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PDA Module User Manual

1. As a result of this design you generally cannot create a VI for a desktop computer and expect it to run on a PDA device without modification The following operating system and file system limitations can affect the way you design a PDA VI on both Palm OS and Pocket PC 2002 VIs on a desktop computer can go through various states such as idle running and reserved during which LabVIEW allocates memory for the VI On PDA devices a VI is either running or not running When a PDA VI is not running the PDA operating system does not allocate memory for the PDA VI except for uninitialized shift registers PDA devices allocate all the needed memory when a PDA VI runs or is called from another PDA VI The PDA operating system frees memory when the PDA VI stops or returns However the PDA operating system allocates uninitialized shift registers the first time it encounters them and frees them only when the PDA VI stops Therefore PDA devices reset controls to their default value each time you run or call a PDA VI but they do not reset uninitialized shift registers PDA VIs use a just in time approach to memory allocation and free memory as soon as the memory is no longer used As a result memory usage can depend on the run time behavior and therefore can be difficult to predict The advantage to just in time memory allocation is that PDA VIs do not allocate unneeded memory 5 2 ni com Chapter 5 Programming Techniques PDA VIs ignore
2. The tools installed with the PDA Module include PDA emulators Emulators are tools you can use during development to quickly run and test PDA VIs without having to download the PDA VI to the PDA device The PDA emulator you use depends on the PDA platform you have installed Refer to the LabVIEW Help available by selecting Help VI Function amp How To Help and clicking the PDA Module book in the Contents tab and the documentation included with the emulator for more information about the emulator you use PDA Module User Manual 1 2 ni com Building PDA VIs This chapter describes how to create applications that run on PDA devices including compiling the VI to an executable file or PDA VI and downloading it to the PDA device Selecting the Execution Target When you launch LabVIEW after installing the LabVIEW PDA Module LabVIEW contains an extra option for you to define the execution target as shown in the following figure lx LabVIEW File Edit Tools Help NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS Configure 9 LabVIEW LabVIEW for Windows There are three different types of execution targets LabVIEW for Windows PDA devices and PDA emulators The type of device or emulator is Palm OS or Pocket PC 2002 depending on the PDA Module platform you installed If you installed the PDA Module for Palm OS and National Instruments Corporation 2 1 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 2 Building PDA VIs the PDA Module for Po
3. Note You must install DatalogMgr prc on the Palm OS device to transfer files to and from the host computer The LabVIEW Conduit uses the DatalogMgr to detect the presence of LabVIEW files on the PDA For information about installing the DatalogMgr prc file refer to the LabVIEW PDA Module Release Notes Pocket PC 2002 File 1 0 Using ActiveSync On Pocket PC 2002 you use ActiveSync to transfer files between the host computer and the Pocket PC 2002 device When you connect the Pocket PC 2002 device to the host computer all files in the Mobile Device directory on the host computer are copied to the Pocket PC 2002 device Any files on the PDA device are automatically copied to their designated directory when you connect the Pocket PC 2002 device to the host computer Serial 1 0 You can use a serial connection to transfer data between the PDA and the host computer just as you use the serial I O VIs to transfer data between a computer and an instrument or between two computers National Instruments Corporation 2 5 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 2 Building PDA Vis Infrared Wireless TCP PDA Module User Manual Use the NI Example Finder available in LabVIEW by selecting Help Find Examples to find an example that uses serial I O to communicate with a host VI You can use the IrDA functions to transfer data between the PDA and the host computer or another PDA device Use the NI Example Finder available in LabVIEW by selecting
4. all options on the File VI Properties dialog box with the following exceptions On the Execution page PDA VIs ignore all priority settings except subroutine PDA VIs set to run in the subroutine priority are executed serially On the Execution page you can place a checkmark in the Reentrant execution checkbox to create reentrant PDA VIs On the Execution page you can place a checkmark in the Allow debugging checkbox to enable debugging on PDA devices Onthe Windows Appearance page you can click the Customize button and place a checkmark in the Show front panel when called checkbox in the Customize Window Appearance dialog box Palm OS Considerations The following considerations can affect the way you design a PDA VI for Palm OS devices and emulators National Instruments Corporation Palm OS is not multithreaded and has limited memory for programs Palm OS does not use a traditional file system Instead it stores data in memory chunks called records that are grouped into databases On Palm OS all files are implemented as databases and can have a maximum of 64 K records in them and each record can be a maximum of 64 K in size Each VI that constitutes a PDA VI on Palm OS cannot be larger than 64 K because of the way applications are linked together in Palm OS However a top level PDA VI can contain several subVIs whose total file size is greater than 64 K The size of a VI saved on the hard disk o
