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Unread 25-07-2011, 13:19
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Alan Anderson Alan Anderson is offline
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Re: cRio development language C/C++ vs LabView

Quote:
Originally Posted by aldaeron View Post
My concern is that LabView is a less useful skill in the real world generally speaking. Most coding is done in text based languages.
This is probably true. However, using LabVIEW is not "coding". It is programming. One of LabVIEW's big positives is that it lets non-programmers do very sophisticated programming. I think that makes it a very useful skill in general.

Learning LabVIEW is often a struggle for experienced programmers. Many of them think it's because it's a graphical language instead of a text-based one, but I believe they are mistaken. Instead, what makes LabVIEW so difficult at first is the fact that it's a dataflow language rather than a procedural one. You can't really use typical C-style structured programming techniques effectively; you have to get used to a dataflow "way" of doing things. It doesn't take long, but it can take a Zen-like commitment to emptying your mind in order to make room for the new concepts. When I first needed to learn LabVIEW, I had to concentrate on ignoring what I thought I knew before I could get a good handle on what I needed to know instead.
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