI Platform DVD. You can find installation and activation instructions for the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit in the LabWindows/CVI Release Notes, which are available in your LabWindows/CVI software kit.


Activating the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit

You can activate LabWindows/CVI during or after installation. To activate during installation, enter a serial number when you are prompted by the installer. If you do not activate during installation, you can launch the NI Activation Wizard by selecting Activate Products in the License Status dialog box, which displays when you launch LabWindows/CVI for the first time.


For more information about activation, refer to the Activating Your Software topic in the LabWindows/CVI Help.


Note  If you are unable to activate LabWindows/CVI, refer to the web page at ni.com/activate.


External Compilers

If you plan to use the SQL Toolkit with an external compiler, a library file for the current compatible external compiler is in the Program Files\National Instruments\Shared\CVI\Extlib directory.


Distribution of an SQL Toolkit Executable or DLL

Refer to the Distributing an SQL Toolkit Executable or DLL topic in the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit Help for information about distributing SQL Toolkit applications.


Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.


Known Issues

  • Installing the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit Runtime on a computer with the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit 2.2 or earlier installed removes existing LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit development files and examples from the computer.
  • If your database contains an entry of type DATE, LabWindows/CVI returns a string that contains the time 00:00:00 AM in addition to the data.
  • Using the TIME data type in your database and retrieving the data can cause undefined behavior. For example, the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit might return an empty string or undefined characters. Consider using the VARCHAR data type instead.
  • The Microsoft Access ODBC drivers that ship with ADO 2.0 and 2.1.x incorrectly update MEMO field values with NULL for all records if the value of the first record written is not specified. A bug for this problem was reported to Microsoft. This behavior does not occur when using the Microsoft Access OLE-DB Provider.
  • You must include cvi_db.h before any other LabWindows/CVI includes.
  • If multiple threads in your application use this toolkit, you must call DBInit before you call any other toolkit function.
  • Using the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit in multiple threads will not work when using Microsoft Access or any of the Microsoft Jet based drivers with version 3.50 or earlier because the Jet components are not multithread safe.
  • Starting with LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit 2.0, functions that return statement or connection handles now return the error code instead of zero if the function fails. You can use DBSetBackwardCompatibility to force these functions to return 0 on failure. You also can use DBSetBackwardCompatibility to force DBColumnType to return one of the eight types supported by LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit 1.x instead of the actual type.
  • Starting with LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit 2.0, the DBSources, DBDatabases, DBTables, DBIndexes, DBPrimaryKeys, and DBForeignKeys functions now return different fields. You must correct bindings for each of these functions.
  • ADO cannot close a statement if there are unsaved changes to a record. You can call DBCancelRecordChanges to cancel the changes. The most common use of DBCancelRecordChanges is to cancel changes when DBPutRecord fails.
  • Some ODBC drivers update all identical records when you change one record. This action occurs when the driver does not support the features required for positioned updates and must use a query based update.
  • In some cases where ADO 2.0 returned the empty string "", ADO 2.1.x and ADO 2.5 return NULL. This change is common in attribute functions such as DBGetStatementAttribute and DBGetConnectionAttribute.
  • If you delete the last record in a recordset, ADO 2.0 and 2.5 position the cursor at EOF. ADO 2.1.x positions the cursor on the last undeleted record. If you delete the last record within a fetch loop, 2.1.x fetches the last undeleted record again the next time through the loop.
  • Some ADO providers and ODBC drivers allow you to fetch deleted records in the current recordset until you close the recordset. Because ADO 2.1.x sets the cursor to the previous undeleted record when you delete a record, a fetch loop that finds and deletes record can attempt to delete a deleted record and cause an error.
  • ODBC drivers are not required to support the command timeout attribute. When you attempt to set the timeout attribute, ADO 2.0 ignores the error, but ADO 2.1.x and 2.5 report an unknown error.
  • For Access Users—The Access ODBC driver and Access OLE/DB provider, also called the Jet OLE/DB provider, are available from Microsoft. The Access OLE/DB provider provides faster performance.
  • For Btrieve Users—The Btrieve driver might experience problems if the Btrieve Microkernal Engine communication buffer size is smaller than the Btrieve driver Array Size attribute. You can increase the communication buffer size with the BTI Database Setup Utility. You can decrease the array size option when you configure a data source using the ODBC Btrieve Setup dialog or when passing a connection string.
  • For INFORMIX Users—Some INFORMIX error messages may contain more than one error. It is unclear whether all errors displayed will be valid.
  • For INGRES Users—SQL functions may appear to hang unless the following line is present in the CONFIG.ING file: ING_SET=SET LOCKMODE SESSION WHERE READLOCK=NOLOCK
  • For Text Users—When encountering an invalid file, you may receive too many or duplicate errors.

