Opinions wanted: LabView-based controller?

[Adam Y.]

# Installation instructions have been poor or missing, even with correct instructions it takes a long time to install. We usually have four classroom computers plus at least two mentor or loaner laptops.

That is right. I don't remember how long it specifically takes to install LabView but there a significant amount of other programs that you install in a full installation. I also don't remember needing instructions though.

At least before today, the MCC18 compiler could be run on any system, even Linux, through WINE. I'm 99.99% sure LabVIEW won't so as well in an emulator. What about alternate OS programmers?

Labview can be run on all systems. In fact it would be a step up from running an emulator. It stems from the fact that LabView was originally designed on a Mac.

I'm tired of proprietary software. I'd like to see IFI or whoever designs the new controller to *completely* open-source the whole thing. Schematics, master code, compiler, IDE, etc. That would be really nice.

The problem is that you would be severely limiting your options with such a constraint. There are very little microcontrollers that have open source compilers. I'm all for using LabView if I can be shown it's a good choice for this application. I'm certainly convinced that it's an excellent choice for experimentation and data collection. I can collect data from many different instruments with a minimal amount of effort.