Course Software Version 2010 November 2010 Edition Part Number 325617A-01

Object-Oriented Design and Programming in LabVIEW Exercises

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Contents
Student Guide
A. B. C. D. E. F. NI Certification .....................................................................................................v Course Description ...............................................................................................vi What You Need to Get Started .............................................................................vi Installing the Course Software..............................................................................vii Course Goals.........................................................................................................vii Course Conventions ..............................................................................................viii

Lesson 2 Designing an Object-Oriented Application

Exercise 2-1 Exercise 2-2

Identify Classes and Methods...........................................................2-1 Identify Class Relationships .............................................................2-8

Exercise 3-1 Exercise 3-2 Exercise 3-3 Exercise 3-4 Exercise 3-5

Lesson 4 Object-Oriented Tools and Design Patterns

Exercise 4-1 Exercise 4-2

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Exercise 5-1
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Lesson 5 Reviewing an Object-Oriented Application

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Lesson 3 Object-Oriented Programming in LabVIEW

Creating a LabVIEW Class ..............................................................3-1 Encapsulating Methods within a Class.............................................3-4 Inheriting Methods from a Parent Class...........................................3-7 Using Dynamic Dispatch Methods...................................................3-13 LabVIEW Tools for OOP.................................................................3-19

Channeling Pattern ...........................................................................4-1 Factory Pattern..................................................................................4-7

Building an Executable with Plug-In Classes ..................................5-1

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Exercise 4-1
Goal

Use the channeling pattern to guarantee the execution of pre-processing and post-processing steps in your application algorithm.

Scenario

Design

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4-1

Create the top-level methods for Application.lvclass and Sound Demo.lvclass. The main VI for the project will exist in Sound Demo.lvclass. The overall application algorithm will be defined by Application.lvclass.

The top-level public method of Application should be named Run.vi. It should guarantee execution of the following steps, in order: 1. SetupThis method does nothing for the abstract Application class. Child classes should override this method with any work needed to set up the main body of the execution. This includes requesting resources that will be needed for the entire duration of the execution and reading any configuration files. Child classes are not required to override Setup because there are plenty of applications that can jump straight into their main execution logic. 2. ExecuteThis method does nothing for the abstract Application class. This VI MUST be overridden by child classes. Children should place their main execution logic in this method. This method should only be called if Setup does not return any errors. 3. ShutdownThis method does nothing for the abstract Application class. Child classes should override this method with any work needed to quit the application. This includes releasing any resources acquired during Setup and writing any configuration files if options changed during the run of the application. This method will only be called if no error was returned from Setup and it will be called even if Execute returns an error.

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Channeling Pattern

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4. Handle ErrorThis method is called downstream of the other methods so it can detect any error that originated in Setup, Execute, or Shutdown. It does not see any errors that were passed into Run. In other words, it only detects errors generated by this application. Child classes may override this VI to do error logging, throw error dialogs, or other appropriate actions when their application has an unclean exit. Handle Error does not have any way to restart the application. It is for error management, only. The top-level method of Sound Demo.lvclass, Main.vi, should call into Application.lvclass:Run.vi, using a Sound Demo class constant to determine which implementation of Setup, Execute, and Shutdown should be called. This is the main VI of the project and is the starting point for demonstrating sound players.

Implementation

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4-2

Implement Application.lvclass:Run.vi

1. Open Sound Player Demo.lvproj, if it is not already open.

2. Create the Run method to define the execution algorithm for Application and its children. Right-click Application.lvclass and select NewVI from Static Dispatch Template. Save the VI as Run.vi in <Exercises>\...\Sound Player Demo Project\Application.

3. Build the block diagram shown in Figure 4-1, using methods from Application.lvclass.

Figure 4-1. Application.lvclass:Run.vi Block Diagram

Notes Do not pass the error wire into Setup, Execute, or Shutdown because you have already guaranteed with the Error/No Error Case Structures that these method will never execute when an upstream error has occurred. By placing these structures in Run.vi, we

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have removed the need for each dispatch version of Setup, Execute and Shutdown to replicate the implementation of Error/No Error Case structures. The error wire from Execute.vi is wired to the top terminal of the Merge Errors function to give it priority over errors generated by Shutdown.vi. The error wire is not wired from Execute.vi to Shutdown.vi. This is intentional, because you want to be sure that any resources allocated in Setup.vi are closed in Shutdown.vi, regardless of whether or not Execute.vi generated an error.

