National Instruments SystemLink vs. Robot Framework

There are definitely scenarios where NI SystemLink will be useful but just didn't work out well for us. I needed to be able to replace an EXE file on a computer with a new EXE to do the upgrades but I was not able to do that through SystemLink. You had to work with packages in order to perform this and I didn't want to revamp my distribution plan. We also didn't need to do any asset management or calibration documentation through SystemLink. I was excited about being able to view data from the test stations through a browser but our engineers need historical data available and everything resets to a live view when you click back to the UI.

Incentivized

It suits for checking features of a simple web application or features that don't heavily rely on AJAX. You could create tests that check if application is running properly and raise alarm if required so someone can manually check for problems. However making big test sets to produce reliable results may prove to be difficult or impossible. Also running lots of test cases can take hours.

Incentivized

• Setup
• User Interface
• LabVIEW Integration

Incentivized

• Licensing
• Not able to see data from all test stations on one UI
• Lack of data history

Incentivized

• Availability to monitor multiple test stations remotely
• Was quick to integrate into existing LabVIEW codebase
• Ultimately did not justify the licensing cost for the benefit

Incentivized