State diagram toolkit

I am writing a program for an ATE product. I inherited a LV state machine design from an older piece of equipment that was written conventionally (without the diagram). I have started to design my new architecture using the State Diagram Toolkit. I like it! I'm assuming I can write/develop subvi's, too with state diagrams. Is this toolkit as truly automatic as it appears? Any drawbacks? Any tips? Anyone have any horror stories? Or cudos from the boss or customer?
Paul
7.1.1
PaulG.
"I enjoy talking to you. Your mind appeals to me. It resembles my own mind except that you happen to be insane." -- George Orwell

Unlocking the diagram should only be done if an application needs to be modified and it will NEVER be edited using the SDE ever again.
It is possible to right click on the enum and edit the typedef.
When done save the control and you should be on your way.
Ben
Message Edited by Ben on 05-19-2006 08:17 AM
Message Edited by Ben on 05-19-2006 08:18 AM
Ben Rayner
I am currently active on.. MainStream Preppers
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Similar Messages

How can I find and install the state diagram toolkit and how to--

Hi,
I like to do practice how to do coding by using state diagram toolkit. For that purpose I need to install that software. Can you please help me in this regard about how to get theat toolkit and install afterwards?
I have another question. By using VI snippets, I can extract the meaning of a particular VI/node/function block or whatever may be. Is there anyway to extract meaning in case that screenshot is not a snippet?
Also, can you tell me about how to start from scratch for using labview in building algorithm and coding? any resource?
Thank You.

The state diagram toolkit is an addon and it has license fees. It's install is available on the complete set of install disks.
There is no other way to extract code besides using snippets.
You can find lots of information here regarding LabVIEW training including online options. You can also go through the tutorials that ship with LabVIEW.
Mark Yedinak
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot

Problem using state diagram in labview 8.6

Hi all,
I have a state diagram toolkit which come with lv7.1.
But after I install in lv8.6 folder, it has a problem.
I cannot modify the diagram that I create in lv7.1 before.
Thanks.
robert
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi Robert,
At the moment I'm pulling 12 hour days just to keep up with the paid LabVIEW work I have, so I'm afraid that if you wait for me to put this code together for you, you may be waiting a long time.
However, if you follow through with the tutorial I posted as well as the tutorial installed with the documentation installed along with the Statechart module it should really help you.
To make a simple statechart diagram is really not much more complicated than doing the same with the older tool.
A page that shows a direct comparison between the old tool and the new can be found here: http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/6194
There is also another example you can open here: http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/epd/p/id/5437
Good luck.
Patrick Allen

State Diagram inside For Loop

I created a fairly involved for-loop with a flat sequence inside of it. The sequence had about four events that occured, and since it was kind of ugly, I thought I'd try the State Diagram Toolkit to replace the majority of the code. When I selected state diagram from the pallete, I was outside my for-loop. I drew up the various states/transitions, then realized that all this code needed to be inside the for-loop, but LV won't let me place state diagram-generated code inside the for-loop. I select everything related to the state diagram, but when I drag into the for-loop, only the comments come inside. I even tried generating a new for-loop and placing the state code inside. No luck. Any thoughts?

"Any thoughts?"
Yes but not any that will help.
1) Just modify your SD so that the exit loops back to the start while there are still things to do. Forget the outer For loop.
2) THe observations you reported are correct. When I first discovered these limitiations I said "That sucks!". Since then I have learned a bit and have grown to love the SDE.
The SDE is JUST (note: "just" is a four letter word around here ) a LV application that ofers a very limited GUI consisting of a picture control that then scripts (see LAVA Scripting Forum for info on scripting) your SD for you. SCripting LV code is no easy task. My experiments with scripting has shown that I have to keep a database of the contents of the LV diagram my code is developing to keep track of what is where. Well it turns out that the structure of a LV diagram is a lot like the structure of a FP in that you start with a "root" object either the FP or the BD. THe BD then has structures on it, like seq's loops etc with unlited nesting possible.
Now the SD created by the SDE is really just a fancy while loop with an case structure and code to support the driving enum. In order for you to be able to edit the SD the SDE needs to know what is htere already so it can show the diagram. It "KNOWS" by looking at its internal DB (I believe is stored inside of VI along with the enum.ctl) of the SD. To keep the DB updated, the SDE must be used to manipulate the SD.
Stop rambling and guessing and get to the point!
Moving the SD is just not supported by the SDE so it can not be done. To do so would require the SDE be able to "look" at the diagram, and repeat all of its work in the new location in the diagram.
BTW: Thank you for trying out and asking about the SDE. the more talking we do on this subject, the sooner the SDE will be updated.
My SDE wishlist (partial)
Add comments to diagram from SDE screen.
Add data structures to SD (shift registers) from SDE screen.
Add "un-do".
Select multiple objects on SDE screen and move or allign.
Select multiple objects on SDE screen and do "create sub-State-Diagram".
Allow watching more than one SDE in execution highlighting at the same time.
Ben
Ben Rayner
I am currently active on.. MainStream Preppers
Rayner's Ridge is under construction