5. from which you built the PDA VI Most basic LabVIEW functions are supported However the underlying behavior particularly with respect to memory usage is completely different Refer to the Application Design and Performance Considerations section for information about memory usage You can use the host computer to remotely debug a PDA device placed in its cradle Refer to Chapter 3 Debugging PDA VIs for information about debugging techniques Unsupported Block Diagram Objects The following block diagram objects are unavailable on PDA devices Waveform data types and all related VIs and functions Palm OS Data acquisition and instrument I O features Pocket PC 2002 Emulator TCP Open Connection and UDP Open functions Probes with pictures or paths Application Design and Performance Considerations This section describes some techniques for designing PDA VIs based on the restrictions and limitations stated earlier in this chapter Good Application Design All PDA devices run on battery power which is a limited resource Users typically run PDA applications for short intervals and then expect the device to switch to low power mode until the next time they need it Most PDA devices are designed to run for eight hours but that time is usually in small increments spread over a period of a month To conserve battery resources include a Wait For Front Panel Activity function or an Event structure in a PDA VI In the follow
6. on courses at locations around the world e System Integration lIf you have time constraints limited in house technical resources or other project challenges NI Alliance Program members can help To learn more call your local NI office or visit ni com alliance If you searched ni com and could not find the answers you need contact your local office or NI corporate headquarters Phone numbers for our worldwide offices are listed at the front of this manual You also can visit the Worldwide Offices section of ni com niglobal to access the branch office Web sites which provide up to date contact information support phone numbers email addresses and current events National Instruments Corporation A 1 PDA Module User Manual
7. running on the PDA device and the host VI iyi Note You must use a serial cradle or serial cable to debug a PDA VI on a PDA device You cannot use a USB connection While debugging the front panel on the PDA VI is fully functional However the front panel controls on the host VI have no effect on the PDA VI nor do the indicators reflect the execution of the PDA VI When you debug a PDA VI you can use all the debugging tools except Execution Highlighting on the block diagram of the host VI You also can insert probes and breakpoints as you do in any other VI Refer to the LabVIEW Help available by selecting Help VI Function amp How To Help and selecting the PDA Module book in the Contents tab for more information about debugging PDA VIs National Instruments Corporation 3 1 PDA Module User Manual Building Wireless PDA Applications This chapter describes how you can create services on remote servers and use wireless TCP communication on a PDA device to access the services You must have a TCP capable PDA device to use TCP communication If you have a PDA device that does not have built in TCP networking you might be able to purchase a wireless TCP accessory for the PDA device Refer to the documentation for the PDA device to determine if you can use TCP networking to build wireless applications TCP and UDP Support The LabVIEW PDA Module supports all LabVIEW TCP functions Also you can use the Call By
8. the LabVIEW Help e Documentation for the PDA device you use PDA Module User Manual viii ni com Introduction The LabVIEW PDA Module is an add on to LabVIEW that allows you to build applications that run on PDA Personal Digital Assistant devices The PDA Module extends the capabilities of LabVIEW to allow you to build VIs on a host computer and then compile and run the VI on a Palm OS or Pocket PC 2002 device You develop your application using LabVIEW on the host computer You then build the VI for the PDA and download the resulting application or PDA VI to the PDA device to run the application PDA VIs PDA VIs are compiled versions of VIs you can run on a PDA device or emulator Each PDA VI has a corresponding host VI which is the VI on the host computer you used to build the PDA VI PDA VIs have a front panel but they do not have a block diagram that you can view on the PDA device On Palm OS PDA VIs are prc files On Pocket PC 2002 PDA VIs are exe files PDA Builder The PDA Builder is a LabVIEW utility you use to compile VIs into PDA VIs that you can run on Palm OS or Pocket PC 2002 devices and emulators You access the PDA Builder by selecting Tools Build for PDA which launches the Build PDA Application dialog box Refer to Chapter 2 Building PDA VIs for more information about the PDA Builder National Instruments Corporation 1 1 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 1 Introduction PDA Emulators
9. A device the PDA VI prompts them to enter or retrieve information from a service that the client 4 2 ni com Chapter 4 Building Wireless PDA Applications calls by reference on a server Refer to the LabVIEW Help available by selecting Help VI Function amp How To Help for information about the PDA Service Request Express VI Distributed Connection Applications Use distributed connection applications when you want to have flexible access to several services distributed over a network Distributed connection wireless applications consist of a PDA client remote servers that run service VIs and an arbitrator VI that facilitates connections between the services and the client The arbitrator VI can reside on a separate server or on one of the servers where a service resides The following figure shows a distributed connection PDA application Services Data Arbitrator Client Data 1 The client on the PDA device connects to the server using TCP 2 The arbitrator sends a UDP broadcast to the local subnet that contains services the PDA client wants to reference The arbitrator must request services on behalf of the PDA client because some PDA devices do not support UDP broadcasts National Instruments Corporation 4 3 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 4 Building Wireless PDA Applications 3 When the server that contains a service receives the UDP broadcast the server chec
