New Features

• New tool: Workers 5.0 Debug Server (completely refactored, new UI design, new features)

• New tool: Workers Public API Builder tool

  • Create / Edit Public API Request

  • Create / Edit Public API Request with Reply

  • Create / Edit Public API Response

  • Override Public API MHL cases

• New tool: Create MHL Case tool

  • Create / Edit Local API Request

  • Create / Edit non-Public MHL case

  • Override non-Public API MHL cases

• New tool: Change Worker Properties tool

• New tool: Upgrade to Workers 5.0 project tool

• New feature: Create Asynchronous Launcher VIs (in Create Launcher VI tool)

• New feature: Worker User Library Config File Editor tool (in Worker User Library tool)

• New feature: Worker.lvclass Public Properties accessible through class wire property node

• New feature: Caller's Public Properties accessible through a Worker's Public Properties

• New feature: subWorker's Public Properties accessible through a Worker's Public Properties

• New feature: Launcher VIs tab added to Worker Hierarchy Viewer (WHV) tool

• New feature: Dynamically Loaded Workers loaded from base classes now detected in WHV tool

• New feature: Development tools display progress window whilst tool is performing operations

• New feature: Set Initialization Data VIs automatically wired in to Caller's <Initialize> MHL case

• New feature: NI VI Icon Library now used to generate all class and VI icons

• New feature: Take header colors from other Worker class option added to tools that create classes

• New feature: Workers at run-time are now identifiable by a backslash-delimited string (WID). This replaces the period-delimited ID string in previous versions of the framework

• New feature: Workers example projects are now available through the Workers tools menu

• New feature: All example projects updated. Now use Workers 5.0 generated API VIs

• New feature: New DMM HAL Demo Project added to example project list

  Upgrade tool changes

  • VI name change: Common Cases.vi -> MHL Cases.vi

  • VI name change: Setup subWorker -> Setup Statically-Linked subWorkers.vi

  • VI name change: subWorkers.ctl -> Statically-Linked subWorkers.ctl

  • 'subWorkers' cluster in a Worker private data cluster renamed to 'Statically-Linked subWorkers'

  • Worker and Worker base class background class icons swapped

  Other changes

  • Worker base class template now contains an Initialization Data.ctl

  • Worker and Worker base class template now contains a Response Cases.ctl in the class's private data cluster. This cluster is wired to a Worker's Initialization Data.ctl in the Worker's <Initialize> MHL case

  • Worker base class template MHL now contains the standard 4 Worker 'Framework Cases'

  • Create Base Class tool now add class icon header string to class XML file

  • Main VI ref added to Worker Public Properties

  • Caller added to Worker Public Properties

  • subWorkers array added to Worker Public Properties

  • Quickdrop Shortcut Ctrl+9 now opens Create MHL Case tool

  • Worker detection method changed in development tools, now by class inheritance and not from Alias tag in Worker class XML file

  • Worker Alias string written to class localized name property of class when new Worker created

  • Diagram disable structure removed around VTD node with Initialization Data.ctl in Worker template Main VI's MHL <Initialize> case.

  • When more than one target is detected in the project, the Target selection combo box will appear in the Workers tools menu.

  • Worker.lvclass : Callback Easy Reply.vi added to Workers palette.

  • All Case Labels added by the scripting tools are now created in Protected Scope.

  • All tools that create files can no longer accept \ / : * ? " < > | characters as inputs

  • Worker Alias string can on longer contain \ character.

  • Setup subWorker VIs (CNW tool) use ‘To more specific class’ node in place of ‘Preserve run-time class’ node

  • Format of Worker User Library config files has changed. Now editable with new editor tool.

  • All scripted VIs and CTLs now contain VI descriptions.

  • Repeat errors caught by Worker.lvclass:Error Handler.vi are now only ignored IF they have occurred within the same MHL case.

  • QD shortcut Ctrl+8 (Goto MHL Case) now uses filename after API prefix to determine associated MHL case name. This now works for (future proof) DD override API VIs also.

  • Worker Hierarchy Viewer tool renamed to Worker Call-Chain Viewer.

  Workers 5.0 Debug Server changes

  • Task Manger tab -> Application Manager window

  • Live Message Log logging to file now possible

  • Clear Log option added to Message Log right click menu

  • Show/Hide Front Panel option added to Application Manager right click menu

  • Client mode removed.