How to create state diagram (for state machine)

Hallo all.
In my previous visit here, i saw picture of state diagram (bubbles with connection),
How to create that in labview (if there is such option) ?
or, which other software create state diagram.
thanks

There is the State Diagram Toolkit (additional tool from NI for LabVIEW) with good interface and unreadable code
It gives you a State Diagram Editor at Functions palette.
It is very good tool for state diagram visualization, but readability of the code is controversial.
When you will get a clear picture of a diagram from State Diagram Editor, I suggest use classic state diagram pattern: case structure driven by typedef enum in while loop.
Regards
Mikrobi (Zbigniew St. Sobków)____________________________________________________________
"You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to float on his back you've got something."

State Diagram "Single Step" execution mode

Hello,
I am realtively new to LabView, at least the 8.0 version I am currently using. Used it when it first came out some xx years ago :-)
I am using the State Diagram Toolkit to create a test vi. I am able to create a SubVI of the test vi. I did **not** have to unlock the generated code to do this, and I could still open the subvi diagram in the State Editor later.
However, if I in the State Diagram Editor select "Execution Mode" to "Single Step", then LabView 8.0 crashes when I save the vi.
Please help me on this one, as I would like to explore using subvi's developed using the State Diagram Toolkit and the Single Step execution mode.
(I have indeed searched without finding the solutiion to this problem)
Also, if anyone have an examples on how to use a "Single Step" subvi developed with the State Editor Toolkit, I would appreciate this !
(Especially how to return the next state from the subvi and use it in the next call)
Tips and examples appreciated !
Geir Ove
Geir Ove

Hi,
A work around has been found for the issue. If after changing the state diagram type to single-step, you make a change to the block diagram then you can save with out a problem. There are two easy ways of doing this.
1. One is to add a new state to the state chart after changing the mode (this can be deleted after the save).
2. The other is adding a Boolean constant to the block diagram (which can also be deleted after the save). Adding a control on the front panel or moving a label in the block diagram is not enough.
Regards,
Frode

State Diagram Editor window never appears

When I follow the directions in the State Diagram Toolkit.pdf manual(page 4) and drag and drop a state diagram tool onto an empty block diagram, the editor window never appears, only the block diagram code appears. I bet it's something really simple, but i'm baffled. Thanks for any suggestions.
Win XP
Pent4 2.2G
LabVIEW 7.1 Development System
Already tried reinstalling LView and StateDToolkit...

"It really is a nice tool."
Ditto that!
I go reaching for it any time I can not "see" the code I need.
In LV 7.1 they changed the operation of the SDE such that only one SDE window can be open at a time. In LV 7.0 you could have more than one open at a time.
Try what Odd_Modem suggested and let us know if it does not show up.
Ben
Ben Rayner
I am currently active on.. MainStream Preppers
Rayner's Ridge is under construction

Unable to install the State Machine Toolkit in LabView 8.2

I am in the process of upgrading my version of LabView to 8.2.
I have the State Machine Toolkit working (well) on 8.0.1. I am attempting to install it in 8.2, but I have not had much success.
I can view a State Machine diagram in 8.2, but do not have the function in the palette to create one.
Any ideas ???
Thanks,
Chris.

It is a PAIN but it works.
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/58be852cb35237c786256a290079df39
Matthew Fitzsimons
Certified LabVIEW Architect
LabVIEW 6.1 ... 2013, LVOOP, GOOP, TestStand, DAQ, and Vison

Drawing state diagrams?

hello,
my problem is about drawing state diagrams with java.
I have a database that stores the states and transitions.
I want to draw state diagrams with the data in this database.
I use simple Graphics object to draw. It was a bit successfull.
However the API of Graphics are not enough for this job (like: drawLine, drawOval etc.)
For example I can not draw oval lines and I can not associate any string to this lines properly. Or it is very hard to do.
So,
Is there any classes to help me while drawing state diagrams or
any simple way to make this?
Like using a Tool that will take my database as an input and draw all state diagrams.
Thanks

firstly
thanks for your advices.
I created my objects. Actually I drawed simple diagrams.
I used oval for every state. And I decided 4 points on a state to connect another state. (points are obvious). And an algorithm to connect to state with proper points.
And I drawLine from one oval to another.
Then I drawString to the connection point of the first state. (for the description of transition like T23).
This works for simple diagrams,
but for complex ones it doew not work.
First problem is when s1->s2 and s2->s1 It only draws 1 line (normally). This problem is not so important.
Second problem is the labels. When T1 is s1->s2 and T2 is s1->s3 It was confusing one point but two label which one goes to s1? Simply ! can not write label on line.
So that I look for a present library or algorithms to draw diagrams.

