The "Launch Actor" vi

[LarsM]

So the "Launch Actor" vi has been deprecated as of LabVIEW 2014. I really hope it's not removed, because I'm dependent on it in my projects. The "Launch Nested Actor" and "Launch Remote Actor" vi's are too restrictive for the stuff I'm doing.

[ThiCop]

You can still use it:

PS: Don't mind the back-up I made. It was for some support reasons.

Kind Regards,
Thierry

[LarsM]

Yes, that's why I wrote "deprecated". But it still means it's supposed to be phased out in future versions. I'm hoping that won't happen.

[AristosQueue (NI)]

It will happen in future versions. Probably around LV 2017 or 2018.

What is your use case for "Launch Actor.vi"? Why "too restrictive"? We found that most of the "less restrictive" use cases for Launch Actor.vi were actually bugs in people's code, so I'd be curious to hear yours.

[gbecker]

I second the request for keeping the "Launch Actor.vi"

My use case is usually integrating Actors in legacy code. For my current way of doing this, it is necessary to have access to the queue refs. But maybe my approach for this problem is not the best?

[dsavir]

I agree, we should keep the launch actor.

My use cases are:

1. Test harnesses: I want a non actor test to launch the actor, send messages and get messages back.

2. Workaround for "code not stopping properly" bug: If I don't keep the launcher open until the root actor has exited the code doesn't stop properly. So I launch the root actor with the deprecated Launch Actor and leave it open until root actor sends last ack.

Thanks,

Danielle

[LarsM]

I have a tool set for other users, where each node starts an actor in a network. Because of this, each actor must be started from outside of other actors. I will try to make an example.

[Brainstorms]

"Launch Actor.vi" is source code...  Any reason why you couldn't keep a copy (or a look-alike/behave-alike version) in your software library, to use even after it's no longer delivered with future versions of LabVIEW?

[AristosQueue (NI)]

> 1. Test harnesses: I want a non actor test to launch the actor, send messages and get messages back.

Test harnesses are much better handled with the test harness VI found in the palettes:

> Because of this, each actor must be started from outside of other actors.

Use Launch Root Actor.vi. That's what handles this case.

> 2. Workaround for "code not stopping properly" bug:

This one slipped off my radar. I need to work on it more. It shouldn't be an issue. That'll get fixed before we would pull Launch Actor.vi out. That's not a reason to keep Launch Actor around.

[LarsM]

> Any reason why you couldn't keep a copy

None. It's just that it would be nice if it were updated with the other stuff.

> Use Launch Root Actor.vi. That's what handles this case.

So actor enqueuers must be handled manually from now on? Not saying it's a bad decision, just wondering if that's what you're going for.