National Instruments LabVIEW vs. Vectorworks Fundamentals

LabView is a great tool to connect your sensors to your data aquisition hardware. It makes it really easy to set-up a data acquisition routine that meets your individual requirements. I, as an engine researcher, find it very well suited for engine experimentation. For any other programming needs, i.e. not data acquisition, I would not recommend using LabView because of its graphical programming architecture. The architecture makes it a great tool for Data Aquisition but puts at a disadvantage when it comes to other computational tasks, e.g. making a thermodynamic engine model. For those applications having text-based programming is better suited

Incentivized

It is perfectly suited for residential work, and work where the project requires integrated 2d and 3d. It is terrible for integrated energy modeling. This needs to be fixed immediately.

Incentivized

• Automation.
• I/O.
• Data Processing.

Incentivized

• 3D modeling - no need to start in SketchUp or other more rudimentary programs.
• Seamless import/export with other programs - ideal communication with consultants.
• Superb customer service, training, and tech support.

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• Sometimes backwards compatibility issues arise.
• Error messages can be confusing.
• Although it is a graphical programming interface, it has a pretty steep learning curve at first.

Incentivized

• The program is getting a little 'fat', and needs to be slimmed down. It is starting to bog down a bit when doing certain functions. The program of late is more buggy then we are used to seeing.
• I like how smooth Sketchup is in 3D. It would be great to get VW's to be more responsive in 3D.
• The space tool is very clunky.
• I would be great if a texture map could be a video and not just a still image. We could really use that.
• PLEASE get the energy modeling capabilities up to speed. It needs to be much more intuitive and NOT based on Passive House standards. Please include a clear output for a projects Energy Use Intensity (EUI) and how a project is doing relative to the 2030 Commitment.

Incentivized

We chose LabVIEW over MATLAB due to the integration with hardware and the graphical programming interface. Also, the ability to use LabVIEW with FPGAs and real-time processors without having to make large changes to the code base or swapping to a separate programming environment was a big benefit since we don't know what hardware will be suitable for each customer application.

Incentivized

• Allows us to spend more time on analysis and less time on coding

• Subscription model ensures we always have the latest versions - per-seat license is very affordable.
• Training costs are low (i.e. new hires get up to speed quickly).

Incentivized