Hands-On Introduction to LaVIEW for Scientists and Engineers provides a learn-by-doing approach to acquiring the computer-based skills used daily in experimental work. The book is not the typical manual-like presentation of LabVIEW. Rather, Hands-On Introduction to LabVIEW guides students through using this powerful laboratory tool to carry out interesting and relevant projects. Readers, who are assumed to have no prior computer programming or LabVIEW experience, begin writing meaningful programs in the first few pages. After learning through experience, readers can master the skills needed to carry out effective experiments.

Table of Contents:
Preface About the Author 1. LABVIEW PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT 1.1 LabVIEW Programming Environment 1.2 Blank VI 1.3 Front-Panel Editing 1.4 Block-Diagram Editing 1.5 Program Execution 1.6 Pop-Up Menu and Data-Type Representation 1.7 Program Storage 1.8 Quick Drop 2. THE WHILE LOOP AND WAVEFORM CHART 2.1 Programming Structures and Graphing Modes 2.2 While Loop Basics 2.3 Sine-Wave Plot Using a While Loop and Waveform Chart 2.4 LabVIEW Help Window 2.5 Front Panel Editing 2.6 Waveform Chart Pop-Up Menu 2.7 Finishing the Program 2.8 Program Execution 2.9 Program Improvements 2.10 Data Types and Automatic Creation Feature 3. THE FOR LOOP AND WAVEFORM GRAPH 3.1 For Loop Basics 3.2 Sine-Wave Plot Using a For Loop and Waveform Graph 3.3 Waveform Graph 3.4 Owned and Free Labels 3.5 Creation of Sine Wave Using a For Loop 3.6 Cloning Block-Diagram Icons 3.7 Auto-Indexing Feature 3.8 Running the VI 3.9 X-Axis Calibration of the Waveform Graph 3.10 Sine-Wave Plot Using a While Loop and Waveform Graph 3.11 Front-Panel Array Indicator 3.12 Debugging With the Probe Watch Window and Error List 4. THE MATHSCRIPT NODE AND XY GRAPH 4.1 MathScript Node Basics 4.2 Quick MathScript Node Example: Sine-Wave Plot 4.3 Waveform Simulator Using a MathScript Node and XY Graph 4.4 Creating an XY Cluster 4.5 Running the VI 4.6 LabVIEW MathScript Window 4.7 Adding Shape Options Using an Enumerated Type Control 4.8 Finishing the Block Diagram 4.9 Running the VI 4.10 Control and Indicator Clusters 4.11 Creating an Icon Using the Icon Editor 4.12 Icon Design 4.13 Connector Assignment 5. INTRODUCTION TO DATA ACQUISITION DEVICES USING MAX 5.1 Data Acquisition Hardware 5.2 Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) 5.3 Analog Input Modes 5.4 Range and Resolution 5.5 Sampling Frequency and the Aliasing Effect 5.6 Analog Input Operation Using MAX 5.7 Analog Output 5.8 Analog Output Operation Using MAX 5.9 Digital Input/Output 5.10 Digital Input/Output Operation Using Max 6. DATA ACUISITION USING DAQ ASSISTANT 6.1 Data Acquisition VIs 6.2 Simple Analog Input Operation on a DC Voltage 6.3 Digital Oscilloscope 6.4 DC Voltage Storage 6.5 Hardware-Timed Waveform Generator 6.6 Placing a Custom-Made VI on a Block Diagram 6.7 Completing and Executing Waveform Generator (Express) 7. DATA FILES AND CHARACTER STRINGS 7.1 ASCII Text and Binary Data Files 7.2 Storing Data in Spreadsheet-Formatted File 7.3 Storing a One-Dimensional Data Array 7.4 Transpose Option 7.5 Storing a Two-Dimensional Data Array 7.6 Controlling the Format of Stored Data 7.7 The Path Constant and Platform Portability 7.8 Fundamental File I/O VIs 7.9 Adding Text Labels to a Spreadsheet File 7.10 Backslash Codes 8. SHIFT REGISTERS 8.1 Shift Register Basics 8.2 Quick Shift