What are the main differences between Signal Express and Labview?

[Norbert_B]

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@Gabi1 wrote:
[...] Maybe Ni ought to make some free LV version for everybody to try out?[...]

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At least in germany, there has been a "free" version (6.1) included at on a DVD of a well-known computermagazin called c't. I marked "free" since i think you have to buy the magazin containing the DVD. This version is a major part of a series of articles in c't about pc-based measurement systems.
You can find infos on the LabVIEW-version here. If you like infos on the whole series about LV, you want to look there.
Both links contain german pages....


Norbert

Message Edited by Norbert B on 09-03-2007 03:12 AM

[hrh1818]

On Sep 3, 3:10 am, Gabi1 <x...@no.email> wrote:
> what a beautifull discussion! it seems we definitely need to spread the truth out there. Maybe Ni ought to make some free LV version for everybody to try out?
> About the subject: arent you looking for excuses not to do rather than just do? if you feel more confortable with C/C++, and need OO for this project, well, signal-express is not for you to begin with, and Labview will only induce you frustration, being so alienated against it already.
> anyhow: for an specific task, i have never (ever) seen a C/C++/Fortran programmer doing the job as&nbsp;fast as done in Labview. with just that in mind, LV is already worth consideration.&nbsp;Message Edited by Gabi1 on 09-03-2007 09:50 AM


The original reply I received " LabVIEW is a full featured programming
language that lets you write any kind of program you like." was not
very informative. I was looking for more specific information about
how Signal Express compares with Labview. Now it seems this thread has
gotten off course with most repliers more interested in defending
Labview as a full featured programming language than comparing Signal
Express with Labview. Hence I propose we call a truce. You are
entitled to your opinions and I will look for a more productive method
for comparing Signal Express with Labview.

Howard

[K_Bull]

Hi Howard,

In reference to your question about difference between Signal Express and LabVIEW, there is a KB which outlines it in a comparision table. Hopefully it helps you in making your decisions. Please do ask more questions if you have any.

Best Regards,

[altenbach]

Kabul: Your link seems to be broken for us. Could you check it?

Maybe you meant: http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/25A18738FF4EE1C88625730900694E03?

[altenbach]

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@hrh1818 wrote:
The original reply I received " LabVIEW is a full featured programming
language that lets you write any kind of program you like." was not
very informative. I was looking for more specific information about
how Signal Express compares with Labview.

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Thanks for clarifying your question. In a nutshell, that one sentence answer was a good start IMHO. We are not clairvoyant to sense what kind of depth you want in the answer, and we sometimes don't have time to write a tome, covering all conceivable aspects. 😄

So, instead of nitpicking on the answer, questioning its basic validity, the right thing to do would be to ask a more specific question. We still have no idea what you are trying to do. If you would tell us, we could certainly help you decide on the product.

As a start, you can look a the price difference between Signal Express and LabVIEW. It is significant! So, what can you do with LabVIEW that you cannot do with signal express?

Here's a quick list of some examples what LabVIEW can do that signal express cannot:

Calculate all 35660 decimal digits of 10000! (factorial) in under 100ms from scratch (probably much faster on a modern computer):
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5299

Model the solar system in 3D:
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5292

Write a program that fully analyzes 4x4 tic tac toe (sorry for the misspellings on the front panel ;)):
http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=170&message.id=247044#M247044

The list goes on and on...

There are many more examples from the fields of Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Finance, Entertainment, Biology, Computer science, Astronomy, etc, etc. It would really help to narrow down the answers if you could just tell us your fields of interest. Since you are not telling us what your main interest is (areospace, automotive, geology, ...), we can only guess or keep the answer generic. Maybe you can find an application in the case studies (http://sine.ni.com/cs/app/main) that matches your needs. 🙂

And here is a list of things that LabVIEW cannot do:

{this part intentionally left blank} 

😄

[Gabi1]

Altenbach i am very keen to see the Model of the Solar System vi itself. you know where i could DL it?

[altenbach]

For a mini version, open your example browser and look for "solarsystem.vi" (it will show in the list if you seach for "3D". For some reason, it does not show up if you e.g. search for "solar" or similar). 🙂

(You should also be aware that the original challenge was done in an early version of the LabVIEW 3D picture control which is somewhat different to the 3D picture control that is native to newer version of LabVIEW.)

Message Edited by altenbach on 09-03-2007 12:25 PM

[MogaRaghu]

This thread is interesting. And for the kind of intial path it was taking, I thought very soon the moderators have to step in. But as always, the people who make up this forum have an excellent sense of self moderation and a very accomodative view point -  One of the Great Attributes of this forum.

Coming back to the topic : LV has somehow created an impression ( atleast in my city which is on the southern part of India ) that it is a language specifically aimed at the instrumentation, control and Data acquistion systems or related applications  Maybe one of the reasons for this is the very strong presence of NI in the hardware segment and thier marketing of both LV and the hardware as complementing each other. And another reason (as per me ) is the statements like "National Instruments - Test And Measurement " and  LabVIEW being featured under the Product Platforms on thier website.  In short the projected association with hardware is so strong that one tends to think of LV only when it comes to controlling them !!

For instance if there were a requirement to develop a simple windows based application for a Hotel management software, maybe the thing that comes to mind is VB or FoxPro with a link to some database and accounting package at the back end. Frankly I would not have thought of LV for the job

Maybe its a mindset and I would dare say that it is already changing atleast for me after being in this forum for sometime. When I read so many of the questions that are not really related to hardware I ask myself - so whats wrong with LV as a programming language for Windows applications ? I should say that LV really measures up. And the fact that it is capable of making full use of the modern processor capabilities is something that cannot be brushed aside.

Raghunathan

[K_Bull]

Hi altenbach,

I am not sure why the link did not work, but yeah the link you provided was the link I posted!

Thanks,

[tst]

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@Raghunathan wrote:

When I read so many of the questions that are not really related to hardware I ask myself - so whats wrong with LV as a programming language for Windows applications ?

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I can think of two good answers to that question:

1. Some applications would be very hard or practically impossible to do in LV. Examples - Flash like animation, low level memory handling, games with fast graphics, other programs with dynamic interfaces. That's OK. Not every tool is suited for everything.
2. LabVIEW is very expensive. When you can download very good IDEs for free, ~$4,000 for LV Pro isn't that great a deal, especially if you've never heard of LV before. Sure, if your company already owns LV and you know it, you can use it for a great many applications which are not at all related to interacting with hardware (I know I do), but no one in their right mind would buy it just to use it as such.

NI does not attempt to push LV as a G.P. language. They probably make most of their money from hardware, and I don't think they have any interest in trying to compete head to head in a market which isn't their natural market. Instead, it seems to me that they're taking a rather clever approach, but one which requires a lot of patience - they're introducing LV and graphical programming in the educational system and through toys (Lego Mindstorms) - this allows them to get the next generation of programmers to already be familiar with their stuff.

Kabul, from looking at the URL, you probably linked to an article which is only availble to NI personnel.