10. ER DG EGER DERE UE SERE EDEN E IR a viii Chapter 1 Introduction PDA VIS iet ede ahs em A eaae te reped vurs 1 1 PDA Builder 4 eoo ne aaa a ceedanpauteten elt dele pelas 1 1 PDA Emulators ient WU RR HUN Au eet Reds 1 2 Chapter 2 Building PDA VIs Selecting the Execution Target nennen eere eene 2 1 LabVIEW fot Windows 2 etre Ie Ee n ie xe reet 2 2 Palm OS Devices idt ee ert ine ah encase eee baa 2 2 Palm OS Emul to e one rer eH rU ere eoe EAE ae eue Y 2 3 Pocket PC 2002 Devices sais ener bre t e tar PIRE eR ERE ERR nt 2 3 Pocket PG 2002 Emulation bebe e hie ted ameet 2 3 Building PDA VIS erae EC re qp OR HR RE ee dee 2 4 Transferring Data to and from a PDA Device esee 2 4 Palm OS File I O Using the LabVIEW Conduit eene 2 4 Transferring Files to the Host Computer ees 2 5 Transferring Files to the PDA Device see 2 5 Using DatalogMSt 5 rhet RE eee E ERRA 2 5 Pocket PC 2002 File I O Using ActiveSync seeeeeee 2 5 Serial Ohta yee RM 2 5 Infrated 2 o ere ee Pn e capa sh baat bens re petet ederet 2 6 Wireless TCP en dit eret ettet ete rtt esi eoe eei e ee ert eu e tapes 2 6 Chapter 3 Debugging PDA Vis Enabling Debugging for PDA VIs eseeseeeeseeeeeeeeeenee rennen ene enne 3 1 Debugging PDA MIS iet ette e m HE ERE E ERR ECHTE ER VERER 3 1 National Instruments Corporation V PDA Module User Manual Co
11. Help Find Examples to find an example that uses IrDA I O to communicate with a host VI If you use a PDA device that supports wireless TCP communication you can use the TCP functions and VIs to transfer data between the PDA device and the host computer or another PDA device Refer to Chapter 4 Building Wireless PDA Applications for information about creating wireless PDA applications Use the NI Example Finder available in LabVIEW by selecting Help Find Examples to find examples that use TCP to communicate with a host VI 2 6 ni com Debugging PDA VIs This chapter describes how to debug a PDA VI on a PDA device using its host VI Debugging PDA VIs is significantly different from debugging VIs on the host computer because PDA VIs do not have a block diagram You debug PDA VIs while they are connected to the host VIs from which they were built on the host computer Enabling Debugging for PDA VIs By default the LabVIEW PDA Module does not compile PDA VIs you can debug on the PDA device To enable debugging select Tools Build for PDA and click the Settings button In the Target Settings dialog box that appears place a checkmark in the Generate debug info checkbox in the Target Settings dialog box and build the PDA VI Debugging PDA VIs When you debug a PDA VI the PDA VI is connected to its host VI using a serial connection on the host computer You use the block diagram on the host computer as a conduit between the PDA VI
12. LabVIEW PDA Module User Manual Wy NATIONAL April 2003 Edition P INSTRUMENTS Part Number 370624A 01 Worldwide Technical Support and Product Information ni com National Instruments Corporate Headquarters 11500 North Mopac Expressway Austin Texas 78759 3504 USA Tel 512 683 0100 Worldwide Offices Australia 02 612 9672 8846 Austria 43 0 662 45 79 90 0 Belgium 32 0 2 757 00 20 Brazil 55 11 3262 3599 Canada Calgary 403 274 9391 Canada Montreal 514 288 5722 Canada Ottawa 613 233 5949 Canada Qu bec 514 694 8521 Canada Toronto 905 785 0085 Canada Vancouver 514 685 7530 China 86 21 6555 7838 Czech Republic 420 2 2423 5774 Denmark 45 45 76 26 00 Finland 385 0 9 725 725 11 France 33 0 1 48 14 24 24 Germany 49 0 89 741 31 30 Greece 30 2 10 42 96 427 India 91 80 51190000 Israel 972 0 3 6393737 Italy 39 02 413091 Japan 81 3 5472 2970 Korea 82 02 3451 3400 Malaysia 603 9131 0918 Mexico 001 800 010 0793 Netherlands 31 0 348 433 466 New Zealand 64 09 914 0488 Norway 47 0 32 27 73 00 Poland 48 0 22 3390 150 Portugal 351 210 311 210 Russia 7 095 238 7139 Singapore 65 6226 5886 Slovenia 386 3 425 4200 South Africa 27 0 11 805 8197 Spain 34 91 640 0085 Sweden 46 0 8 587 895 00 Switzerland 41 56 200 51 51 Taiwan 886 2 2528 7227 Thailand 662 992 7519 United Kingdom 44 0 1635 523545 For further support information refer to the Technical Support and Professional Services appendix To comment on the documentat
13. Pocket PC 2002 emulator when you click the Run button Ss Note PDA VIs built for a Pocket PC 2002 device do not run on Pocket PC 2002 emulators Building PDA Vls You develop PDA VIs on the host computer and build them for the PDA target by selecting Tools Build for PDA which launches the Build PDA Application dialog box N Note The Tools Build for PDA menu item is disabled when you have LabVIEW for Windows selected as the execution target The PDA Module compiles the block diagram code into an executable file or PDA VI you can run on the PDA target On Palm OS PDA VIs are prc files On Pocket PC 2002 PDA VIs are exe files You then download the PDA VI to the PDA device by selecting Operate Download Application You also can use the software provided with the PDA device to download a PDA VI to a PDA device as you do any other application for the PDA device Refer to the LabVIEW Help available by selecting Help VI Function amp How To Help and selecting the PDA Module book in the Contents tab for more information about building PDA VIs Transferring Data to and from a PDA Device You have several options when transferring data between a PDA device and the host computer Some methods require you to have a connection between the PDA and the computer and others are wireless Palm OS File 1 0 Using the LabVIEW Conduit PDA Module User Manual The LabVIEW Conduit is a part of the Palm HotSync utility that allows
