Upgrade and Compatibility Issues
Refer to the readme.html file in the labview directory for information about known issues in the new version of LabVIEW, additional compatibility issues, and information about late-addition features in LabVIEW 2009. You also can refer to the Developer Zone on ni.com for general information about upgrading to the latest version of LabVIEW.
Upgrading from LabVIEW 8.6
You might encounter the following compatibility issues when you upgrade to LabVIEW 2009 from LabVIEW 8.6.
System Requirements
(Windows) LabVIEW 2009 requires at least 1.6 GB of disk space for the LabVIEW installation.
(Mac OS) LabVIEW 2009 requires at least 563 MB of disk space for the minimum LabVIEW installation or 1.2 GB of disk space for the complete LabVIEW installation.
(Linux) LabVIEW 2009 requires at least 630 MB of disk space for the minimum LabVIEW installation or 835 MB of disk space for the complete LabVIEW installation.
VI and Function Behavior Changes
The behavior of the following VIs and functions changed in LabVIEW 2009.
Bluetooth VIs and Functions
You must have Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later installed to use the Bluetooth VIs and functions.
Signal Generation VIs
The following VIs on the Signal Generation palette are rewritten in LabVIEW 2009. To use the new functionality, replace these VIs with VIs of the same name from the Functions palette.
- Bernoulli Noise
- Binary MLS
- Binomial Noise
- Gamma Noise
- Gaussian White Noise
- Poisson Noise
- Uniform White Noise
Miscellaneous VI and Function Behavior Changes
LabVIEW 2009 includes the following miscellaneous VI and function behavior changes:
- If you wire a value that has a unit with an odd exponent to the square root function, the wire breaks because LabVIEW does not support units with fractional exponents.
- The Bessel Coefficients VI is rewritten to implement cutoff frequencies more correctly. As a result, the Bessel Coefficients VI and any calling VIs might run more slowly than in previous versions of LabVIEW.
- LabVIEW deploys Web services to version-specific directories For example, a typical root location for deployed Web services in LabVIEW 2009 is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\National Instruments\Web Services 2009 32-bit. You must redeploy any Web services created in a previous version of LabVIEW to use the Web services in LabVIEW 2009. To delete a Web service deployed by a previous version of LabVIEW, you must manually remove it from the deployed location.
- The Integral x(t) VI is rewritten in LabVIEW 2009. To use the new functionality, replace this VI with the Integral x(t) VI from the Functions palette.
Deprecated VIs and Functions
LabVIEW 2009 does not support the following VIs and functions:
- LToCStr—Use the LToCStrN function instead. The LToCStrN function differs from the LToCStr function because it takes a parameter specifying the size of the C string buffer to which LabVIEW copies the string. These function are Code Interface Node (CIN) functions.
- Sound VIs (Mac OS)—Use the Sound VIs instead. LabVIEW 2009 supports the same API for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
Deprecated Properties, Methods, and Events
LabVIEW 2009 does not support the following properties, methods, and events:
- Bus Name property of the DigitalGraph class. Use the Plot Name property instead.
- Callees' Names property of the VI class. Use the Get VI Dependencies (Names and Paths) method instead. The Get VI Dependencies (Names and Paths) method provides the same functionality as the Callees' Names property when you use the default values for all input parameters.
- Callees property of the VI Properties (ActiveX) class.
Renamed Properties, Methods, and Events
- In LabVIEW 2009, the XML Parser classes do not include XML in their names. For example, XML_Attributes becomes Attributes.
- The following properties, methods, and events are renamed in LabVIEW 2009.
