Masterpiece of efficiency: LabVIEW window chaos

[Marcel_Barthel]

Dear LabVIEW Team,

I hope this message reaches you in high spirits and with a cup of tea in hand, because I am about to share a groundbreaking idea with you.

After years of fascinating work with LabVIEW, I would like to express my sincere admiration for the breathtaking number of windows that make your development environment so unique. While other programming environments like Visual Studio try to structure the development process in a boring way, you clearly rely on the "more is more" principle.

It is simply fascinating to see how each VI always has two independent windows. It makes me feel like I'm exploring a virtual windowscape - a journey into the unknown where each window is an adventure in itself. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun developing.

But why settle for just a few windows when we could take inefficiency to a whole new level? So I propose: Let's keep increasing the number of windows! Why not give every single structure in the code its own window? That would really be the pinnacle of chaos efficiency.

I imagine it like this: When I create a loop, a new window opens in which I can program the code for the loop. For each case of a case structure - another window. The possibilities are endless! An endless labyrinth of windows that turns my screen into a colorful kaleidoscope. That would be the pinnacle of innovation, wouldn't it?

I hope my ironic enthusiasm for the distinctive LabVIEW window concept has been well received. I am certainly available to discuss this idea further and am willing to contribute to the creation of an even more chaotic, but undoubtedly entertaining, development environment.

With sarcastic regards,

An enthusiastically chaotic LabVIEW developer

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Sehr geehrtes LabVIEW-Team,

ich hoffe, diese Nachricht erreicht Sie in bester Laune und mit einer Tasse Tee in der Hand, denn ich stehe kurz davor, eine bahnbrechende Idee mit Ihnen zu teilen.

Nach Jahren der faszinierenden Arbeit mit LabVIEW, möchte ich Ihnen meine aufrichtige Bewunderung für die atemberaubende Anzahl von Fenstern aussprechen, die Ihre Entwicklungsumgebung so einzigartig machen. Während andere Programmierumgebungen wie Visual Studio auf langweilige Weise versuchen, den Entwicklungsprozess zu strukturieren, setzen Sie eindeutig auf das Prinzip "Mehr ist mehr".

Es ist einfach faszinierend zu sehen, wie jedes VI immer zwei unabhängige Fenster hat. Das gibt mir das Gefühl, als würde ich eine virtuelle Fensterlandschaft erkunden – eine Reise ins Ungewisse, wo jedes Fenster ein Abenteuer für sich ist. Ich kann mich nicht erinnern, wann ich das letzte Mal so viel Spaß beim Entwickeln hatte.

Aber warum sich mit nur ein paar Fenstern begnügen, wenn wir die Ineffizienz auf ein völlig neues Level heben könnten? Daher schlage ich vor: Lasst uns die Anzahl der Fenster weiter erhöhen! Warum nicht jeder einzelnen Struktur im Code sein eigenes Fenster zuweisen? Das wäre wirklich die Krönung der Chaos-Effizienz.

Ich stelle mir das so vor: Wenn ich eine Schleife erstelle, öffnet sich ein neues Fenster, in der ich den Code für die Schleife programmieren kann. Für jeden Case einer Case-Struktur – ein weiteres Fenster. Die Möglichkeiten sind endlos! Ein endloses Labyrinth von Fenstern, das meinen Bildschirm in ein kunterbuntes Kaleidoskop verwandelt. Das wäre doch der Gipfel der Innovation, oder?

Ich hoffe, meine ironische Begeisterung für das unverwechselbare LabVIEW-Fensterkonzept ist angekommen. Ich stehe Ihnen selbstverständlich zur Verfügung, um diese Idee weiter zu diskutieren und bin bereit, meinen Beitrag zur Erschaffung einer noch chaotischeren, aber zweifellos unterhaltsamen Entwicklungsumgebung zu leisten.

Mit sarkastischen Grüßen,

Ein begeistert chaotischer LabVIEW-Entwickler

[wiebe@CARYA]

OK, you know this is going to be a flame war 😁.

I'll start gently.

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@Marcel_Barthel wrote:

It is simply fascinating to see how each VI always has two independent windows.

The windows are not independent. They in fact depend completely on each other. 

I personally (also) think not every VI needs a FP (entire applications exist without UIs), but it's a polarizing thought.

As it is, FPs allow easy debugging, so if BDs without FP could exist, they need to have an alternative that is just as easy (in both usage and conceptually). It's probably 25 years too late to introduce this.

So I propose: Let's keep increasing the number of windows!

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The number of VI windows never increased. It has always been 2.

[CuriousSwede]

I like your sarcasm! 😀

See my small contribution regarding the window "clutter-problem":

Align and distribute FP and BD windows - NI Community

[Petru_Tarabuta]

I agree that it is easy to get into a situation where there are too many LabVIEW windows open at the same time, and that efficiency is reduced when that happens. I also agree with Wiebe that "not every VI needs a FP (entire applications exist without UIs)". The following idea requests just that: Block-Diagram-Only VIs (VIs without a Front Panel) - NI Community

[AeroSoul]

I think it would be easier to manage if one VI had one window and you could then switch between FP/BP (like with CTRL + E now, except not opening a new window). And if you needed both open at the same time you could just "split" them, like in Altium Designer.

Happens way too often that i have 10+ windows open and then they get clustered in the task bar and even worse to switch between.

[wiebe@CARYA]

>And if you needed both open at the same time you could just "split" them, like in Altium Designer.

CTRL+T does that (probably not what you want, as it doesn't actually reduce the number of windows)

>Happens way too often that i have 10+ windows open and then they get clustered in the task bar and even worse to switch between.

You could use CTRL+SHIFT+W (All Windows...).

[AeroSoul]

>CTRL+T does that (probably not what you want, as it doesn't actually reduce the number of windows)

Yeah, like that.. just one window.

>You could use CTRL+SHIFT+W (All Windows...).

Didn't know about that one, thanks.

[altenbach]

NI has played around with MDI interfaces many times (last time for NXG) and it simply does not work well for any of this. Yes, we tried hard!!!!

The OS has a perfectly good windows manager and task bar and it seems silly to duplicate that functionality in another corral. My diagrams and front panels greatly differ in dimensions and I need the entire screen to see several at once, especially during debugging.

Modern browsers have that "v" near the upper left where we can quickly find any other windows/tabs of that browser. That would be nice to have for LabVIEW too. 😄

[AeroSoul]

>You could use CTRL+SHIFT+W (All Windows...).

Unfortunately while that window is open you can't do anything else in task bar (file, view, edit,...)

[wiebe@CARYA]

>>You could use CTRL+SHIFT+W (All Windows...).

>Unfortunately while that window is open you can't do anything else in task bar (file, view, edit,...)

It would be much better as a normal or floating window.