14. Reference Node to call a VI remotely using a wireless PDA device To use the Call By Reference Node you must call the Open Application Reference function and enter TCP Ipaddress in the machine name parameter where Ipaddress is the IP address of the remote computer that is running the VIs you want to reference in memory iyi Note Palm OS Palm OS devices do not support the UDP Multicast Open function Palm OS supports all other UDP functions Clients Services and Arbitrators Wireless PDA applications consist of a client services and in some cases an arbitrator that facilitates communication between the client and the services The client is the PDA VI that monitors or controls remote services over the network Services are VIs or other applications that perform some task that the client accesses For example a service might be a VI that monitors temperature National Instruments Corporation 4 1 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 4 Building Wireless PDA Applications or tank level or a VI that controls a valve or fan You build services as you do any other VI The way you connect to these services depends on the type of wireless application you use You use an arbitrator in some wireless applications to facilitate communication between a client and the services on the subnet Types of Wireless Applications There are two main types of wireless PDA applications direct connection and distributed connection applica
15. UNCTIONS OR FAILURES OF ELECTRONIC MONITORING OR CONTROL DEVICES TRANSIENT FAILURES OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS HARDWARE AND OR SOFTWARE UNANTICIPATED USES OR MISUSES OR ERRORS ON THE PART OF THE USER OR APPLICATIONS DESIGNER ADVERSE FACTORS SUCH AS THESE ARE HEREAFTER COLLECTIVELY TERMED SYSTEM FAILURES ANY APPLICATION WHERE A SYSTEM FAILURE WOULD CREATE A RISK OF HARM TO PROPERTY OR PERSONS INCLUDING THE RISK OF BODILY INJURY AND DEATH SHOULD NOT BE RELIANT SOLELY UPON ONE FORM OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEM DUE TO THE RISK OF SYSTEM FAILURE TO AVOID DAMAGE INJURY OR DEATH THE USER OR APPLICATION DESIGNER MUST TAKE REASONABLY PRUDENT STEPS TO PROTECT AGAINST SYSTEM FAILURES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO BACK UP OR SHUT DOWN MECHANISMS BECAUSE EACH END USER SYSTEM IS CUSTOMIZED AND DIFFERS FROM NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS TESTING PLATFORMS AND BECAUSE A USER OR APPLICATION DESIGNER MAY USE NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER PRODUCTS IN A MANNER NOT EVALUATED OR CONTEMPLATED BY NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS THE USER OR APPLICATION DESIGNER IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR VERIFYING AND VALIDATING THE SUITABILITY OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS WHENEVER NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS ARE INCORPORATED IN A SYSTEM OR APPLICATION INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE APPROPRIATE DESIGN PROCESS AND SAFETY LEVEL OF SUCH SYSTEM OR APPLICATION Contents About This Manual CONVENTIONS E EE i vii Related Documentation rrt eene PIER I
16. Wizard created and wire the machine name parameter in the Service Response VI before you run it On the arbitrator you must run the Arbitrator Service Query VI which is located in the vi 1ib PDA directory The Arbitrator Service Query VI facilitates the communication between the client and the services When you build the client you include the PDA Service Query VI as a subVI The PDA Service Query VI located in the vi 1ib PDA directory connects to the Arbitrator Service Query VI to initiate the service request 4 4 ni com Programming Techniques This chapter describes limitations you might encounter while creating PDA VIs and ways to work around these limitations This chapter also describes techniques you can use to create effective PDA VIs Refer to the LabVIEW Help for additional information about front panel and block diagram features that are unsupported or behave differently on PDA execution tarets than they do on LabVIEW for Windows Palm OS and Pocket PC 2002 VI Templates Because PDA devices have smaller screens and a limited set of controls and indicators the LabVIEW PDA Module includes templates specifically designed for creating PDA VIs Select New PalmScreen or PocketPCScreen from the LabVIEW dialog box or select File New and select PalmScreen or PocketPCScreen to use these template VIs as the starting point for developing PDA VIs Palm OS The default fonts used in the PalmScreen template VI are 44 p
17. anel on the host computer works best The standard font on a Pocket PC 2002 device is 14 points so use a 28 point font on the front panel of PDA VIs you build for Pocket PC 2002 The PDA 2x palette view contains controls and indicators with large fonts and sizes you can use to create front panels that work well on the Pocket PC 2002 Due to the different application structure on PDA devices PDA VIs always start from one top level VI and end when that top level VI ends This is different from a typical LabVIEW application where you can start multiple top level VIs when the application starts and run them simultaneously Controls and Indicators To save memory most controls and indicators on the PDA 4x and PDA 2x palettes are based on the built in controls in Palm OS and Pocket PC 2002 The appearance of these built in controls makes it easy to create a standard user interface but the controls might not look the same as they do on the host computer e The following controls and indicators are built into Palm OS and Pocket PC 2002 Numeric Button Checkbox String and path Enumerated Ring Listbox Table Boolean controls have only the Latch When Released and Switch Until Released mechanical actions LabVIEW treats other mechanical actions as either Latch When Released or Switch Until Released National Instruments Corporation 5 5 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 5 Programming Techniques If the PDA device supports color t
