LabVIEW (and other NI software products) Roadmap

[Yndigegn]

Hi

I highly applaud the new driver support concept.

However, I would like to understand the compatibility table. It says, with most modules removed from the list :

Driver and Toolkit Addon Support

See the table below for compatibility information. The driver version shown in the table is the first driver version to include Addon support for the indicated LabVIEW version. LabVIEW compatibility information can also be found in individual driver and toolkit readmes.

All drivers in the table below are expected to be available with Addon support. Support will be incrementally released through 2022 and 2023.

Driver/Toolkit	LabVIEW 2022 Q3 Addon Support	LabVIEW 2023 Q1 Addon Support
LabVIEW Electrical Power Toolkit	Not available	2023 Q3
LabVIEW Sound and Vibration Toolkit	2023 Q3	2023 Q3

What triggers me is the statement Not available.

The concept is to my understanding that a future driver or toolkit ( update ), like the Power Toolkit, should be compatible/useable for all Addon compatible LabVIEW versions, which is 2022 Q3 or newer.

As the Addon concept in my understanding should imply to not install anything in a specific LabVIEW version then installing the Power Toolkit should work in all versions of LabVIEW supporting the Addon concept. 

The Sound and Vibration Toolkit 2023 Q3 does.

But the Electrical Power Toolkit 2023 Q3 apparently does not. But it supports the new concept ( the readme says it does ).

So why is there the entry Not available ?

Did the old 'some years back compatibility' silently sneak in after all. That the Power Toolkit is not compatible with LV 2022 Q3 after all, but only with some newer version as indicated?

Is it a question of getting paid for the update ?

What I thought I liked about the new concept was that you could stay on a certain LabVIEW version, like 2022 Q3, and then just update drivers to support any new future hardware. But maybe that was just a dream of mine.  

Please enlighten me.

Regards

[rolfk]

Not available means you need to install the according driver version that is compatible with your LabVIEW version and installs into the according LabVIEW folder, rather than the version Independent Addons folder.

And there is likely some backwards support but the VIs are versioned and can’t be opened in any version earlier than what they were saved for. I would expect that NI will update the VIs regularly to support a certain amount of older LabVIEW versions but not whatever you want. Likely similar to before that a driver can be loaded by the equivalent LabVIEW version to the driver version and likely three prior versions.

[Yndigegn]

Hi Rolf

Interpreting Not available as you do means that the Addon concept does have some version checking option. That the concept is not just relying on a Addon supporting LabVIEW version, but also can check some configuration file to determine, I like the version or not.

My objective is simply to understand, why does the mentioned two toolkits differ in Addon support for LabVIEW 2022 Q3. They should be 'equal'.

NI states that a Addon driver version can be used with all future LabVIEW versions. When supported.

But NI has not stated that an Addon supporting LabVIEW version can be updated with all future Addon supported drivers. And they seems not to be able to do so. 

Regards  

[KaylaA]

Hi Yndigegn, I hope to clear this up.

LabVIEW 2022 Q3 was the first version of LabVIEW that was Addon compatible, however, not every driver and toolkit is Addon compatible with LabVIEW 2022 Q3. When we release an Addon compatible driver or toolkit, it has a minimum LabVIEW version that it supports for Addon compatibility. Some drivers and toolkits have a minimum LV version of 2022 Q3, but others, like the Electrical Power Toolkit, needed to have a minimum version of 2023 Q1. (In this case due to a LV FPGA dependency that also shipped in 2023 Q1.)

LabVIEW 2023 Q1 is the first version of LabVIEW where nearly all* intended drivers and toolkits are Addon compatible. (*exclusive of VDM as mentioned above).
The column for LabVIEW 2022 Q3 is not expected to change further, and was published to document which drivers were Addon compatible with that LabVIEW version.

[Yndigegn]

Hi Kayla

Thanks for the further clarifications. And thanks for the original table listing overview.

"The column for LabVIEW 2022 Q3 is not expected to change further, and was published to document which drivers were Addon compatible with that LabVIEW version."

Regards 

[python007]

Hello to all

Is there a Roadmap for 2024?

[cordm]

There was a talk at NI Connect about LV 2024 that also contains a roadmap: https://www.ni.com/content/dam/web/pdfs/niconnect/2024/products-and-tech/Whats_New_In_LabVIEW.pdf

Locking the VI version seems like a good way to get people onto the subscription wagon so they can fall back to their perpetual licenses if need be.

[nottilie]

I still cant't belive that .NET core support is realy coming. Let us cross fingers

[Konan__]

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@nottilie  ha scritto:

I still cant't belive that .NET core support is realy coming. Let us cross fingers

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It's marketing fuss, because Teststand is deep ActiveX/COM based, an obsolete technology

[crossrulz]

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@Konan__ wrote:

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@nottilie  ha scritto:

I still cant't belive that .NET core support is realy coming. Let us cross fingers

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It's marketing fuss, because Teststand is deep ActiveX/COM based, an obsolete technology

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I can't speak to TestStand, but .NET core is coming to LabVIEW.  I don't remember the implementation and roll-out details, but this is one of those topics that come up often in the LabVIEW Champions meetings with NI.