Why use testStand

I have two questions.
1.) Why should I use TestStand instead of developing my own GUI that I have complete control over? What are the Pros and Cons of using TestStand?
2.) When using testing let's say I create a profile for a Technician to have limited access and to where he can't change the code. During test I have TestStand configured to stop on failure. Will I be able to log in as an Admin and begin to troubleshoot or will I have to finish the test as a technician and then log in as an admin after the testing is finished? This is very import for me to do during a test. Especially since some of our tests can take a very long time.

To question #1, With TestStand I have found that you can still have "complete control" over the GUI. It all depends on where you want to start. I think the biggest pro that TestStand has is it gets you a jump start into developing a test without the initial overhead of developing the "common" functionality (reports, loops etc). This jump start assumes that you are not going to change some of the underlying, out of the box, functionality. For example, you can start testing right away if your needs can utilize the existing process model and Operator Interface (OI). With that said, TestStand still provides all the options you would need to create your own test environment built on the TestStand API. You can create your own custom interface with the operator. This can be developed in multiple languages (LabVIEW, C++, C#, etc). You can create your own process model specific to your needs. So, don't think that TestStand will impede you from having full control. It will just be in a different format. As for Cons, I'll leave the meat of this to someone else. I have not found any Con for using TestStand (except maybe the price)
For question #2, Out of the box, I am not sure if it will perform exactly as you describe. A well written, custom operator interface and/or test sequence, should possibly perform the tasks. I question at what level you will need to "change the code" after the test has started or if you are just looking for debug tools (such as pausing, stepping, changing flow and interacting, etc) which TestStand definitely has. Also, you describe a "stop on failure" but indicate in the next sentence not having to finish the test. In this example, would it be fair to characterize that are you describing more of a pause on failure condition? In which case, you login in, while paused, and perform any debug capabilities authored under the permissions of your login level(?). For the example I just describe I think that changing the user via the login-logout mechanism built into the OI and sequence editor will terminate the current execution. This doesn't mean that you can not change the user and permissions; just that you will have to develop a new means, again, most likely a customized OI.

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Use Teststand step comment field in CVI 8.1

Hi,
In the past we used Teststand 2.0.
We used the comment field of a step to pass variable to CVI.
We used the following code to do this
tsErrChk (TS_SeqContextGetProperty (testData->seqContextCVI, &errorInfo,TS_SeqContextStep, CAVT_OBJHANDLE,&objhStep));
tsErrChk (TS_StepAsPropertyObject (objhStep, &errorInfo, &objhPropertyObject));
tsErrChk (TS_PropertyGetProperty (objhPropertyObject, &errorInfo,TS_PropertyComment, CAVT_CSTRING, &CommentStr));
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How can i read the comment field from a teststep in Teststand 4.2 into CVI 8.1 ?
How can i get the name from the used seq file in CVI 8.1 >
Thanks in advance
Tonnie

Hi
I have added the seqContextCVI object to the argumentlist of my function
void __declspec(dllexport) Meet(double *measurement, char reportText[1024], short *errorOccurred, long *errorCode, char errorMsg[1024], CAObjHandle seqContextCVI)
    int error = 0,State=0;
    ErrMsg errMsg = {'\0'};
    ERRORINFO errorInfo;
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    tsErrChk (TS_StepAsPropertyObject (objhStep, &errorInfo, &objhPropertyObject));
    tsErrChk (TS_PropertyGetProperty (objhPropertyObject, &errorInfo,TS_PropertyComment, CAVT_CSTRING, &CommentStr2));
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Error:
    if (error < 0)
        // *errorOccurred = TRUE;
        // OPTIONALLY SET THE ERROR CODE AND STRING
        // *errorCode = error;
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I treid to read the comment field in 2 different ways
The first way is not working. The second way works fine.
Why is the first way not working
Thanks in advance
Tonnie

Reporting mechanism on HTML report file, using TestStand 2012 SP1

Hi,
I am using TestStand 2012 SP1, where the reporting mechanism is configured to be in HTML format.
I am not getting the full report of the sequence file which is executed, however I get a part of it printed on the HTML file.
The following are the configured "Report options",
===========
Contents Tab:
===========
Report Format : HTML Document
Default Numeric Format : %$.13f
Include Step Result: Checked
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              Include Test Limits : Checked
              Include Measurements : Checked
              Include Arrays : Insert Table
              Filter : Include All
Include Execution Times : Checked
On-The-Fly Rporting and Only Display Latest Results : Checked
Select a Report Generator for producing the Report Body : DLL
===========
Report File Pathname Tab:
===========
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Thanks,
Dharani

