LabVIEW - API Bindings

The LabVIEW bindings allow you to control Bricks and Bricklets from your LabVIEW programs. The ZIP file for the bindings contains:

  • net20/Tinkerforge.dll, a precompiled .NET 2.0 library
  • net40/Tinkerforge.dll, a precompiled .NET 4.0 library
  • in source/ the source code of Tinkerforge.dll
  • in examples/ the examples for every Brick and Bricklet in LabVIEW 2010 and LabVIEW 2013 format

The LabVIEW bindings are based on the C# bindings. Since version 2.0.0 the C# bindings are CLS compliant. This allows to use them with all .NET compatible languages, such as LabVIEW's .NET support.

Requirements

  • LabVIEW on Windows with .NET support

Installation

To make the bindings work LabVIEW has to be able to find the Tinkerforge.dll. Depending on your LabVIEW and Windows version you either need to use the Tinkerforge.dll from the net20 or the net40 folder. Try the NET 2.0 version first. If LabVIEW reports error code 1386 "The specified .NET class is not available in LabVIEW." then you need to use the NET 4.0 version instead.

If you open an example then LabVIEW will search for the Tinkerforge.dll and ask you if it could not find it. You can avoid this search and ask procedure by putting the Tinkerforge.dll in a folder known to LabVIEW. The easiest option is the vi.lib folder of your LabVIEW installation:

C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2013\vi.lib\

Then LabVIEW will find the Tinkerforge.dll automatically and does not ask for your support. But LabVIEW might warn that Tinkerforge.dll was loaded from a different folder. This warning can be ignored.

Testing an Example

To test a LabVIEW example Brick Daemon and Brick Viewer have to be installed first. Brick Daemon acts as a proxy between the USB interface of the Bricks and the API bindings. Brick Viewer connects to Brick Daemon and helps to figure out basic information about the connected Bricks and Bricklets.

Stepper Brick

As an example let's run the configuration example for the Stepper Brick. For this we copy the Example Configuration.vi file from the examples/Brick/Stepper/ folder into a new folder:

example_project/
 -> Example Configuration.vi

If you did not copy the bindings to the vi.lib folder of your LabVIEW installation then the Tinkerforge.dll file has to be copied to the example_project/ folder as well before the example can be opened in LabVIEW:

example_project/
 -> Tinkerforge.dll
 -> Example Configuration.vi

In the example host and port specify at which network address the Stepper Brick can be found. If it is connected locally to USB then localhost and 4223 is correct. The uid value has to be changed to the UID of the connected Stepper Brick, which you can figure out using Brick Viewer.

Now you're ready to test this example.

Barometer Bricklet

Here's an another example showing a graph of air pressure values measured by a Barometer Bricklet.

Front Panel Barometer Bricklet Graph Example

And here the corresponding block diagram:

Block Diagram Barometer Bricklet Graph Example

API Reference and Examples

Links to the API reference for the IP Connection, Bricks and Bricklets as well as the examples from the ZIP file of the bindings are listed in the following table. Further project descriptions can be found in the Starter Kits section.

  API Examples
IP Connection API Examples
     
Bricks    
DC API Examples
IMU API Examples
Master API Examples
RED API Examples
Servo API Examples
Stepper API Examples
     
Bricklets    
Ambient Light API Examples
Analog In API Examples
Analog Out API Examples
Barometer API Examples
Color API Examples
Current12 API Examples
Current25 API Examples
Distance IR API Examples
Distance US API Examples
Dual Button API Examples
Dual Relay API Examples
GPS API Examples
Hall Effect API Examples
Humidity API Examples
Industrial Digital In 4 API Examples
Industrial Digital Out 4 API Examples
Industrial Dual 0-20mA API Examples
Industrial Quad Relay API Examples
IO-16 API Examples
IO-4 API Examples
Joystick API Examples
LCD 16x2 API Examples
LCD 20x4 API Examples
LED Strip API Examples
Line API Examples
Linear Poti API Examples
Moisture API Examples
Motion Detector API Examples
Multi Touch API Examples
NFC/RFID API Examples
Piezo Buzzer API Examples
Piezo Speaker API Examples
PTC API Examples
Remote Switch API Examples
Rotary Encoder API Examples
Rotary Poti API Examples
Segment Display 4x7 API Examples
Solid State Relay API Examples
Sound Intensity API Examples
Temperature API Examples
Temperature IR API Examples
Tilt API Examples
Voltage API Examples
Voltage/Current API Examples
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