State diagram: how to start??

hi, i'm kinda new to UML diagramming and i hope you can help me in this...
i have already drawn the use case for my project scenario, a class diagram, sequence/collaboration, activity diagrams.
my problem is how do i start with a state diagram...i know it's about describing one (mebe more but usually one) object's behaviour throughout its lifetime, but how do i describe that in the diagram? do i need an object diagram for this (i didn't draw this diagram because i don't see any reason to yet)?
can u guys teach me how to draw step-by-step the state diagram plz? thx....
gildan2020

yes, activity diagrams and state diagrams are related.
While activity diagrams focus on the process.
I normally do a state diagram and then do an activity diagram for the tricky transitions, or processes during a state. Therefor I identify the necessary activity diagrams by looking at my state diagram, but I guess it works the other way round as well. Very often I end up having one part of the behaviour modeled as activity diagram and one part as state diagram
I find state diagram helpfull if an object has a certain behaviour at one point in time and a different behaviour at another time. Screenflow of a webapplication is one of my favorite examples. Each screen represents a state. Each link a transition. Even non technical users understand this very well.
If you want to display such a behaviour in an activity diagram you end up with tons of decissions, while a state diagram shows the possibilities very visual.
And no you don't have to have an object diagram before that. In some cases you will want to create one in the next step in order to clarify how an object 'looks like' when it is in a certain state.
regards
Spieler

Apple TV - YouTube - State diagram

Hi,
Did you notice?
YouTube on Apple TV has 'play' icon while the video "is playing" and 'pause' icon while the video "is paused". In contrast to YouTube on Mac has 'pause' icon while the video "is playing" and 'play' icon while the video "is paused".
Regards
Ganesh
Apple TV - Latest model (2012) with 1080p
Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3

The Apple TV YouTube app seems to want to load the entire clip before it will play.
You mentioned you are using AirPlay Mirroring; what about instead just tapping the AirPlay icon within the iPad YouTube app?

Reverse Engineering G - State Chart

I heard of a tool, which can produce from a State Chart a block diagram.
I'm searching for a tool which makes the opposite. Does anybody knows a tool to create a from a Block Diagram a State Chart?

I believe you are refering to the State Diagram Editor. NI LabVIEW State Diagram Toolkit With the toolkit you draw the various nodes and connections, and the diagram is built for you. All you have to do is insert the code you want in each state and some simle deciding on which state to go to next and you are done. I have used it and I thought it was great. It even adds and removes states as you change the chart.

State machine concept

I need the full details of state machine concept. I want to implement this concept in sequential operation of machine.
Generally how many loops are used for this concept?

You may be interested in NI's state diagram toolkit. Obviously you can develop state diagrams without it but it becomes very useful for bigger diagrams, all the more if they are subject to change. It is part of the toolkits that ship with the Professional Developer Suites or can be bought separately.
There is also the LabHSM toolkit. Because I have never used it, I can't say more about it but I expect it to be a great tool for complex diagrams.

NI: Get to grips with Fundamental LV Shortcomings.