18. ator Refer to the documentation for your emulator for information about installing the Mathlib prc file on the Palm OS emulator Pocket PC 2002 Device Choose a Pocket PC 2002 device from the Execution Target pull down menu to build VIs for a Pocket PC 2002 device The Execution Target pull down menu lists each Pocket PC 2002 device that is connected to the host computer as well as a generic Pocket PC 2002 Default Device option When you choose a Pocket PC 2002 device as the execution target LabVIEW uses the PDA 2x Controls and Functions palette view which contains the front panel and block diagram objects that are available for Pocket PC 2002 devices and emulators When a Pocket PC 2002 device is the execution target LabVIEW connects to the Pocket PC 2002 device when you click the Run button AA Note PDA VIs built for a Pocket PC 2002 device do not run on Pocket PC 2002 emulators Pocket PC 2002 Emulation Choose Pocket PC 2002 Emulation from the Execution Target pull down menu to build VIs for a Pocket PC 2002 emulator When you choose a Pocket PC 2002 emulator as the execution target LabVIEW uses the PDA 2x Controls and Functions palette view which contains the front panel and block diagram objects that are available for Pocket PC 2002 devices and emulators National Instruments Corporation 2 3 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 2 Building PDA VIs When Pocket PC 2002 Emulation is the execution target LabVIEW connects to the
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20. cation may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form electronic or mechanical including photocopying recording storing in an information retrieval system or translating in whole or in part without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation Trademarks LabVIEW National Instruments NI and ni com are trademarks of National Instruments Corporation Product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies Patents For patents covering National Instruments products refer to the appropriate location Help Patents in your software the patents txt file on your CD or ni com patents WARNING REGARDING USE OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS 1 NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS ARE NOT DESIGNED WITH COMPONENTS AND TESTING FOR A LEVEL OF RELIABILITY SUITABLE FOR USE IN OR IN CONNECTION WITH SURGICAL IMPLANTS OR AS CRITICAL COMPONENTS IN ANY LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS WHOSE FAILURE TO PERFORM CAN REASONABLY BE EXPECTED TO CAUSE SIGNIFICANT INJURY TO A HUMAN 2 IN ANY APPLICATION INCLUDING THE ABOVE RELIABILITY OF OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE PRODUCTS CAN BE IMPAIRED BY ADVERSE FACTORS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO FLUCTUATIONS IN ELECTRICAL POWER SUPPLY COMPUTER HARDWARE MALFUNCTIONS COMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE FITNESS FITNESS OF COMPILERS AND DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE USED TO DEVELOP AN APPLICATION INSTALLATION ERRORS SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY PROBLEMS MALF
21. cket PC 2002 LabVIEW lists separate execution targets for each platform for both PDA devices and emulators The execution target you select enables the LabVIEW functionality available for that execution target For example because Palm OS devices do not support some front panel and block diagram objects such as DAQ I O name controls and ActiveX functions the PalmOS Device execution target includes only the block diagram and front panel objects supported by Palm OS devices The execution target also determines where LabVIEW runs the VIs you build When you select LabVIEW for Windows as the execution target and click the Run button the VI runs on the host computer When you select a PDA device or emulator as the execution target and click the Run button LabVIEW runs the VI in debug mode and connects to the corresponding PDA VI on the selected execution target Refer to Chapter 3 Debugging PDA VIs for more information about debugging PDA VIs To switch execution targets select an execution target from the Execution Target pull down menu on the LabVIEW dialog box You also can set the execution target by selecting Operate Switch Execution Target The options in this dialog box change depending on your choice for the execution target You can switch execution targets at any time during development LabVIEW for Windows Palm OS Device PDA Module User Manual Choose LabVIEW for Windows from the Execution Target pull down menu to bui
22. d Application Design seen eee Performance Considerations essere Appendix A Technical Support and Professional Services PDA Module User Manual vi ni com About This Manual Conventions This manual contains introductory information about the LabVIEW PDA Module and describes how to use the PDA Module Refer to the LabVIEW PDA Module Release Notes for installation instructions getting started information and a tutorial that guides you through the basics of building running and debugging PDA VIs This manual assumes you are familiar with Microsoft Windows and basic LabVIEW concepts This manual also assumes you possess basic knowledge of Palm OS and or Pocket PC 2002 bold italic monospace monospace italic The following conventions appear in this manual The symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options to a final action The sequence File Page Setup Options directs you to pull down the File menu select the Page Setup item and select Options from the last dialog box This icon denotes a note which alerts you to important information This icon denotes a caution which advises you of precautions to take to avoid injury data loss or a system crash Bold text denotes items that you must select or click in the software such as menu items and dialog box options Bold text also denotes parameter names Italic text denotes variables emphasi
