Application builder no longer generally available

[SvingenTech]

Application builder is no longer generally available as a stand alone product.

The Application Builder has been a stand alone product for as long as I can remember. It could be used with all versions of LabVIEW. The license was a one time thing. It wasn't very cheap, but lasted forever. 

From 2022 Q3 this is no longer the case. From 2022 Q3 the only way to get the Application Builder is with LabVIEW Professional Development system. This can be found here :

"You can also purchase Application Builder separately as an add-on to use with LabVIEW Full or Base until the 2021 SP1 version. 
Please note that moving forward from LabVIEW 2022 Q3 you can only purchase LabVIEW Application Builder via LabVIEW Professional Development System."

No reason is given for this change. I have no use for the professional system. The Base + a few toolkits and the Application builder have served me perfectly over 10+ years. This is the start of the end for my relationship with LabVIEW over several decades. It's been a nice journey, but C/C++ and Python is definitely the future now, since I'm literally stuck with LabVIEW 2021 SP1, which is not even officially supported in Windows 11.

Just thought I should mention it. National Instruments has given me no warning that my valid license would essentially stop working from 2022 Q3 and onward. I found out this the hard way when upgrading to 2022 Q3.

[MaSta]

You know, the higher the position in a company, the worse the decisions. Those people usually only seek to make money, as if this is everything that counts. What the particular reason in this case ever may be, we will either never know or not understand.

The good thing is, you don't need the newest version. In Windows 10, even LabVIEW 7 still works and starts nicely quick, not like what came after, so the last version of LabVIEW you can use with your app builder can serve you for many years to come, unless switching to Python is already decided. In our company we also use C# with .NET, but LV is far better to quickly build user interfaces for our own test software. Python and C# are good for consumer end products.  

[Mike_in_Dallas]

I believe this decision will cause many developers to abandon Labview. 

[billko]

Honestly I can see a few reasons to do this, and none of them are customer-oriented.

[Gregory]

Just FYI, it looks like the original linked knowledge base article has been updated, with no version caveat now. A 1-year subscription to the App Builder costs $824.

[t.n14]

That the AppBuilder is (was) only availible in the most expensive packet was my decision to tell my boss we should stay with LV2021.

[altenbach]

Is there really a significant price difference between (pro) and (full+builder)?

[Mike_in_Dallas]

Good point but I only need base for what I'm doing.  I guess for developers who do this all day every day it might not matter much.

[JÞB]

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@altenbach wrote:

Is there really a significant price difference between (pro) and (full+builder)?

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That really depends on the company use case.  Assume a VLA with Full licenses for every Noob, CLAD and Jr. CLD and a Pro seat shared among your Lead Developers to pack up the deliverables and, the license saving adds up quickly. 

[Mike_in_Dallas]

I understand.  I guess that's the target audience. One person supporting internal devices and systems is probably considered trivial.