Building a DSC Module Application (DSC Module)

Use the following guidelines to develop and build an application with the LabVIEW Datalogging and Supervisory Control (DSC) Module.

Developing a DSC Module Application

Use the following guidelines to develop a DSC Module application.

1. Plan the application requirements, including requirements for channel count, hardware or other I/O sources, data logging, security, and performance.

   Note  Do not skip step 1. This step impacts decisions at every stage of development, including setting up servers, configuring shared variables, and setting up network clients and servers.

2. Physically establish a connection to the hardware. Connect, configure, test, and troubleshoot the hardware.
3. Configure I/O servers to communicate with the hardware. Use the NI Distributed System Manager to verify connections to the hardware. You must deploy the LabVIEW project libraries in the application before using the System Manager to verify and troubleshoot the connections. In LabVIEW, select Tools»Distributed System Manager to launch the System Manager.
4. Use the Batch Variable Creation dialog box, available by right-clicking a LabVIEW project library in the Project Explorer window and selecting Create Variables from the shortcut menu, to create many shared variables in one batch. You also can use the Create Bound Variables dialog box, available by right-clicking a project library in the Project Explorer window and selecting Create Bound Variables from the shortcut menu, to bind the shared variables you create to I/O server data items. Repeat step 3 to verify that the shared variables communicate with the I/O source.
5. Add additional shared variables and configure data logging and alarming as necessary for your application.
6. Build the Human Machine Interface (HMI) portion of the application.
7. Use the LabVIEW and DSC Module VIs and functions to add additional functionality to the HMI application.
8. Test, deploy, and document the application. Use the System Manager to troubleshoot the application if you find problems while testing.

Building an Executable Application

Use LabVIEW Application Builder to build an application. Right-click Build Specifications in the Project Explorer window and select New»Application (EXE) from the shortcut menu to display the Application Properties dialog box.

Note  The LabVIEW Professional Development System includes the Application Builder. If you use the LabVIEW Base Package or Full Development System, you can purchase the Application Builder separately by visiting the National Instruments Web site.

Include all VIs you want to use in the built application, as well as external data files, as source files to create an executable. On the Source Files page of the Application Properties dialog box, you can specify files to include with the application. For a DSC Module application, you usually include the following files:

• Project libraries (.lvlib)
• Hardware configuration files, such as MAX configuration data
• Server software for all servers the application depends on for data

When you build an application that includes custom I/O servers, place a checkmark in the Deploy libraries for shared variables when application starts checkbox on the Shared Variable Deployment page. Then, the LabVIEW Application Builder detects and copies all dependent custom I/O servers to the LVDSC folder inside the same directory as the build.

You also can add all dependent custom I/O servers to the build by adding the project libraries of the custom I/O servers to the Always Included list on the Source Files page. Do not modify or remove any files in the LVDSC folder. If you add the project libraries to the Always Included list without placing a checkmark in the Deploy libraries for shared variables when application starts checkbox, you must deploy these project libraries programmatically by using the Deploy Libraries VI.

If the application you want to build uses VI Server properties and methods to modify a project library or shared variables within a project library, place a checkmark in the Enable Enhanced DSC Run-Time support checkbox on the Advanced page of the Application Properties dialog box.

You can build an installer to install the built application on a target computer later. Right-click Build Specifications in the Project Explorer window and select New»Installer from the shortcut menu to build an installer for the application.

Note  The DSC Module does not support building DLLs with the Application Builder.