23. f the host computer is not an accurate indication of how large it will be when you compile it as a PDA VI When you build a PDA VI LabVIEW notifies you if the file size is too large If the VI you want to compile to a PDA Vlis too large break up the VI into smaller subVIs There is a total limit of 64 K on all front panel array data Applications are limited to about 160 K of heap or dynamic memory space for everything except code Some of this space is used by the application to maintain state so not all of it is available for data PDA VIs immediately terminate if they run out of memory 5 8 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 5 Programming Techniques Pocket PC 2002 Considerations The following considerations can affect the way you design a PDA VI for Pocket PC 2002 devices and emulators e PDA VIs are limited to about 32 MB of space for everything except code Some of this space is used by the application to maintain state so not all of it is available for data PDA VIs immediately terminate if they run out of memory Front Panel Design There are several differences between developing a front panel for a host VI and a PDA VI The following sections describe considerations for window appearance VI hierarchy and available controls and indicators Window Appearance Front panels and objects on the front panel behave and appear differently on PDA devices than on VIs on a desktop computer Consider the following issues when y
24. he PDA VI uses the nearest color match Only some PDA 4x and PDA 2x controls support color Most built in controls use the default system colors and you cannot change them You can place bitmaps on front panels of PDA VIs You also can use the 1 bit 4 bit and 8 bit pixmap functions in the picture control However LabVIEW does not scale bitmap images when you build the PDA VI The bitmaps retain their original size to avoid the aliasing effects that can result if they are reduced in size Unsupported Front Panel Objects If you place unsupported controls on a front panel LabVIEW discards them when you build the PDA VI and they are not shown on the PDA device Also PDA VIs ignore unsupported features of supported controls The following front panel objects are not available on PDA devices PDA Module User Manual Tab controls Multicolumn listboxes Intensity graphs and charts Digital waveform graphs 3D graphs Polar plots Smith plots Minmax plots Radar plots Picture rings Text and picture rings I O controls and indicators ActiveX controls and indicators Variant controls and indicators 5 6 ni com Chapter 5 Programming Techniques Block Diagram Programming This section describes techniques you can use for developing block diagrams for PDA VIs Because PDA VIs are compiled applications for the PDA device you cannot view the block diagram on the PDA device You can view and edit the block diagram from the host VI
25. ing example the National Instruments Corporation 5 7 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 5 Programming Techniques Wait For Front Panel Activity function creates a wait state to save battery power Adding a wait state allows the PDA to go to sleep if the user does not tap the screen for some duration specified in the preferences ollect Data E Wait For Front Panel Activit Performance Considerations PDA Module User Manual LabVIEW optimizes PDA VIs for data size speed and code size in that order Design PDA VIs to have wide shallow hierarchies of VIs Because PDAs allocate memory only when a PDA VI is running nested VI calls use large amounts of memory and might cause the PDA VI to fail Wide shallow hierarchies have only a few VIs running at any one time and use less memory Even though Palm OS does not support multiple threads it does use cooperative multitasking Therefore you can design PDA VIs to have parallel loops on the block diagrams One loop runs for a time slice approximately 50 ms then another loop runs for a time slice PDA VIs automatically use cooperative multitasking when you use two or more nodes that are not connected by a wire However PDA VIs with parallel loops run slower than ones that are serialized If you set the execution priority of a PDA VI to subroutine all execution is serialized and the PDA VI runs much faster However if you set the execution priority of a PDA VI to subr
26. ion send email to techpubs ni com 2003 National Instruments Corporation All rights reserved Important Information Warranty The media on which you receive National Instruments software are warranted not to fail to execute programming instructions due to defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 90 days from date of shipment as evidenced by receipts or other documentation National Instruments will at its option repair or replace software media that do not execute programming instructions if National Instruments receives notice of such defects during the warranty period National Instruments does not warrant that the operation of the software shall be uninterrupted or error free A Return Material Authorization RMA number must be obtained from the factory and clearly marked on the outside of the package before any equipment will be accepted for warranty work National Instruments will pay the shipping costs of returning to the owner parts which are covered by warranty National Instruments believes that the information in this document is accurate The document has been carefully reviewed for technical accuracy In the event that technical or typographical errors exist National Instruments reserves the right to make changes to subsequent editions of this document without prior notice to holders of this edition The reader should consult National Instruments if errors are suspected In no event shall National Instruments