| Class | LabVIEW 8.6 Name | LabVIEW 2009 Name | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document | Do Namespaces | Process Namespaces | Property |
| Document | Do Schema | Process Schema | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:BadStatus:AckType | Alarming:BadStatus:Ack Type | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:BadStatus:AllowLog | Alarming:BadStatus:Allow Log | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:Boolean:AckType | Alarming:Boolean:Ack Type | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:Boolean:AlarmOn | Alarming:Boolean:Alarm On | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:Boolean:AllowLog | Alarming:Boolean:Allow Log | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:Hi:AckType | Alarming:Hi:Ack Type | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:Hi:AllowLog | Alarming:Hi:Allow Log | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:HiHi:AckType | Alarming:HiHi:Ack Type | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:HiHi:AllowLog | Alarming:HiHi:Allow Log | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:Lo:AckType | Alarming:Lo:Ack Type | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:Lo:AllowLog | Alarming:Lo:Allow Log | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:LoLo:AckType | Alarming:LoLo:Ack Type | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:LoLo:AllowLog | Alarming:LoLo:Allow Log | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:RateOfChange:AckType | Alarming:RateOfChange:Ack Type | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:RateOfChange:AllowLog | Alarming:RateOfChange:Allow Log | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:U32BitField:AckType | Alarming:U32BitField:Ack Type | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:U32BitField:AlarmOn | Alarming:U32BitField:Alarm On | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:U32BitField:AllowLog | Alarming:U32BitField:Allow Log | Property |
| Variable | Alarming:U32BitField:SelectMask | Alarming:U32BitField:Select Mask | Property |
| Variable | Logging:LogData | Logging:Log Data | Property |
| Variable | Logging:LogEvents | Logging:Log Events | Property |
| Variable | Logging:TimeResolution | Logging:Time Resolution | Property |
| Variable | Logging:ValueResolution | Logging:Value Resolution | Property |
| Variable | Network:AccessType | Network:Access Type | Property |
| Variable | Network:BuffSize | Network:Buffer Size | Property |
| Variable | Network:ElemSize | Network:Element Size | Property |
| Variable | Network:PointsPerWaveform | Network:Points Per Waveform | Property |
| Variable | Network:ProjectBinding | Network:Project Binding | Property |
| Variable | Network:ProjectPath | Network:Project Path | Property |
| Variable | Network:UseBinding | Network:Use Binding | Property |
| Variable | Network:UseBuffering | Network:Use Buffering | Property |
| Variable | Real-Time:ArrayLength | Real-Time:Array Length | Property |
| Variable | Real-Time:BufferLength | Real-Time:Buffer Length | Property |
| Variable | Real-Time:DatapointsInWaveform | Real-Time:Datapoints In Waveform | Property |
| Variable | Real-Time:UseBuffering | Real-Time:Use Buffering | Property |
| Variable | Scaling:EngineeringMax | Scaling:Engineering Max | Property |
| Variable | Scaling:EngineeringMin | Scaling:Engineering Min | Property |
| Variable | Scaling:InvertMask | Scaling:Invert Mask | Property |
| Variable | Scaling:RawMax | Scaling:Raw Max | Property |
| Variable | Scaling:RawMin | Scaling:Raw Min | Property |
| Variable | Scaling:SelectMask | Scaling:Select Mask | Property |
Application Builder Changes
In LabVIEW 8.6, the Application Builder saves VIs and library files in a flat list within the application and saves VIs with conflicting filenames outside the application in separate folders. In LabVIEW 2009, the Application Builder stores source files within the application using a layout similar to the directory structure of the source files on disk. This internal file layout preserves source file hierarchy inside the application.
If you call VIs dynamically, use relative paths to ensure the application loads the VIs correctly at run time.
Case Structure Output Tunnel Changes
LabVIEW 2009 determines the data type from a Case structure output tunnel by using a data type that can handle all cases in the structure, including cases that never execute. For example, consider a Case structure with two cases, TRUE and FALSE. In the TRUE case, a U8 data type is wired to an output tunnel. In the FALSE case, a U32 data type is wired to the output tunnel. In LabVIEW 8.6.x, if you wire a constant to select the TRUE case, the data type from the output tunnel is U8 because the constant prevents the FALSE case from executing. In LabVIEW 2009, if you wire a constant to select the TRUE case, the data type from the output tunnel is U32.
This change in behavior might cause VIs created in LabVIEW 8.6.x to break in LabVIEW 2009 if the output data type is a fixed-point number or fixed-sized array.
Custom Icon Editor VI Changes
In previous versions of LabVIEW, when LabVIEW calls a VI that is a custom icon editor, LabVIEW automatically opens the front panel of the VI. In LabVIEW 2009, you must configure a VI that is a custom icon editor to open its own front panel on call. For simple VIs that do not need to rearrange their front panels before they open, use the Execution:Show Front Panel on Call property. For more complex VIs that need to rearrange their front panels before they open, use the Front Panel:Open method.
Custom Probes Changes (Linux)
Custom probes you save in LabVIEW 8.6 or earlier do not open in LabVIEW 2009. You must manually copy the custom probes from the LabVIEW Data directory of the previous version of LabVIEW into the LabVIEW Data directory of LabVIEW 2009. You can find the LabVIEW Data directory for LabVIEW 2009 at /home/<username>/LabVIEW Data.
LabVIEW MathScript Changes
LabVIEW MathScript is no longer a part of the Full and Professional Development Systems. In LabVIEW 2009, LabVIEW MathScript becomes the LabVIEW MathScript RT Module. You cannot run VIs from previous versions of LabVIEW that contain MathScript Nodes until you install and activate the MathScript RT Module or remove the MathScript Nodes from the VIs. If you have already purchased the MathScript RT Module, select Help»Activate LabVIEW Components to activate the product.
.NET Changes
Creating and communicating with .NET objects requires the .NET Framework 2.0 or later.