Times change

[Wolfgang]

Hello NI,

I realized that I am using CVI for 20 years now… It was during my post-doc in October 1996 when I first encountered LabWindows (version 3) and since then I am using it both for data acquisition and evaluation. Given this long-term perspective I feel that

• although CVI2015 was termed stability release, it still leaves a long list of known issues waiting to be fixed – and I hope that next year's release will not only add some long-awaited features but also fix another 50 to 100 bugs
• although I was very enthusiastic when CVI Idea Exchange was introduced, it seems to have died soon thereafter; the last visible attention from NI dates back to February 2014... Since almost three years no more ideas have been considered or reviewed, and a total of zero ideas is in development. It's a pity!

I am well aware that CVI is one of the smaller products of NI, but because I would like to use CVI for another 20 years I am expressing my hope that CVI and its support can be further improved...

[RobertoBozzolo]

My first deployed application in CVI is dated march 1997: considering it was a very new tool for me, t seems we started at the very same time using it! 

I second all of your post, both the enthusiastic and the disapponting part.

Come on NI: give your users some feedback!

[vix]

I started in 2004 (coming from LabVIEW ) but it's 12 years ago.

I agree with you Wolfgang.

In the last few years it seems that NI moved its focus far from CVI, unfortunately.

Honestly speaking, in 2016 using a plain-C language to develop desktop application is a little bit uncommon (the trend of its usage is self explanatory, I think), but I think that NI should invest a lot of resources into CVI; otherwise, sadly to said, I think it will be used for legacy projects only

[gdargaud]

I discovered CVI at Kodak in... 1992. As a student there, I had to run overviews of various control/command systems for the replacement of their aging systems. They already had DOS versions of CVI, but the new graphic ones won hands down over the competition. But I did not develop with it.

Then in 1994 I started rewriting with CVI an acoustic system I'd been working on the previous year. It turned to more than 30000 lines of code and it is still in use to this day, having gone through various upgrades both hardware and software, but still on LabWindows.

[ebalci]

Well, thank you for making me feel young again! 

I started CVI at 1999, one year before my graduation as an engineer candidate working half-time for my current employer. I started with CVI 5.0.

I still remember my fascination when I discovered how easily I could accomplish some otherwise impossible looking tasks like a FileSelectPopup. I remember saying "I can write my own Windows with this!" 

My first project was a missile sub-assembly test software, a very challenging task for a newbie. But I had long enough time before delivery, so I could learn and develop in parallel.

I remember checking the NI website in excitement for upgrades, which seemed to occur quite frequently. And I think I became the first certified developer in Turkey.

My first contact with LabView was frustrating. I had to discover a large code and kind of reverse-engineer it. I was completely lost in blocks and wires going from everywhere to everywhere. I almost hated the tool as much as I loved CVI. I respect what NI has accomplished with it but still it gives me the creeps everytime I have to play with it. I say "I have to" because I try not to use it unless something is forcing me to do so

So I am double-disappointed by NI's choice of its flagship product.

I agree it is odd to have a still active, pure C-based tool for Windows development, but it is also too much to carry with you a whole new .NET know-how, when almost all we need is actually in CVI in a very well-designed and consistent way.

I still love it and I have not seen a single intern who did not share my fascination when they learn about it during their summer practice. So I think it still is a good idea.

[gdargaud]

I don't see what's wrong with a pure C development tool, and neither does Linus T.

[RobertoBozzolo]

The fact is that as OS evolves accessing system resources from CVI becomes more difficult for lack of informations and examples while not missing libraries (this on Windows, the situation on Linux may be different but I have no experience on that)

[Wolfgang]

to also add one more thought: since CVI now is built on clang (praise to NI for this move) which also supports C++ I would have suggested to NI to merge Measurement Studio with CVI - the new LabWindows then would support both worlds in one. Efforts for improving editor, debug capabilities,... would be for both customer groups at the same time.

[Layosh]

I also started with version 3 about the same time. I was looking for C IDE and went through a bunch of options but when found CVI I just fell in love with it. It took 30 minutes after institute allation to write my first (short) program,  we resonated... 

I share your hope that it will be around for the next 20 years!

[richferrara]

I started at my current job developing radar test software in January 1997.  I've been using CVI since version 4.  Most of the test equipment projects I've worked on have used it, but there was one radar application that used a non-CVI GUI on a Linux system.  Every window, pop-up menu, numeric control, pull-down ring, and every other element had to be created and manipulated entirely within the code.  It made me appreciate CVI a lot more.

My first and only experience with LabView was for my freshman project in college in 1994.  It was interesting, but as a software person, I much prefer CVI.