27. ks its available services and replies if it has the services the PDA client requested 4 The arbitrator replies to the PDA client using TCP with which servers of the local subnet replied as having the services the PDA client requested 5 The PDA client connects to one of the servers to call a particular service Refer to the LabVIEW Help available by selecting Help VI Function amp How To Help for information about building distributed connection wireless applications You also can refer to the DeviceDiscoveryExample 11b located in the examples PDA directory for an example of a distributed connection wireless application PDA Services Wizard Use the PDA Services Wizard to build distributed connection applications The PDA Services Wizard creates an index VI that contains the available services for a server Select Tools PDA Services to launch the PDA Services Wizard You can have more than one index VI on a server When you create an index VI from the PDA Services Wizard the only way to edit the index VI is through the wizard VAN Caution Do not edit an index VI directly as doing so can cause the PDA Services Wizard to be unable to load the index VI PDA Module User Manual Setting up Servers In distributed connection applications you must run the Service Response VI located in the vi 1ib directory on each server that provides services to the client You must enter the path to the index VI that the PDA Services
28. ld VIs for use on the host computer The LabVIEW for Windows execution target uses the default Controls and Functions palette view LabVIEW for Windows is the default execution target Choose PalmOS Device from the Execution Target pull down menu to build VIs for a Palm OS device When you choose a Palm OS device as the execution target LabVIEW uses the PDA 4x Controls and Functions palette view which contains the front panel and block diagram objects that are available for Palm OS devices and emulators When Palm OS Device is the execution target LabVIEW connects to the Palm OS device when you click the Run button 2 2 ni com Chapter 2 Building PDA VIs B Note You must install Mathlib prc on the Palm OS device to run PDA VIs built for a Palm OS device Refer to the LabVIEW PDA Module Release Notes for information about installing the Mathlib prc file on the Palm OS device Palm OS Emulator Choose PalmOS Emulator from the Execution Target pull down menu to build VIs for a Palm OS emulator When you choose Palm OS Emulator as the execution target LabVIEW uses the PDA 4x Controls and Functions palette view which contains the front panel and block diagram objects that are available for Palm OS devices and emulators When Palm OS Emulator is the execution target LabVIEW connects to the Palm OS emulator when you click the Run button 3 Note You must install Mathlib prc on the Palm OS emulator to run PDA VIs built for a Palm OS emul
29. ntents Chapter 4 Building Wireless PDA Applications TCP and UDP Support 2 m ertt ertet e aede Clients Services and Arbitrators eeeeeeeeeeeeee nennen nenne nene Types of Wireless Applications eeeeeseeeseeeeeeee eene nnne enne neret nen enne Direct Connection Applications esee Connecting over TCP or UDP eese Calling by Reference etos eliee eren Distributed Connection Applications eese PDA Services Wiz rd eiecit teils Setting Up Servers pc cete pet e edi hess Chapter 5 Programming Techniques Palm OS and Pocket PC 2002 VI Templates eene PDA Device Considerations eese enemies PDA Operating System Considerations essere Palm OS Consid tations e e ee ee Date ees Pocket PC 2002 Considerations eese Front Panel DeSIgn eene ere rmn ree Ee Uer EN ped e Tee E ERE pens M Mandow Appearance odo eer erret e etin eene ette Een un PURSE REY Hierarchical Limit tions reete entere ette te ehe exe ehe Controls and Indicators iinei deret DEEP RHUS Unsupported Front Panel Objects esee Block Diagram Programming esses eene enne nnne nennen ennt EE Unsupported Block Diagram Objects eee Application Design and Performance Considerations see Goo
30. oint fonts and the overall size of the front panel is 640 x 640 pixels When you build a PDA VI for Palm OS devices or emulators LabVIEW reduces the front panel by a scale factor of four so fonts appear as 11 point type and the front panel is 160 x 160 pixels The PalmScreen template VI also includes a standard Palm OS title bar Do not put controls or indicators in this region Pocket PC 2002 The default fonts used in the PocketPCScreen template VI are 28 point fonts and the size of the front panel is 480 x 640 pixels When you build a PDA VI for Pocket PC 2002 devices or emulators LabVIEW reduces the front panel by a scale factor of two so fonts appear as 14 point type and the front panel is 240 x 320 pixels National Instruments Corporation 5 1 PDA Module User Manual Chapter 5 Programming Techniques PDA Device Considerations The following PDA device considerations can affect the way you design a PDA VI PDA devices have a smaller screen and a significantly slower CPU than desktop computers The main input device is the pen which makes inputting text slower Many PDA devices do not have floating point coprocessors so floating point operations can be slow because the software performs all floating point calculations PDA Operating System Considerations PDA Module User Manual Because Palm OS and Pocket PC 2002 are designed for small size and mobility each environment has fewer features than a desktop computer
31. ou develop PDA VIs e PDA VIs display only one front panel at a time Calling a subVI that shows its front panel when called causes the subVI front panel to Obscure the front panel of the calling VI e PDA VIs do not include toolbar icons or standard desktop menus However you can use custom run time menus e You cannot tab between controls or use keyboard shortcuts As you design front panels for PDA VIs minimize the need for keyboard input e When you build the PDA VI on the host computer LabVIEW scales down all positions sizes and fonts by the factor supplied in the Front panel scale factor control in the Target Settings dialog box Palm OS By default LabVIEW scales front panel objects of a Palm OS PDA VI by four The standard screen size on a Palm OS device is 160 x 160 pixels so a 640 x 640 pixel front panel on the host computer works best The standard font on a Palm OS device is 11 points so use a 44 point font on the front panel of the PDA VIs you build for the Palm OS The PDA 4x palette view contains controls and indicators with large fonts and sizes you can use to create front panels that work well on Palm OS PDA Module User Manual 5 4 ni com Hierarchical Limitations Chapter 5 Programming Techniques Pocket PC 2002 By default LabVIEW reduces the size of the front panel of a Pocket PC 2002 PDA VI by two The standard screen size on a Pocket PC 2002 device is 240 x 320 pixels so a 480 x 640 pixel front p