Jason,
Thankyou for replying.
Yes, I need only the steps which had failed to print on the report file.
The problem what I am facing is, if there are 10 failed steps, the report is not printed for all.
Also the order of printing is not correct for the first step and the last step which is printed on the report file.
I had used "Post Expression" for printing data for all the failed steps. Normally these post expressions should be printed beneath the step in the report file.
However,
1) For the first step which is printed on the html file, the post expression gets printed just above the step and also it gets printed beneath the step.
2) For the last step which is printed on the html file, the post expression is not printed beneath the step.
Please let me know if i need to provide some more information.
Thanks,
Dharani

NI 5660 Driver DLL Errors when using Teststand 2010 and LabVIEW Run-Time Engine 2010

This problem seems similar to the post "Resource not found error in executable on development machine." but I didn't want to repost under that thread because I only happened upon it by chance and none of my searches brought me there... so I made a more descriptive Subject.
I am working on a system that uses a PXI Chassis with a NI 5600 Downconverter and a NI 5620 high speed digitizer, among other PXI Cards.
I inherited working code written in LabVIEW 2010, running with the LabVIEW Run-Time Engine 2010. The code was using a custom executive and my task was to rewrite the test using TestStand 2010. I reused the majority of the old code. The old code used NI-5660 to control the 5600 and 5620. When I run my sequence using the LV Development System and TestStand, it runs without any issues. When I change the adapter over to LabVIEW Run-Time Engine 2010, all of my NI5660 VIs become broken due to DLL issues. It warns that the nipxi5600u.dll was not initialized correctly. Many of the errors are associated with the NI Tuner and NI Scope. After this LabVIEW will crash randomly, and the seqeunce will not work in TestStand even when back with the LV Development Adapter. The only way to recover after this is to restart the computer - TestStand automatically reverts back to the development system, the VIs are no longer broken and the sequence works again.
I have all of my VIs associated with a project. After reading a little bit about DLLs and TestStand, I found all of the DLLs in the dependencies section of my project and added them to my TestStand workspace. I also used Dependency Walker to track down the problems with the nipxi5600u.dll, the 2 DLL files that it said were not found already existed in the same folder as the original DLL (C:\Windows\System32). I have also performed a Mass Compile to make sure everything was running in LV 2010. If I skip the steps involving the 5660, my entire sequence runs fine.
The previous code was running with the LabVIEW Run-Time Engine without any issues. Is there just a step I am missing? Has anyone seen anything like this before? I can send screenshots of errors to provide more detail if necessary.

I have tried some more things and still can't get it to work. I have added the VIs mentioned in the Notes On Creating Modulation Executables KB both to the TestStand workspace and the LabVIEW project holding all of my VIs. This did not change the results.
When I try to run my sequence, The first error I get is shown in Error 1445.bmp. This happens when I try to use the NI 5660 initialize.vi. If I click ignore, the next error I see is shown in Error -20551.bmp. When I try to open the VI to look at it, I get the 2 DLL errors shown in Error loading nipxi5600u.bmp and Error loading nidaq32.bmp. When I close TestStand, I get the error LabVIEW Fatal Error.bmp.
Attachments:
Error1445.JPG ‏164 KB
Error -20551.JPG ‏174 KB
Error loading nipxi5600u.JPG ‏9 KB

I'm using TestStand/Labview to do a string value test. Is there any way to use a variable in the edit string value test?? This forces you to hard code a string to test against.

I'm using TestStand 2.0/Labview 6i to do a string value test. Is there any way to use a string variable in the edit string value test instead of an actual string?? This forces you to hard code a string to test against.

Hi ART,
You can also use the LimitLoader step to load your string into to step similar to the Numeric Step type.
There should be an example of this in the Resource Library | TestStand
Regards
Ray Farmer
Regards
Ray Farmer

Why use Oracle 8.1.5 for Linux?

Dear,
If it is really pain in the ass to install Oracle on Linux, why
use it? I have spent more than 4 full days (more than what I
excepted) to try to install Oracle on a Linux box.
I guess I will go for mySQL since I can just install the RPM
package and do not have to worry those critical issues.
Just a note for Oracle, please design a better Installer next
time which is going to work! Thank you.
Best Regards,
Alex Yu
null

I have some sympathy for your plight. I have 8.0.5 installed on
RedHat Linux. Apart from patching the Pro*C configuration file,
everything is fine.
It does seem 8.1.5 is more problematic. If you're purely
evaluating Oracle, maybe you should consider 8.0.5 until 8i
stabilises unless you really are gagging for some 8i feature.
Alex Yu (guest) wrote:
: Dear,
: If it is really pain in the ass to install Oracle on Linux, why
: use it? I have spent more than 4 full days (more than what I
: excepted) to try to install Oracle on a Linux box.
: I guess I will go for mySQL since I can just install the RPM
: package and do not have to worry those critical issues.
: Just a note for Oracle, please design a better Installer next
: time which is going to work! Thank you.
: Best Regards,
: Alex Yu
null

Why Using Top Link is best in DB Adapter?

