Executing TestStand code within LabVIEW GUI

[knowledge_is_power]

Hello, I'm looking to create a LabVIEW GUI which maintains a connection and status to an external device.

I'm really familiar with TestStand and it's various ways of manipulating API's, and I already have a sequence with multiple subsequences which i call from main test sequences to manipulate this external device.

I'm fairly inexperienced with LabVIEW, aside from the basics; but I do have access to LabVIEW code which makes calls to TesStand sequences.

I guess I'm just wondering from LabVIEW architects if it's acceptable to use LabVIEW in this manner to call TestStand seq code instead of the other way around. The only reason I'm looking to do this is because another team maintains and updates the sequence which i'm looking to make calls to. So by doing it this way my LabVIEW GUI is effectively being updated anytime my other team makes a change to the gut sequence.

[MarcoMauri]

I'm not a Labview architect, but I would avoid calling Test Stand from a Labview application, if not needed,

i.e. if you are not performing a sequence test.

You say you want to "create a LabVIEW GUI which maintains a connection and status to an external device".

In my opinin this is purely a "Labview task", and should be coded this way.

What if you need this application on a different PC: are you going to buy a Test Stand runtime license?

Are you going to launch Test Stand (taking more than a few seconds and some resources) just to execute a couple of configuration step?

Of course I don't know your special case, so these are just general toughts....

Marco

[knowledge_is_power]

This is actually company related and is only used on test benches which contain both labVIEW and TestStand, so the issue of wanting to run on a bench which does not contain teststand will not be an issue...

[GovBob]

Your question is a bit confusing. How do you normally run your TestStand Sequences? Through the TestStand editor or do you use a Operator Interface? There are examples of LabVIEW Operator Interfaces in TestStand.

[Mark_Yedinak]

Yes, this is possible and as mentioned above you would lokk to the examples of the operator interfaces to see how this is done. A word of caution though regarding the operator interface examples. They have not been pdated in a LONG time and do contain some examples of poor programing practices (Sequence frames, local/global variables, etc.).

Our automated test system has a very complex and feature rich operator interface that controls our test execution and sequences which are executed using TestStand. What you describe is a fairly typcial way of building and distributing operator interfaces.

[knowledge_is_power]

Would you happen to have an example of LabVIEW VI calling TestStand Seq to execute this that isn't so outdatted?

[Mark_Yedinak]

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@knowledge_is_power wrote:

Would you happen to have an example of LabVIEW VI calling TestStand Seq to execute this that isn't so outdatted?

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Nothing that can be posted. Not to mention our GUI is comprised of over 1000 VIs. It would be tough to whittle it down to something small. The shipping examples do show what you need to do.

[GovBob]

Here is a pretty good overview webcast of using and editing a LabVIEW operator interface if you haven't seen it already.