I am not new to software. Having done my fair share of traditional, and, for the last 15 years, OO development I have used quite a few tools and
programming languages: C, C++, Smalltalk, Java, Eiffel, C# and also written my own programming langauge. The most professional Programming
Environment I have ever seen is Eclipse (Java Programming Environment) (www.eclipse.org) which again has inherited it's powerful ideas and tools from
Smalltalk envrioments.
I have used LabView for shorter periods in several of its incarnations. I recently finished a fairly large Realtime Control Project using version 8.2 and the
State Diagram Toolkit. (see this thread: http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=170&message.id=234831).
LabView is a very powerful environment, but like most environments it has its shortcomings. And now we are getting closer to what this thread is all about:
** Navigating Source Code ** (Search & Replace / Find References to objects / Instances)
Fundamental Search
The problem is: Many of these issues are ** fundamental ** and easy to fix, but nothing seems to be done about them! I recently upgraded to version 8.5,
and expected the ** fundamental ** lack of the ability to search for references to my Shared Variables to be fixed. But I was terribly dissapointed, and to be
honest:
If a developer cannot Navigate his / hers code, she / he is not in controll of the developed software!
I have never before seen a programming enviroment that has no feature whatsoever to find References to Variables used in a Program! Unnecssary to say,
this is an absolutley fundamental tool for any programmer: In text based languages you of course have text bases searches, which are crude, but it does the
job. In Eclipse you can even search for where variables are Assigned to, or Read from! (The search is actually searching the Parse Tree).
However, there is not even a Text Based search for Shared Variables in LabView 8.0 to 8.5 and all its intermediate upgrades!
I have spent countless hours using the extremely crude, cumbersome and time waisting method of deleting the Shared Variable and thereby getting a
compliler error showing me where the variable is used: Then I have to close my project withouts saving, reopen the project again and get back to where I
was working. None of this time can be billed to my clients.
Yes, I know LabView in the meantime has received a host of powerful features. But this is fundamental feature would take any of NI's highly qualified
developers a few hours or a day or two to fix.
So why isn't it implemented? I bet NI's developers miss it as much as the next guy.
I guess this fundamental feature does not look so good on the Marketing Peoples brochures, so they figure NI's developers should spend their time on new
features that they can promote and use to get us to upgrade: Guess what: I will wait a very long time until I ugprade again.
The LabView Search Dialog
The Search Dialog miss one important feature: The ability to Point at any VI / object in a Block Diagra, to say "this is the type I want to search for".
Often I cannot find the type I want to search for in the lists the Search Dialog is presenting.
Other times I simply do not know what the type is, and where to find it, but I am looking at it in an open Block Diagram!
Enter the StateChart Module
As I said, we used the StateDiagram Toolkit to develop our Control System: 9 Processes each running their separate State Diagram on a cFP 2120 system.
The StateDiagram Toolkit is very basic: Not able to resize any state circles or even move more than one at a time: It has been like this for more than two
years. However, we are in control of the generated code, and could find references to my VIs in the generated code.
The StateChart Module is an implementation of the UML StateChart Implementation. Going through the Tutorial I was quite impressed.
However, yet again the lack of the ability to search for References to important Resources lets the product down:
a) Not possible to Find references to where in the Diagram any Trigger is used.
b) Not possible to Search for any used instance / object within a Diagram: Objects / Instances used within the Diagram does not even show up under the
"VIs by Name list"
c) Text Searches possible, but matches are found in generated code and ** not ** in the Diagram.
The generated code has no link whatsoever back to the Diagram.
I will post another thread with the shortcomings I have found in the StateChart Module and some ways to circumvent these shortcomings.
Upgrades: What about Tools Developers used in previous versions?
It is very important for developers to know what happens to the tools they are already using when upgrading to a new version.
We used the State Diagram Toolkit for thje project we just finished. However, I could not find any words about what happened to this Toolkit in version
8.5! Developers cannot upgrade without knowing that tools they are using are still working.
We did not upgrade to version 8.5 during our project, but stayed with version 8.2. And I am glad we did: After the project ended, I moved the source code
to version 8.5. Everything worked and the cFP 2120 code was also running: However, the performance had deteriorated with > 33%. See this link:
http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=170&message.id=275320
Question: What about the Next LabView Release?
It has taken Natioanl two decades to produce a very capable development system. However, it only takes the introduction of a few more features where the
Programmers do not have Navigation Control (ability to search & find / replace) to bring the productivity of this product down to its knees.
I certainly hope that NI in the next LabView Release concentrates on fixing these and other Naviagion shortcomings (rather than introducing features) to bring
LabView up to the Speed an Productivity that it is capable of: NI got the engineers to do it: Give just give them the time to fix the problems!
Can we please have NI's dedication to fix these easy to fix issues and thereby give back Navigational Control to us, the Developers ?
Please, I do want to continue to impress my clients with what LabView can do, in a short amount of time !
Geir Ove

Most of the "shortcomings" that LV exhibits arise from NI trying to placate people such as yourself who have no idea about how to go about creating a good LV-based application. In terms of specific responses I truly don't know where to begin with your points. To begin with, its clear that despite your years of experience working in other languages you don't know squat about developing in LV. For example, you start with the assumption that using dozens of named variables is a good thing! Did it ever occur to you that if you are having this hard a time with maintaining an application that there might be something fundamentally flawed in your design - no of course not - it's easier to blame the tool.
LV is an ideal environment to develop very large applications - as has been shown time and again. However, you must keep it straight that there is no correlation between complex code and complex functionality. Unfortunately, most people thing there is. They believe that to have complex functionality they need really complex code. As a result they write an incredibly bad implementation of something that is essentially a simple process. Starting from this faulty example they then try to extrapolate what it would take to create a large application and immediately assume that LV is only for "small" projects.
Mike...
Certified Professional Instructor
Certified LabVIEW Architect
LabVIEW Champion
"... after all, He's not a tame lion..."
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Labview crashes every time I click on a broken arrow (vi has errors).

I just upgraded Labview from 7 to 8.5.1 a few weeks ago. Now, when I press the broken arrow to check the errors in a vi, Labview crashes. This is a vi that was developed using the state diagram toolbox under Labview 7. I now have the state chart toolbox but not the state diagram toolbox.

Try to disconnect the state diagram from the the state diagram (right-click on the main while loop).
If that doesn't work in 8.5, try to do this in 7.1.
Or install the state diagram toolkit in 8.5.
Ton
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State diagram toolkit

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