4. Resize the front panel to remove unnecessary empty space, as shown in Figure 4-2.

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6. Document the purpose of this method. Select FileVI Properties.
4-3

Figure 4-2. Applciation.lvclass:Run.vi Front Panel

5. Modify the icon and connector pane as shown in Figure 4-3.

Figure 4-3. Application.lvclass:Run.vi Icon and Connector Pane

In the VI Properties dialog box, select Documentation from the Category list. In the VI Description text box, describe the purpose of this method. For example: This VI contains the main architecture
for all Applications. It uses the channeling pattern to ensure that each implementation will follow the same basic steps: Setup, Execute, Shutdown, Handle Error.

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Click OK to close the VI Properties dialog box. Save and close Run.vi.

Implement Sound Demo.lvclass:Main.vi

1. Create the main VI for the Sound Player Demo project. This VI uses the algorithm defined by Application.lvclass:Run.vi.

Save the VI as Main.vi in <Exercises>\...\Sound Player Demo Project\Sound Demo. 2. Create the block diagram of Main.vi as shown in Figure 4-4.

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Execute, and Shutdown to dynamically dispatch to.
4-4

Figure 4-4. Sound Demo.lvclass:Main.vi Block Diagram

Note The Sound Demo.lvclass constant is passed into Application.lvclass:Run.vi to determine which implementations of Setup,

3. Modify the front panel of Main.vi as shown in Figure 4-5.

Figure 4-5. Sound Demo.lvclass:Main.vi Front Panel

4. Modify the icon and connector pane of Main.vi as shown in Figure 4-6.

Figure 4-6. Sound Demo.lvclass:Main.vi Icon and Connector Pane

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Right-click Sound Demo.lvclass and select NewVI.

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5. Document the purpose of this method. Select FileVI Properties. In the VI Properties dialog box, select Documentation from the Category list. In the VI Description text box, describe the purpose of this method. For example: This is the top-level VI that starts the Sound Player Demo application. Click OK to close the VI Properties dialog box. 6. Save and close the VI.

Test

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4-5

At this point, you will test Sound Demo.lvclass:Main.vi. The application currently has most of the functionality. The only feature that remains is the ability to play sounds on either the Sound Visualizer or the Sound Card. Currently, Sound Demo.lvclass:Setup.vi always plays sounds on the Sound Visualizer. You implement the ability to select either player in Exercise 4-2. For now, verify that the application plays sounds on the Sound Visualizer. 1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to <Exercises>\...\Sound Player Demo Project\Sound Demo Support Files.

2. Select sample.wav, Sound XML File Creator.vi, and sounds.xml. Drag these three files into the Sound Demo Support Files virtual folder in Sound Player Demo.lvproj.

3. Open Sound XML File Creator.vi. Explore the block diagram to understand the functionality that has been implemented.

4. Run Sound XML File Creator.vi. This VI creates an XML file containing Sound data that will be read by Sound Demo.lvclass:Execute.vi and used to create the waveforms that are played. 5. After running Sound XML File Creator.vi, open and run Sound Demo.lvclass:Main.vi. After configuring the visualizer, you should see a series of waveforms play on the Visualizer.

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6. Click OK in the Sound Demo dialog box. 7. Save and Close all VIs. 8. In the project window, select FileSave All to save the project and the class modifications that have been made.

End of Exercise 4-1

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Exercise 4-2
Goal

Factory Pattern
Implement the factory pattern to place the appropriate child class data onto a parent class wire to execute the appropriate dynamic dispatch method.

Scenario

The factory pattern is easily extended by adding additional child classes to the parent type.

Design

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Implementation
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This implementation will occur in two stages:

Sound Demo.lvclass:Setup.vi currently uses a Sound Visualizer.lvclass constant to always play sounds on the Sound

Visualizer. We want to modify this code so that the user can specify either the Sound Card or the Sound Visualizer to play the sounds.

1. Replace the Sound Visualizer.lvclass constant with an enumerated control wired to a case structure that will pass either a Sound Card.lvclass constant or a Sound Visualizer.lvclass constant, depending on the enumerated value selected. This will allow the demo to play sounds using either the Sound Card or the Sound Visualizer. 2. Replace the Sound Visualizer.lvclass and Sound Card.lvclass constants with code to dynamically load the appropriate child of Sound Player.lvclass based on the enumerated value selected. When this code is built into an executable, this will allow the Sound Player Demo to execute without having to load both classes and all of their methods into memory every time the code executes.