Hi All,
Can any one suggest , Why Using Top Link (Build-in Insert, Select etc. operation) is best in DB Adapter over using custom query?
Thanks

Hi Vikky,
for insert/select it depends on what kind of user you are. TopLink lets you browse and click on a tables and have everything generated for you. If you are more a DBA or show me the SQL type then you can just type SQL directly.
Some advantages of TopLink would be:
-The range of SQL generated by TopLink is limited, but if you hard code complex SQL into your service you need to maintain it.
-TopLink can generate at runtime the correct SQL for a given database, making switching from say DB2 to Oracle easy.
-The merge operation will compare the input XML to the columns on the database and update only what has changed. It can also do a sparse merge. If only 4 columns in the XML were set, only those 4 columns in the database will be updated.
-For inbound polling the strategy used (LogicalDelete, Sequencing Table, etc) is a configuration property and then at runtime multiple SQL statements are generated. The SQL also takes advantage of advanced syntax like the Oracle-only FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED, writing it all yourself may be tedious and error prone.
-The main benefit of TopLink is when you go beyond thinking about a single table. If you import multiple related tables at once, TopLink will generate the SQL to select from and maintain multiple tables, establish a commit order, and generate a hierarchical XSD. With custom SQL the matching XSD is always flat. I.e. if you just need to insert an emp you could get away with custom SQL. If you need to insert a dept and emps, I would use TopLink.
-This is also when the intermediary abstraction of an object/table makes more sense, as you only need to import a complex relational schema once, then generate inserts, selects, etc.
So I hope that helps. They are each equally viable and can do something that the other can't. Where you see an overlap I would go with personal preference.
Thanks
Steve

Why use interlaced ?

We shoot with DVCpro50 at 24p.
A few questions.
1. Is there anytime that there is an advantage, or a time when you have to use field dominance ?
Interlaced footage looks like crap. Stills look horrible in an interlaced timeline - why ever use it ?
It seems I can just switch the field dominance from "lower/even" to "none" and everything looks 10 times better on computer and NTSC monitor.
2. Is there anytime that there is a disadvantage to removing the pulldown and editing in 24fps. It looks 10 times better without the screwd up "B/C & C/D" frames if you leave it in and edit at 29.97fps.
3. is there any advantage or quality enhancement by removing the pulldown in "Shake" rather than letting FCP do it while capturing. And after removing, should your sequence timeline be set to 24fps or 23.98fps and why ?
4. Have G5, OSX 10.4.8, AJA IO hooked up to NTSC monitor, and can't view 24fps timeline on external NTSC monitor - only frames when parked - is that because these monitors will only accept 29.97 field dominated footage ?

Fist off - thanks for the help on part 4.
I know how TV works and why NTSC was invented over a half century ago.
Now that I can monitor on the external I will always edit in 24. I'm only the editor - they shoot with a SPX900 in 24p - if you don't remove the pulldown, frames 3 & 4 out of the 5 frame cycle combined with the interlacing gives really bad results. So out of curiosity I switched the sequence dominance setting from "lower/even" to "none" - at this point is ii still treated as interlaced or if it is set to "none" is it now progressive, like when you are editing in 24 and the field dominance window is greyed out. I would think that this would look jittery on a TV because the field order isn't right - but it doesn't - I can make DVD, VHS(not sure why), and monitor and the only difference is that the stills look incredibly better - there's no banding and stair stepping on the shoulders- on either the computer monitor or the NTSC monitor. And with it set to "lower/even" the bigger the computer or TV screen the worse it looks - but with it set to "none" the stills just get softer as you view them on bigger screens as if the right amount of gaussian blur was being added automatically - Isn't that wht you want ?
So that was why I ask "why use interlace" if you have a choice?
I'm not trying to be cool - these are ligitimate questions. I consider this doing my homework - isn't that what forums are for - I help people with answers all of the time.
As for part 3 - Does "standard pulldown" refer to going back & forth between 24fps (film) and 29.97 (video) and "advanced pulldown" from 23.98 to 29.97 ?
Are all of these modern video cameras actually shooting at 23.98 ?
2 G5s 1.8Ghz single & 2.7Ghz Dual (PPC) Mac OS X (10.4.8) FCP Studio 5.0.4, Shake 4.1, AJA IO, 1.5G RAM & 3G RAM
2 G5s 1.8Ghz single & 2.7Ghz Dual (PPC) Mac OS X (10.4.8) FCP Studio 5.0.4, Shake 4.1, AJA IO, 1.5G RAM & 3G RAM

Why use symbol { } in the following script?

