[Greg McKaskle]

The key to having the SW adapt to type changes is to use a typedef or strict typedef.

Strict Typedef: any modification to the control definition is propagated (including visual styling, color, etc.)
Typedef: datatype changes are propagated (color, size, style is ignored)
Neither: no automatic updates, no master definition file.

A global is simply the storage, and can be any of the above. The read and write to the global will always update, but data flowing through the connectors to subVIs and types that you want to match will be more convenient using typedefs.

Clusters group the data values together and guarantee that all values are read or written at the same time. If you group elements that update at different rates or locations in the program, you can actually make it more difficult by grouping them into a cluster.

So, in summary, these three distinct features are for somewhat uses. I think you are probably more interested in using typedefs than the others.

Greg McKaskle