How to - The SAS Workshops Blog (Page 3)

Git Basics

I am working on some new training material on git. I thought I would use a series of blog posts to kind explore some ideas and help clarify my thinking. Learning git can be difficult. I want this material to be approachable to beginners, yet still detailed enough that they

Frameworks , How to

Managing Dependencies with DQMH Messages

In one of his talks, Uncle Bob describes Software Engineering as the art of managing dependencies. This is something that a lot of new programmers have difficulty with. I often run into code written by beginners (and some not-so-beginnners) that has lots of circular dependencies. I also see a lot

How to , Software tools , Unit Testing

Caraya Review

Caraya is a popular Unit Testing solution from JKI. Compared to JKI VI Tester, Caraya seems to be newer and better supported. In fact while conducting this review I found a small bug. I reported it and it was fixed within 24 hours. The Caraya paradigm is different from the

How to , Software tools , Unit Testing

Insta Coverage

I first heard about InstaCoverage at NI Week 2018. I was part of a panel discussing Unit Testing. Peter Bokor gave a brief presentation right before the panel started on a new unit testing tool IncQuiry Labs had created called InstaCoverage. He really emphasized the code coverage calculation. This is

How to , Software tools , Unit Testing

AST Unit Tester Review

I recently did a review of JKI VI Tester. While it is my goto unit testing tool, there are several issues with it: * You have to be an admin to install it. * It adds a ton of dependencies to your project. * If you have a project that has tests in

How to , Software tools , Unit Testing

Using JKI VI Tester

If you have been following my posts, you will know that I am a big fan of JKI VITester. It is my goto Unit Tester. Why? Mostly because it is an implementation of xUnitStyle testing, which means that I can easily use all of the great patterns outlined in xUnit

How to

Using Maps As A Better Way To Pass Command Line Arguments

So for those who don’t know, LabVIEW 2019 incorporates some new datatypes: Sets and maps. Piotr Kruczkowsk has been posting a bunch of possible use cases on Twitter. You can see them here. Peter has inspired me to come up with one of my own. The problem with CLI

How to

Update VMs on SSDs

This post is an update to my previous posts on using Virtual Machines (VMs). Here are some links to those articles: * Using Virtual Machines Part 1 * Using Virtual Machines Part 2 In part 2 I included a section on where to store VMs. I mentioned that I was using a

How to , Software tools , Resources

Using Virtual Machines Part 2

This is second of a 2 part series on using Virtual Machines for LabVIEW development. You can check out part 1 here. Part 1 discusses why we use virtual machines. This article will discuss a little more of the how. I’m not going to give away all my secrets,

How to , Resources , Software tools

Using Virtual Machines Part 1

My friend Peter Davis recently asked if I could do a blog post how we use virtual machines (VMs) for LabVIEW development. Before I go into too much detail, I do want to say that I learned a lot of what I know about VMs from John Giannangeli of Bolder

Book Reviews , How to , SCC

Gitting Started With Git

What do you use for source code control? While I was asking everyone I met at NI Week about what frameworks they were using, I also started asking about source code control as well. Almost everyone I talked to universally said they were using some kind of source code control.

Frameworks , How to , Coding Philosophy

Simple DQMH Do's and Don'ts

Today’s post consists of some simple do’s and don’ts in order to get the most out of using the DQMH. The DQMH is a great tool, but like any tool, if you misuse it, you can create a mess. In a previous post, I mentioned Developer Dan

Software tools , How to

Finding LabVIEW Version of a File

Since I do consulting, I often end up inheriting code. Often I get called in because someone had hired a LabVIEW developer to write some code for them and then the LabVIEW developer had disappeared, either retired or moved, or got another job or something similar. Luckily they usually leave

How to

Graphics Design for LabVIEW: Tips and Tricks

Graphic design should be important to anyone who designs and sells software. The look and appearance of your final product makes an impact on what your users think of your software. You want it to look professional. Unfortunately, especially if you are an engineer turned LabVIEW programmer like me, you

How to , Software tools

Creating CHM Help Files

Help Files If you are not creating help files for your applications, you should seriously consider it. How many times have you written an application and then one of the users comes to ask you how to do perform some task in the software? When I was writing software for

How to , Software tools

Alternative to LabVIEW's Installer Builder

Most people who develop software in LabVIEW are familiar with the installer build process from within LabVIEW. If you haven’t built an installer from within LabVIEW, it is similar to building an executable. The first step is to build your executable. Next you right click on Build Specifications in

How to

Easy VPN

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. Why would you need one? Well, let’s backtrack to my previous post. My previous post was about how to setup a development server. It works great when I connect to it over my home LAN. Your home LAN, or local area network consists

How to , Linux , Software tools

Development Server Setup

Software Developers often use a development server which runs version control and bug tracking software. Version control systems, such as Subversion, keep copies of each iteration of the source code. This allows developers to roll back changes if need be to fix bugs or broken code. Bug tracking software, such