  • Error log file generate by Debug Server application.

  • Not compatible with Workers v4.0 Debug Client Loader.vi.

  Workers 5.0 Debug Client Loader.vi changes:

  • Debug Client Loader.vi can now detect and display MHL cases in Worker base classes (if MHL case is not overridden)

  • Debug Client Loader.vi has removed “Server Mode” and “Server Mode : Server Port” inputs, and is not compatible with Workers v4.0 Debug Server.

  Functional Change

  • Worker.lvclass:Callback Reply.vi now sends upstream error to Worker.lvclass:Enqueue and Collect.vi (or Enqueue Callback Message.vi (poly) in Workers v4.0)

  Deprecated / Removed features

  • Message.lvclass and Callback Message.lvclass palette VIs deprecated. Messaging now replaced with the new strictly typed Worker API VIs created by the new Worker API tools

  • Find subWorkers Queue.vi (poly) deprecated

  • Read Worker Attributes.vi (poly) deprecated

  • All uses of period-delimited Worker ID strings. Replaced with WID (backslash-delimited string)

  • Dynamically Load Worker.vi deprecated. Replaced with Dynamically Load Worker v2.vi.

  • <All subWorkers Initialize> and <All subWorkers Exited> cases are no longer added to a Workers MHL if they don’t exist, when adding a statically-linked subWorker to a Worker with the Create/Add Worker tool.

  • Debug Client Loader.vi has removed “Server Mode” and “Server Mode : Server Port” inputs, and is not compatible with Workers v4.0 Debug Server.

  Bug Fixes

  • CNW tool would fail when creating a new Worker in non-English versions of LabVIEW

  • CNW tool would create a Worker without a Main.vi when creating a new Worker from a custom template Worker

  • Renaming Case Label tool now deletes old Case Label file from disk

  • Renaming MHL Case would cause broken link to associated Case Label in VIs that were not loaded into memory

  • Case Labels can be added to a virtual folder with user defined scope

  Efficiency Improvements

  • A copy of the Worker's Main Data Wire has been removed from Worker.lvclass:Error Handler.vi resulting in improved Worker MHL loop speed.

  • Workers 5.0 Debug Server Message Logs process messages at approximately twice the speed of the Workers 4.0 Debug Server, in addition to being separated into Debug Client specific processes.

• Main New Feature: Workers framework core and development tools can now be deployed and used on NI real-time targets.

• New LabVIEW Requirement: Workers 4.0 is only available for development on LabVIEW 2017 or later.

• VIPM Change: Workers now contains 3 VIPM packages: Workers Framework Core, Workers Development tools, Workers Debug Server

• Licensing Change: Workers Framework Core (BSD-3), Workers Development tools (Workers EULA), Workers Debug Server (Workers EULA)

• New Tool: Workers Debug Server (separate application)

• New Tool: RT Worker Convert tool

• New Tool: Worker Library tool

• New Tool: MHL Viewer tool

• New Tool: Create Base Class tool

• New Tool: Change Class Inheritance tool

• New Tool: Upgrade to Workers 4.0 project tool

• Removed Tool: Workers Debugger tool (replaced with Workers Debug Server)

• Removed Tool: Workers Library tool (replaced with Worker Library tool)

• New Feature: Non-reentrant Worker Main VIs (Main NR.vi) add to framework core

• New Palette VIs: Find subWorkers Queue.vi (poly); Read Alias.vi; Pass Error to Owner.vi; Write Message Data.vi; Write Worker Attributes.vi (poly); Worker Start Exiting.vi, Debug Client Loader.vi

• New Palette VIs: Enqueue Standard Message.vi (poly) re-organized selection menus, and can now be used for sending both single and multiple messages.

• New Palette VIs: Worker Alias added to Worker subWorkers Attributes.vi output cluster.

• Deprecated VIs: Start Exiting Worker.vi (replaced with Worker Start Exiting.vi)

• Removed VIs: Debugger Loader.vi (replaced with Debug Client Loader.vi)

• Framework Functional Change: Every statically linked subWorker requires its own Setup subWorker VI, containing the Workers v4.0 Setup subWorkers CORE.vi.