Bug Fixes

This release of the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit inclues the following bug fixes. Refer to the LabWindows/CVI Modules and Toolkits Release Information web page on ni.com for an up-to-date list of bug fixes in this version of the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit.


ID Fixed Issue Has Run-Time Impact?
517130 DBSetParamBinary is not declared in cvi_db.h. No
461305 DBFetchNext causes general protection fault and crash in Release configuration in LabWindows/CVI 2013. No
439730 Building the browser2.prj shipping example fails with <command line>:28:9: error: macro names must be identifiers errors. No
359353 Number of Records Attribute missing from function panel for DBGetStatementAttribute. No
308897 DBCreateParamChar will not pass empty strings or NULL values. Yes
249898 Formatting of LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit function panel help does not match style of standard LabWindows/CVI function panel help. No

Accessing the Help

Refer to the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit Help, accessible from Start»All Programs»National Instruments»SQL Toolkit for CVI»SQL Toolkit Documentation, for information about the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit.


Finding Examples

You can find example programs in the following locations:


  • LabWindows/CVI 8.1.1 and Earlier—Examples are located in the <Program Files>\National Instruments\CVIx.x\samples\sql directory.
  • LabWindows/CVI 8.5 and Later—Examples are located in the Users\Public\Documents\National Instruments\CVI\samples\sql directory.
Note   To run example programs in 64-bit mode, you must use a 64-bit Microsoft Access driver, which is not included with the LabWindows/CVI SQL Toolkit. You can download the Microsoft Access Database Engine Redistributable, which includes drivers you need to run in 64-bit mode, from the Microsoft website. Note that the 64-bit driver cannot be installed concurrently with 32-bit versions of Microsoft Office.

The example programs work correctly when you run them in 32-bit mode.

Once you obtain and install a 64-bit Access driver, complete the following steps to ensure that the SQL examples that use samples.mdb work correctly.
  1. In the Control Panel, select Administrative Tools»Data Sources (ODBC).
  2. Select the System DSN tab and click the Add button to launch a dialog box that lists drivers.
  3. Select the driver you installed and click Finish to launch a dialog box in which you can select a data source name and database.
  4. Enter CVI SQL Samples as the Data Source Name and select the example database located at \Users\Public\Documents\National Instruments\CVI\samples\sql\samples.mdb.
  5. Click the OK button.

Automating the Installation of NI Products

You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.


If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.


For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:


How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8.x, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher.


Using NI Launcher

NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile in the Apps view. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.


Note  NI MAX does not appear as a desktop shortcut when installed on Microsoft Windows 8.x. You can launch NI MAX either from the Apps view or from within NI Launcher.


Pinning Frequently Used Applications

For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary:


Current ApplicationIcon LocationPin to Action
Windows 8.x DesktopDesktop TaskbarRight-click application and select Pin to Taskbar
Windows 8.x Desktop Start screenRight-click application and select Pin to Start
Windows 8.x Start screenDesktop TaskbarRight-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen

Finding All Programs

If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files from the Apps view. To get to the Apps view, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select All apps (Windows 8.0) or click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen (Windows 8.1).


For more information about NI support for Windows 8.x, visit ni.com/windows8.


NI LabWindows/CVI Drops Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 in 2015

National Instruments LabWindows/CVI will drop support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 as of July 1, 2015. Versions of LabWindows/CVI that ship after July 1, 2015 will not install or run on Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:


Product Info Code
LabVIEWlifecycle
LabWindows™/CVI™cvi_lifecycle
Measurement Studiomstudiolifecycle
TestStandtslcp
DIAdemddlcp
SignalExpressselcp
VeriStandnivslifecycle

Legal Information

Copyright


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End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices


You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:


  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights


If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.


IVI Foundation Copyright Notice


Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.


The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.


Trademarks


Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on National Instruments trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.


Patents


For patents covering the National Instruments products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.


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