Why use symbol *{ }* in the following script?
<read-write-backing-map-scheme>
<scheme-name>SampleDatabaseScheme</scheme-name>
<internal-cache-scheme>
<local-scheme>
<scheme-ref>SampleMemoryScheme</scheme-ref>
</local-scheme>
</internal-cache-scheme>
<cachestore-scheme>
<class-scheme>
<class-name>com.tangosol.examples.coherence.DBCacheStore</class-name>
<init-params>
<init-param>
<param-type>java.lang.String</param-type>
*<param-value>{cache-name}</param-value>*
</init-param>
</init-params>
</class-scheme>
</cachestore-scheme>
</read-write-backing-map-scheme>
Thank you very much
Edited by: jetq on Jun 24, 2009 6:26 PM

Hi Frank,
In the example, the "{cache-name}" is supposed to be replaced by the database's table or view name that will be queried for the data to be cached. It's purpose is demonstrate how to pass parameters to the class constructor.
Regards,
Harv

Why use layer masks and adjustment layers?

I've been using PSE and CS successfully for years.
One thing I have never understood is: why use layer masks and adjustment layers, instead of simply creating a copy of the subject layer (the one I want to make changes to) and experimenting with that? It's quick (Ctrl-J), I can do it as many times as I want, I'm not affecting my Background layer. If I like the changes, I can keep them. I can switch the copy on and off to compare with the Background layer. I can do any type of blend or combination I desire. I can insert Gradient layer(s), select any part of the copy and (Ctrl-J) create a new layer containing only the selected part. I can adjust size, rotate, do anything.
It almost seems that "layer mask" and "adjustment layer" are mainly another layer of terminology; can anyone explain (preferably in 50 words or less) how they are intrinsically different from or superior to working with copies of the Background layer? What can be done with them that can't be done simply using copies of the Background layer?

Here's a very basic example of the advantage of using a layer mask.
I have this picture of a sunflower and I want to convert the background to black & white, leaving just the flower in color. I duplicated the Background layer, converted it to B&W and proceeded to use the Eraser to uncover the flower color. But I made a mistake and erased outside the flower. There is no way to correct this other than deleting the layer and starting again.
Now let's use a layer mask on the B&W layer. Set the Foreground/Background colors to the defaults black/white. Using the Brush tool paint on the mask with black to reveal the color. Here I painted too far, revealing a green leaf in the background. No need to start over. Simply switch to white and paint the excess to convert back to the B&W.
Tip: while painting you can type "X" to toggle between black and white.
You could also select the flower using the various selection tools and then fill the selection with black. If it turns out the selection was not 100% accurate you can then fine-tune the result by painting on the mask with black or white as necessary.

When to use TestStand

For simple test flows, what TestStand does is fairly easy to implement with a custom software framework. Is there a rule of thumb as to what kind of application makes sense to use TestStand? I have studied TestStand for about 20 hours now, and I have found it difficult to learn. I don't want to add an extremely complex, single-purpose software tool to my test flow if I can accomplish the same thing with my existing general-purpose tools (LabVIEW in my case).
At one point I had assumed that TestStand was to enable sequential programming to LabVIEW, but I have since learned this can't be the reason. It is not hard to build a command interpreter with LabVIEW that interprets a text file, and can handle data logging, variables, conditional branching, etc. Is TestStand just for users who lack the programming sophistication to build this kind of application themselves?

LabVIEW can be a bad solution for a sequential type of operation (like executing the steps of a test flow) if you only use a long string of vis. A test flow is a long list of events that happen one after another, and it needs to very flexible and configurable. If you just chain together a bunch of VIs, you would get a LabVIEW program 30 screens wide. This is very bad. When I was a LabVIEW n00b I assumed that TestStand had been invented to solve this problem.
I was able to make a solution using LabVIEW to implement test flows without using TestStand at all. I didn't really need to use LabVIEW, I could have used C or any other language. This program was for test set "A". This program works by using a state machine that loads a list of commands from a text file into a queue and executes the commands in order.
I have another test set (platform "B") that I am updating with new software. I am not sure whether to re-use my old state machine code, or to try TestStand. At this point I am very disappointed with TestStand. It is very difficult to learn. It has aspects like "models" and "callbacks" that add complexity but are not useful for my application. The default user interface and data log format do not fit my needs, so I would need to replace the stock data logging and user interface elements with my own.
So my question to people that use TestStand is, what is the advantage to using this tool vs spinning your own solution? What is supposed to be the core value of TestStand? What is the advantage of spending 100 hours learning TestStand and spinning my own custom interface vs creating my own test flow sequencer?