32. outine the user interface does not 5 8 ni com Chapter 5 Programming Techniques get any CPU time and the application might become unresponsive You can address this by placing a Wait Until Next ms Multiple function on the block diagram National Instruments Corporation 5 9 PDA Module User Manual Technical Support and Professional Services Visit the following sections of the National Instruments Web site at ni com for technical support and professional services e Support Online technical support resources include the following Self Help Resources For immediate answers and solutions visit our extensive library of technical support resources available in English Japanese and Spanish at ni com support These resources are available for most products at no cost to registered users and include software drivers and updates a KnowledgeBase product manuals step by step troubleshooting wizards conformity documentation example code tutorials and application notes instrument drivers discussion forums a measurement glossary and so on Assisted Support Options Contact NI engineers and other measurement and automation professionals by visiting ni com support Our online system helps you define your question and connects you to the experts by phone discussion forum or email e Training Visit ni com custed for self paced tutorials videos and interactive CDs You also can register for instructor led hands
33. s a cross reference or an introduction to a key concept This font also denotes text that is a placeholder for a word or value that you must supply Text in this font denotes text or characters that you should enter from the keyboard sections of code programming examples and syntax examples This font is also used for the proper names of disk drives paths directories programs subprograms subroutines device names functions operations variables filenames and extensions and code excerpts Italic text in this font denotes text that is a placeholder for a word or value that you must supply National Instruments Corporation vii PDA Module User Manual About This Manual Platform Text in this font denotes a specific platform such as Palm OS or Pocket PC 2002 and indicates that the text following it applies only to that platform tap A tap on a PDA device is the equivalent to a mouse click on a desktop computer Related Documentation The following documents contain information that you might find helpful as you read this manual e LabVIEW PDA Module Release Notes e LabVIEW User Manual available in PDF format by selecting Start Programs National Instruments LabVIEW 7 0 Search the LabVIEW Bookshelf and clicking the LabVIEW User Manual link e LabVIEW Help available by selecting Help VI Function amp How To Help Help specific to the PDA Module is available from the PDA Module book in the Contents tab of
34. tions Direct Connection Applications PDA Module User Manual Use direct connection applications when you need to connect to the same remote services and you know the location of the remote services Direct connection wireless applications consist of a PDA client communicating directly with a service on a server or another device An example of a direct connection application is a client running on a PDA device that uses the TCP Listen VI to wait for a message from a remote service on the network and then uses the TCP Read function to read the data that the remote service broadcasts over TCP Connecting over TCP or UDP You can use the TCP or UDP functions to communicate between the client and the service as you do in any other VIs that use TCP or UDP communication Refer to Chapter 18 Networking in LabVIEW of the LabVIEW User Manual for more information about the TCP or UDP communication Calling by Reference You also can call a service by reference using the Call By Reference Node or the PDA Service Request Express VI VI Server must run on the server to support the Call By Reference Node and the services available on a server must be in memory so you can reference them The PDA Service Request Express VI provides an easy way to connect a PDA client to services by reference When you place this Express VI on the block diagram a dialog box appears that prompts you to enter a path to a service When users run the client on the PD
35. you to copy files that LabVIEW recognizes to and from a Palm OS device To customize the behavior of the LabVIEW Conduit right click the Palm HotSync icon in the Windows system tray and select Custom from the shortcut menu Select LabVIEW Conduit and click the Change button The LabVIEW Conduit dialog box appears 2 4 ni com Chapter 2 Building PDA VIs Transferring Files to the Host Computer To copy files from the Palm OS device to the host computer select Handheld overwrites Desktop When you sync the Palm OS device LabVIEW places the files in the location you specify in the path input of the File I O function you use to create the file in the PDA VI Transferring Files to the PDA Device To copy files to the Palm OS device click the Browse button in the LabVIEW Conduit dialog box to select the files Click the Add File button to add a file to the list select Desktop overwrites handheld and click the OK button LabVIEW copies the files you selected to the Palm OS device the next time you sync it Using DatalogMgr Use the DatalogMgr utility to view a list of files you transferred to the Palm OS device from the host computer or created on the Palm OS device On the PDA tap DatalogMgr to view a list of all LabVIEW files on the PDA device and the size of each file in number of records or in bytes DatalogMgr displays where the files will be copied on the host computer when you sync You also can delete files from DatalogMgr iyi

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