Implement the Factory Pattern

1. Open Sound Player Demo.lvproj if it is not already open.

2. Open Sound Demo.lvclass:Setup.vi.

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Modify Sound Demo.lvclass:Setup.vi so that it dynamically dispatches to the appropriate implementation of Initialize With Dialog.vi based on the type of Sound Player selected by the user.

Object-Oriented Design and Programming in LabVIEW Exercises

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3. Modify the front panel of Setup.vi as shown in Figure 4-7.

Select sound playerThis is a ring control with two values: Sound Card and Sound Visualizer. Configure this control as a Strict Type Definition and save it as Select Sound Player.ctl in <Exercises>\...\Sound Player Demo Project\Sound Demo.

Add Select Sound Player.ctl to Sound Demo.lvclass.

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5. Save and close Setup.vi.
4-8

4. Modify the Case Structure following the While Loop as shown in Figure 4-8 so that the structure will pass a different child of Sound Player.lvclass based on the sound player selected by the user.

Figure 4-8. Sound Demo.lvclass:Setup.vi Block DiagramSelect Sound Player Case Structure

Modify the 0, Default case of the inner Case structure so that it passes Sound Card.lvclass in the same way that the 1 case shown in Figure 4-8 passes Sound Visualizer.lvclass.

6. Open and run Sound Demo.lvclass:Main.vi to verify that you are able to select either the visualizer or the system sound card to play the sounds. Verify that both players work.

Note If sound drivers are not installed on your system, attempting to use the Sound card results in an error.

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Figure 4-7. Sound Demo.lvclass:Setup.vi Front Panel

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Implement Dynamic Loading of Classes in the Factory Pattern

1. Create a new method named Load Sound Player.vi for Sound Demo.lvclass. Right-click Sound Demo.lvclass and select NewVI. Save the VI as Load Sound Player.vi in
<Exercises>\...\Sound Player Demo Project\Sound Demo.

2. Modify the block diagram of as shown in Figure 4-9 so that it dynamically loads the appropriate class from disk based on which type of player the user selects.

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Note
4-9

Figure 4-9. Sound Demo.lvclass:Load Sound Player.vi Block Diagram

This VI builds the path to the class files using the string values of the Select sound player: ring control. This removes the need for case structures and enables you to make a single change to the ring control to expand functionality to a new Sound Player. 3. Modify the front panel of Load Sound Player.vi as shown in Figure 4-10.

Figure 4-10. Sound Demo.lvclass:Load Sound Player.vi Front Panel

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4. Modify the icon and connector pane of Load Sound Player.vi as shown in Figure 4-11.

Figure 4-11. Sound Demo.lvclass:Load Sound Player.vi Icon and Connector Pane

5. Document the purpose of this method. Select FileVI Properties.

In the VI Properties dialog, select Documentation from the Category list.

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Click OK in the VI Properties dialog box. 6. Save and close Load Sound Player.vi.
4-10

In the VI Description text box, describe the purpose of this method. For example: Dynamically load either Sound Visualizer or Sound Card.lvclass based on user input.

7. Open Sound Demo.lvclass:Setup.vi and modify the Case structure that loads the Sound Player as shown in Figure 4-12.

Figure 4-12. Sound Demo.lvclass:Setup.vi Block DiagramDynamically Loading Classes

8. Verify that classes are now dynamically loaded into memory. Remove Sound Visualizer.lvclass and Sound Card.lvclass from the project. This is done so that we can build an executable that will only load the child of Sound Player into memory that is actually used.

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9. In the project window, select FileSave All to save the project and all of the class modifications that have been made. Expand Dependencies in the project window. Notice that Sound Card.lvclass and Sound Visualizer.lvclass are listed as Items in Memory. Close and reopen Sound Player Demo.lvproj. Expand Dependencies in the project window. Notice that Sound Card.lvclass and Sound Visualizer.lvclass are no longer listed. Open and run Sound Demo.lvclass:Main.vi and select Sound Card as the sound player. When the VI finishes, expand Dependencies and notice that only Sound Card.lvclass is listed under Items in Memory.

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National Instruments Corporation 4-11 Object-Oriented Design and Programming in LabVIEW Exercises

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Note Note

Sound Card.lvclass was loaded in memory when it was called.

Run Sound Demo.lvclass:Main.vi again, and select Sound Visualizer as the sound player.

When the VI finishes, expand Dependencies and notice that Sound Visualizer.lvclass is now also listed under Items in Memory.

You can dynamically load VIs, but you cannot dynamically unload them.

End of Exercise 4-2

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Notes

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