Simulating input in Labview

Question

I am trying to write a Labview program that takes input from a thermal sensor on serial port RS - 232, applies some basic transformation to it, and displays it on a screen.

I'm wondering if it is possible to somehow simulate the sensor in labview, or by using some external simulator application so I can test my program before I'm given access to the actual hardware.

Is this possible?

I have Labview 2011.

Answer 1

The quickest way to test your VI's logic would be to make a CSV file of example data, and temporarily replace the section that reads from the sensor with a section that reads data values from the CSV file at the same rate.

It's probably not worth trying to emulate the serial port input at a lower level as Labview is generally very reliable at getting data from hardware into your VI - it's up to you then what you do with it!

Answer 2

You could have another program simulate the sensor and write to a different COM port. Then you could connect these COM ports with a null modem cable.

In order to do so, you'll have to work out how your sensor works and feed data in na appropriate format into that 2nd COM port. These data will end up being received by the 1st COM port and eventually by your application-to-be-developed.