Register Example: Integer Sum 8.3 Noise and Signal Averaging 8.4 Noisy Sine VI 8.5 Moving Average of Four Traces 8.6 Modularity and Automatic SubVI Creation 8.7 Moving Average of Arbitrary Number of Traces 9. THE CASE STRUCTURE 9.1 Case Structure Basics 9.2 Quick Case Structure Example: Runtime Options Using Property Nodes 9.3 State Machine Architecture: Guessing Game 9.4 State Machine Architecture: Express VI-Based Digital Oscilloscope 10. DATA DEPENDENCY AND THE SEQUENCE STRUCTURE 10.1 Data Dependency and Sequence Structure Basics 10.2 Event Timer Using a Sequence Structure 10.3 Event Timer Using Data Dependency 10.4 Highlight Execution 11. ANALYSIS VIs: CURVE FITTING 11.1 Thermistor Resistance-Temperature Data File 11.2 Temperature Measurement Using Thermistors 11.3 The Linear Least-Squares Method 11.4 Inputting Data to a VI Using a Front-Panel Array Control 11.5 Inputting Data to a VI by Reading from a Disk File 11.6 Slicing Up a Multi-Dimensional Array 11.7 Running the VI 11.8 Curve Fitting Using the Linear Least-Squares Method 11.9 Residual Plot 11.10 Curve Fitting Using the Nonlinear Least-Squares Method 12. ANALYSIS VIs: FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM 12.1 Quick Fast Fourier Transform Example 12.2 The Fourier Transform 12.3 Discrete Sampling and the Nyquist Frequency 12.4 The Discrete Fourier Transform 12.5 The Fast Fourier Transform 12.6 Frequency Calculator VI 12.7 FFT of Sinusoids 12.8 Applying the FFT to Various Sinusoidal Inputs 12.9 Magnitude of Complex-Amplitude 12.10 Observing Leakage 12.11 Windowing 12.12 Estimating Frequency and Amplitude 12.13 Aliasing 13. DATA ACQUISITION AND GENERATION USING DAQMX VIs 13.1 DAQmx VI Basics 13.2 Simple Analog Input Operation on a DC Voltage 13.3 Digital Oscilloscope 13.4 Express VI Automatic Code Generation 13.5 Limitations of Express VIs 13.6 Improving Digital Oscilloscope Using State Machine Architecture 13.7 Analog Output Operations 13.8 Waveform Generator 14. CONTROL OF STAND-ALONE INSTRUMENTS 14.1 Instrument Control using VISA VIs 14.2 The VISA Session 14.3 The IEEE 488.2 Standard 14.4 Common Commands 14.5 Status Reporting 14.6 Device-Specific Commands 14.7 Specific Hardware Used In This Chapter 14.8 Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) 14.9 Simple VISA-Based Query Operation 14.10 Message Termination 14.11 Getting and Setting Communication Properties Using a Property Node 14.12 Performing a Measurement over the Interface Bus 14.13 Synchronization Methods 14.14 Measurement VI Based on the Serial Poll Method 14.15 Measurement VI Based on the Service Request Method 14.16 Creating an Instrument Driver 14.17 Using the Instrument Driver to Write an Application Program APPENDIX A. FORMULA NODE PROGRAMMING FOR CHAPTER 4 A.1 Formula Node Basics A.2 Quick Formula Node Example: Sine-Wave Plot (Section 4.2) A.3 Formula Node-Based Waveform Simulator (Sections 4.3-4.4) A.4 Formula Node-Based Waveform Simulator (Section 4.8) A.5 Formula Node-Based Waveform Simulator (Section 4.10) APPENDIX B. MATHEMATICS OF LEAKAGE AND WINDOWING B.1 Analytic Description of Leakage B.2 Description of Leakage Using the Convolution Theorem APPENDIX C. PID TEMPERATURE CONTROL PROJECT C.1 Project Description C.2 Voltage-Controlled Bidirectional Current Driver for Thermoelectric Device C.3 PID Temperature Control Algorithm C.4 PID Temperature Control System C.5 Construction of Temperature Control System Index