Teaches LabVIEW - a graphical programming language for engineers and scientists - through step-by-step examples, giving you code that's easy to reuse in your own projects! The accompanying CD-ROM contains a library of sample code, plus a time-limited evaluation version of LabVIEW 6i.

Preface. FUNDAMENTALS. 1. Introduction-What in the World Is LabVIEW? What Exactly Is LabVIEW, and What Can It Do for Me? Demonstration Examples. Wrap it Up! Additional Activities.2. Virtual Instrumentation: Hooking Your Computer Up to the Real World. The Evolution of LabVIEW. What Is Data Acquisition? What Is a GPIB? Communication Using the Serial Port. Real-World Applications: Why We Analyze. A Little Bit about PXI and VXI. Connectivity. LabVIEW Add-on Toolkits. Wrap It Up!3. The LabVIEW Environment: Building Your Own Workbench. Front Panels. Block Diagrams. The Icon and the Connector. Pull-Down Menus. Floating Palettes. The Toolbar. Pop-Up Menus. Help! A Word about SubVIs. Activity 3-2: Front Panel and Block Diagram Basics. Wrap It Up!4. LabVIEW Foundations. Creating Vis-It's Your Turn Now! Basic Controls and Indicators and the Fun Stuff They Do. Wiring Up. Running Your VI. Useful Tips. Wrap It Up! Additional Activities.5. Yet More Foundations. Loading and Saving VIs. VI Libraries. Debugging Techniques. Creating SubVIs. Documenting Your Work. A Little about Printing. Activity 5-2: Creating SubVIs-Practice Makes Perfect. Wrap It Up! Additional Activities.6. Controlling Program Execution with Structures. Two Loops. Shift Registers. Case Structures. Sequence Structures. The Formula Node. Wrap It Up! Additional Activities.7. LabVIEW's Composite Data: Arrays and Clusters. What Are Arrays? Creating Array Controls and Indicators. Using Auto-Indexing. Two-Dimensional Arrays. Activity 7-1: Building Arrays with Auto-Indexing. Functions for Manipulating Arrays. Activity 7-2: Array Acrobatics. Polymorphism. Activity 7-3: Polymorphism. Compound Arithmetic. All about Clusters. Creating Cluster Controls and Indicators. Cluster Order. Using Clusters to Pass Data to and from SubVIs. Bundling Your Data. Replacing a Cluster Element. Unbundling Your Clusters. Activity 7-4: Cluster Practice. Bundling and Unbundling by Name. Activity 7-5: More Fun with Clusters. Interchangeable Arrays and Clusters. Wrap It Up! Additional Activities.8. LabVIEW's Exciting Visual Displays: Charts and Graphs. Waveform Charts. Activity 8-1: Temperature Monitor. Graphs. Activity 8-2: Graphing a Sine on a Waveform Graph. XY Graphs. Chart and Graph Components. Activity 8-4: Temperature Analysis. Intensity Charts and Graphs-Color as a Third Dimension. Waveforms. Wrap It Up! Additional Activities.9. Exploring Strings and File I/O. More about Strings. Using String Functions. Activity 9-1: String Construction. Parsing Functions. Activity 9-2: More String Parsing. File Input/Output. Activity 9-3: Writing to a Spreadsheet File. Activity 9-4: Reading from the Spreadsheet File. Wrap It Up! Additional Activities.ADVANCED TOPICS. Introduction to the Advanced Section.10. Getting Data into and out of Your Computer: Data Acquisition and Instrument Control.Acronyms Unlimited. How to Connect Your Computer to the Real World. Signals. Selecting and Configuring DAQ Measurement Hardware. Activity 10-2: Measurement System Analysis. Installing the Boards. Using a GPIB Board. Getting Ready for Serial Communications. Wrap It Up! Solutions to Activities.11. DAQ and Instrument Control in LabVIEW.Definitions, Drivers, and Devices. Analog I/O. Digital I/O. Instrument Control in LabVIEW: VISA, GPIB, and Serial. Wrap It Up!12. Advanced LabVIEW Functions and Structures.Local and Global Variables. Property Nodes. Other LabVIEW Goodies. Calling Code from Other Languages. Fitting Square Pegs into Round Holes: Advanced Conversions and Typecasting. Wrap It Up!13. Advanced LabVIEW Features.Options, Options. Configuring Your VI. The VI Server. Radices and Units. Automatically Creating a SubVI from a Section of the Block Diagram. A Few More Utilities in LabVIEW. Wrap It Up!14. Connectivity in LabVIEW.LabVIEW, Networking, and the Internet. An Overview of How the Web Works. Publishing and Controlling VIs on the Web. Sharing Data over the Network: DataSocket. Connectivity to Other Programs and Devices. Enterprise Connectivity-The Big Picture. Wrap It Up!15. Advanced File I/O, Printing, and Reports.Advanced File I/O. Putting It in Writing: Printing with LabVIEW. Reports from LabVIEW. Wrap It Up!16. The Art of LabVIEW Programming.Why Worry about the Graphical Interface Appearance. Arranging, Decorating, Grouping, and Locking. Vive l'Art: Importing Pictures. Custom Controls and Indicators. Adding Online Help. Pointers and Recommendations for a "Wow!" Graphical Interface. How Do You Do That in LabVIEW? Memory, Performance, and All That. Programming with Style. Wrap It Up! Concluding Remarks.Appendix.Resources for LabVIEW.Glossary.Index.