• Framework Functional Change: Application debugging is now achieved between new Debug Server application and Debug Client background tasks.

• Framework Functional Change: Naming of dynamically loaded Workers Alias no longer given _DLWXX suffix.

• Framework Functional Change: Alias for statically linked subWorkers is now defined by a string constant and not by the name of the Worker class constant.

• Framework Style Change: Worker class tag format changed. Backwards compatible with pre v4.0 Workers.

• Framework Style Change: Upgraded palette VI icon style.

• Workers tools functional change: tools now display classes and their owning libraries.

• Workers tools menu change: option to select RT target when RT targets are detected in open projects.

• Workers tools additions: Back and Help buttons added to all Workers tools main windows.

• Workers tools additions: Separate Compiled Code flag on all VIs created/added by Workers tools and Quickdrop shortcuts matches "separate compiled code from new project items" flag in owning project.

• Create/Add Worker tool change: 'Create non-reentrant Worker' option displayed when tools runs on RT target.

• Create/Add Worker tool change: Initialize Worker VI files created by the tool now use Worker Alias instead of Worker class name for filename identification.

• Create/Add Worker tool change: Initialize and Setup subWorker VIs created by the tool now added to new 'subWorkers' virtual folder within a Worker.

• Create Launcher VI tool change: Option provided to create Launcher VI containing Debug Client Loader.vi.

• Worker Library tool Change: Tool reworked completely. Now accepts 3rd party Workers.

• Worker Library tool Change: Message Pump Worker upgraded to v2.0 (BSD-0).

• Worker Library tool Addition: TCP Server and Client Worker Library v1.0 (BSD-0) added.

• Debug Server Functional Change: Now a separate Windows executable application. Communicates to remote and local Workers applications via custom TCP/IP interface.

• Debug Server Task Manager Addition: Task Manager new column "Type". Right click menu additions "Remove Application" and "Start Exiting".

• Debug Server Message Log Addition: Column filter history list added.

• Quickdrop Shortcut Addition: Ctrl+9 allows you also rename MHL case and its corresponding case label.

• Bug Fix: Attempted patch for Create/Add Worker tool, causing error when automatically wiring a new Worker's Main.vi to merge error node, for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean versions of LabVIEW.

• Bug Fix: Whitespace trimmed for Head Worker Alias. Debugger would not detect Worker correctly if whitespaces existed in its filename.

• Bug Fix: Create Launcher VI keeps user defined folder path after Launcher VI has been created

v3.1.1

- Bug Fix: Fixed issue with VI icons created by Workers tools not having the correct background layers (LabVIEW 2021 SP1).

v3.1.0

- Added: Workers Library tool added to Workers tools menu.
- Added: Message Pump Worker added to Workers Library.
- Changed: Worker templates now contain the four required framework MHL cases by default.
- Changed: All Workers in sample projects now contain the four required framework MHL cases.
- Changed: Documentation updated to support the new four required MHL cases.
- Bug Fix: Error 56002 would occur when adding a Worker to an auto-populating folder with the Create/Add New Worker tool.

v3.0.0

- Added: Upgrade tool to upgrade Workers v2.x projects to Workers v3.0, replacing missing VIs.
- Added: Common Base Class sample project with documentation.
- Added: Create/Add Worker tool now allows you to select the class your new Worker will inherit from.
- Changed: Majority of Worker.lvclass public API VIs are now dynamic dispatch.
- Changed: Workers Debugger now exists in a separate library from framework library.
- Changed: Significant cleanup of framework code. Many Workers v2.x VIs and some classes no longer exist.
- Changed: Workers.lvlib classes and VIs can be unlocked with password 'Workers'.
- Changed: Quickdrop shortcuts VIs now unlocked.
- Changed: Case Labels now contain the case string in a string constant on the case label's block diagram.
- Changed: Worker User.lvclass now deprecated. All Workers now inherit directly from Worker.lvclass by default.
- Changed: Workers can now be launched directly by Head Worker without use of a Launcher VI.
- Bug Fix: Initialization Data now assigned to correct Worker when multi-instances of the same statically linked subWorker is used.
- Bug Fix: Create/Add Worker tool now working with German and French versions of LabVIEW.
- Bug Fix: WHV tool would not display dynamically loaded Worker’s whose callers were in a library.