DAQmx Version for LV 8.2.1. and 2010?

[peabody_bass]

I have a system using LV 8.2.1 and am interested in upgrading to LV 2010.  I'd like to have both development platforms available during the transition.  But looking at the DAQmx readme files, it appears that the first DAQmx version (9.2.2) that supports LV 2010 also removes support for LV 8.2.1.  Is this correct?  Are the ways around this problem?  Thanks.

-Joe

[smercurio_fc]

Well, I might have been able to confirm that, but the geniuses who run NI's web site who apparently can't fix all the KB articles that have links to ae.natinst.com have, instead, decided to take down the page that provided the nice table of DAQmx compatibility vs LabVIEW versions, and a search for DAQmx compatibility with LabVIEW no longer turns up a result specific to DAQmx. Instead, we get NI-DAQ (i.e., Traditional DAQ). Yay, team.

[KristenC]

When we added support for LabVIEW 2010 in DAQmx 9.1.5 we dropped support for LabVIEW 8.2.1, so, there is not a version of DAQmx that includes support for both.  

See our life cycle policy which explains how long we plan to support different LabVIEW versions.

[NIquist]

OK, it's great that we now know one thing that won't work.  What about every other combination???

The chart that smercurio mentioned is CRITICAL information.  I just wasted a half day last week downloading and trying three different DAQmx versions and still ended up having to use old  hardware to make everything work together.  I now have to send a USB-6351 to a co-worker at a customer site.  The code is written in LV8.2 but it's a built executable.  Can I send him DAQmx 9.2 and have this work?  I have LV8.5.1 on my machine here, will that work with DAQmx 9.2???

Please provide a table showing LabVIEW and DAQmx version compatibility.  Perspiring minds want to know!!!

[ErnieH]

That is a huge problem with LabVIEW and long term support. If you have a version of software on your machine, loading a newer version should not make the older copy unusable. You should not have to upgrade all your applications to be able to provide support. You should be able to load any version at any time without interfering with any installed version on the PC. Not only does it create a headache for the programmer, but everywhere they have installed the software.

[NIquist]

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@ErnieH wrote:

That is a huge problem with LabVIEW and long term support. If you have a version of software on your machine, loading a newer version should not make the older copy unusable. You should not have to upgrade all your applications to be able to provide support. You should be able to load any version at any time without interfering with any installed version on the PC. Not only does it create a headache for the programmer, but everywhere they have installed the software.

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In all fairness this is an issue with hardware interfacing through DAQmx, not with LabVIEW.  As long as you're careful about not saving to a newer version (which LV will NOT warn you about!), LabVIEW versions can co-exist peacefully as can the run-time engines (*cough* 7.1.1 *cough*).  It just seems to me that if you're going to have a package of DAQmx drivers that rings in at over 1 GigaByte in size you should have better backwards compatibility.  For the time being here, the TC01s and X-series modules are nothing but toys to play with in LV2010, we can't really use them since so much of our code is still 8.2.1 (and tenaciously defies all attempts at upgrading it).

BTW, Seth from NI has promised to look into the missing chart and reinstate it:    http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Does-NI-DAQmx-9-2-2-for-USB-6251-work-for-labview-8-2/td-p/1311585

[ErnieH]

Basically, if you have the old version on your machine and load lv 2010, it will overwrite the old drivers and the end result is your older version of LabVIEW is not functional if you use daqmx. I do see this as a problem. They are the ones who want a yearly release. This releases that we pay for should not create more work for their customers. Loading a new version on my machine should not affect my old versions at all, drivers or otherwise.

[KristenC]

NIquist, the USB-TC01 was added in DAQmx 9.1 which still had support for LabVIEW 8.2.1.  

You are right about X-series though, DAQmx 9.2 was the first version include support for X-series and  DAQmx 9.2 does not include support for LabVIEW 8.2.1, but it does still have support for LabVIEW 8.5.1 if you are able to use that instead.

ErnieH, if you only install LabVIEW 2010 it will not overwrite the old drivers, you can install different LabVIEW versions side by side.  However, you can't have DAQmx versions installed side by side so when you install a new version it will overwrite the old version.  In DAQmx when we add support for a new version of LabVIEW we drop support for the oldest version that had been supported.  So when we added support for LabVIEW 2010 in DAQmx 9.1.5, we dropped support for LabVIEW 8.2.1. The readme (here's the 9.2.2 readme) for each version of DAQmx lists what versions of LabVIEW it supports. 

[NIquist]

Thanks Kristen,

The reason we need the chart that Seth promised is so we know what will work without spending 2 hours downloading and installing HUGE files.  Even if you have all the versions (which I now do, sorry IT guys! ), it's takes about a half hour to install a new version.  That chart will prevent all the needless and time-consuming trial and errror. 

On the bright side, I sent my old USB-6251 to my co-worker and snagged his shiny new 6351 for myself since I have LV2010 on my PC.

[smercurio_fc]

Actually, the readmes are provided as separate download links so you can see them directly. However, the point still exists as I originally mentioned. Why did the chart disappear? As noted, the KB article with the chart exists internally. It cannot be seen (or even found via a search) from the outside world. The chart is eminently far more useful than forcing people to have to look at every readme until they find the one that says that it supports such and such a version of LabVIEW.