labview-binding: A C++ repository from PhilLAL

About the LabVIEW binding for Tango

This is the LabVIEW client and server API for Tango. It runs on Linux and Windows and supports both the x86 and x64 version of LabVIEW.

Documentation

The provided 'quick start guide' explains how to implement a Tango device server in LabVIEW. See ../doc/quick-start-guide/Writing a Tango Device Server in LabVIEW.pdf

Binary Distributions

The releases page might contain a binary package that could fit your needs - particularly on Windows. Please, have a look to the available packages before trying to recompile the source code.

Compiling the binding

In its implementation, the LabVIEW binding implementation relies on a shared library written in C++ and a few hundreds of LabVIEW VIs. Both the C++ and the VIs library must be built in order to be able to use the Tango binding.

How to build the C++ library on Windows using Microsoft Visual C++

software requirements
- Microsoft Visual C++ >= 2013 (a.k.a msvc12)
- LabVIEW x86 and/or x64 >= 2014
clone the github repository in a directory of your choice (here we use c:\github)

cd c:\github 
git clone git@github.com:tango-controls/labview-binding.git

download (or provide your own) Tango software chain (i.e. headers & libraries of Tango and its dependencies) The releases page might contain a binary package that could fit your needs. Download tango-for-windows.tar.gz and expand it under c:\github\labview-binding\runtime. Using your own Tango runtime requires c:\github\labview-binding\windows\msvcxx\compil-env-setup.bat to be adapted. See next section.
edit the compil-env-setup.bat file

{edit} c:\github\labview-binding\windows\msvcxx\compil-env-setup.bat

set BINDING_PATH to the labview-binding clone location

set BINDING_PATH=c:\github\labview-binding

set LV_ROOT32 and/or LV_ROOT64 according to your local LabVIEW installation(s)

set LV_ROOT32=C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2015
set LV_ROOT64=C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2014

save the compil-env-setup.bat file then open the Visual C++ project

{double-click-on} c:\github\labview-binding\windows\msvcxx\run-me-to-compile.bat

select the configuration you want to compile then build the solution

{select one of the following combination} [release or debug] / [win32 or x64]
{build}

the compilation will hopefully succeed

{safely ignore} warning LNK4088: image being generated due to /FORCE option; image may not run
{check for presence of} c:\github\labview-binding\vis\tango_binding.dll

you can optionally edit the provided LabVIEW launcher and modify the PATH env. variable

{edit} c:\github\labview-binding\launcher\windows\start-labview.bat

set PATH=c:\github\labview-binding\vis;%PATH%
set PATH=c:\github\labview-binding\runtime\windows\lib\vc12_dll;%PATH%
set PATH=c:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2014;%PATH%

{save then double-click on} c:\github\labview-binding\launcher\windows\start-labview.bat

in case you want to use your own Tango runtime, just edit the compil-env-setup.bat, modify the paths then rebuild the solution

How to build the C++ library on Linux using gcc

The main constraint we have is to compile the binding with a gcc version producing a shared library which is binary compatible with the LabVIEW version we plan to use. It means we have to identify the proper gcc version to use before trying to compile the code. Fortunately, the NI website contains a page providing this critical information. The following links could also be useful:

NB: the provided runtime for linux has been compiled with gcc-4.3 for LabVIEW 2013 & 2014.

Here is the compialtion process...

clone the github repository in a directory of your choice (here we use $HOME/github)

cd $HOME/github
git clone git@github.com:tango-controls/labview-binding.git

download (or provide your own) Tango software chain (i.e. headers & libraries of Tango and its dependencies) The releases page might contain a binary package that could fit your needs. Download tango-for-linux.tar.gz and expand it under c:\github\labview-binding\runtime. Using your own Tango runtime requires $HOME/github/labview-binding/src/Makefile to be adapted. This file is also the place where the gcc version to be used is specified.
compile the binding

cd $HOME/github/labview-binding/src
make

the compilation will hopefully succeed

{check for presence of} $HOME/github/labview-binding/vis/tango_binding.so

you can optionally edit the provided LabVIEW launcher and modify the LVB_PATH variable

{make the launcher executable} chmod 755 $HOME/github/labview-binding/launcher/linux/start-labview.sh

{edit} $HOME/github/labview-binding/launcher/linux/start-labview.sh

{set LVB_PATH} LVB_PATH=$HOME/github/labview-binding/runtime/linux/lib/x86/tango-9.2.2-gcc-4.3

{save then execute} $HOME/github/labview-binding/launcher/linux/start-labview.sh

How to build the C++ library on Linux using cmake

This is the top priority task of the todo list. Stay tuned.

How to build the VIs library

In case you want - or need - to rebuild the tango llb, all you need to do is to open visrc/build_library.lvproj then build Flattened LLB located under Build Specifications. The resulting library should be located into vis/tango_vi.llb.

Links

Tango Controls web page

PhilLAL/labview-binding