Why using workarea for internal table is better in performance

Please tell me
why using workarea for internal table is better in performance

Hi Vineet ,
Why would we choose to use an internal table without a header line when it is easier to code one with a header line?
it has following reason.
1)Separate Internal Table Work Area:
The work area (staging area) defined for the internal table is not limited to use with just one internal table.
take ex-
Suppose you want two internal tables for EMPLOYEE one to contain all records and one to contain only those records where country = USA. You could create both of these internal tables without header lines and use only one work area to load data into both of them. You would append all records from the work area into the first internal table. You would conditionally append the USA records from the same work area into the second internal table.
2) Performance Issues: Using an internal table without a header line is more efficient than one with a header line
3) Nested Internal Tables: If you want to include an internal table within a structure or another internal table, you must use one without a header line.
If this one is helpful ,then rewards me
Regards
Shambhu

Why use go:title etc...

I've just seen this in the meta data of a website:
<meta property="og:title" content="foobar...
There's loads of them… go:description… go:audio… go:keywords… and so on
Apparently it's to do with open graph and Facebook which I don't fully understand, but why use it and what are the advantages? I've googled it, but I'm finding little ore than what I already mentioned. Just wondering if anybody here knew a little more detail than the info I've found.
Thanks.
Mat

From this page - Facebook Content Sharing Best Practices
I read:
Use proper Open Graph tags
Open Graph tags are included in your page’s HTML and allow the Facebook Crawler to generate previews when your content is shared on Facebook.
We give examples below, but the basic Open Graph tags you should implement are:
og:title – The title of your article, excluding any branding.
og:site_name - The name of your website. Not the URL, but the name. (i.e. "IMDb" not "imdb.com".)
og:url – This URL serves as the unique identifier for your post. It should match your canonical URL used for SEO, and it should not include any session variables, user identifying parameters, or counters. If you use this improperly, likes and shares will not be aggregated for this URL and will be spread across all of the variations of the URL.
og:description – A detailed description of the piece of content, usually between 2 and 4 sentences. This tag is technically optional, but can improve the rate at which links are read and shared.
etc.

Why use synchronized to decorate an object which its type is Vector

Hello,guys.
Recently,I readed the source code of java.util.Observable.Unfortunately,I encounted some problems。In the source code ,there is an object named obs.Its type is Vector. As we all know,Vector is thread-safe.why use synchronized in below code?
    public synchronized void deleteObservers() {
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Edited by: qiao123 on Dec 21, 2009 7:07 PM

My " NewBie" Definition of Thread Safe :Is of no interest. It already has a definition and that isn't it.I wanted to make clear what my definition is.
The [JLS DEF FOR COLLECTION|http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/api/java/util/Collections.html] says:
That is the Javadoc for Collections actually, nothing to do with the JLS or Collection.They are authoritative links for Java Language and the discussion in hand, not Fantasies of Lucy Aunty.
So,how do we draw any inference(s) here?Yes, that you have selectively quoted the Javadoc, which goes on to talk about how you have to use it when iterating.Still not answering my question,Sir.
ejp,you seem to have knowledge but you don't have the attitude to forward the same to others or bear what others say,even when initiative has been taken by others to put forward a problem.
P.S : Not all hackers are arrogant and not all arrogant are hackers.
Another P.S : Waste of my time really !!!
Edited by: punter on Dec 22, 2009 1:09 AM

Why use KeyExtractor here? How about remove it?

Please see the following script:
setResults = cache.entrySet(new AndFilter(
new LikeFilter(new KeyExtractor("getLastName"), "S%",
(char) 0, false),
new EqualsFilter("getHomeAddress.getState", "MA")));Why use KeyExtractor here? How about remove it and make it like:
setResults = cache.entrySet(new AndFilter(
new LikeFilter("getLastName"), "S%"),
new EqualsFilter("getHomeAddress.getState", "MA")));Is this scrip right?
Edited by: jetq on Oct 23, 2009 2:08 PM

I Googled for KeyExtractor and the likeliest-looking thing was javadocs for com.tangosol.util.extractor.KeyExtractor on an Oracle site.
Why don't you check around the Oracle developer site for a forum specifically about whatever product this is?

Why use testStand

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