JKI is proud to announce the release of VIPM 2012. Click here to download it. VIPM 2012 brings great new features for LabVIEW teams and add-on creators, and also comes at a lower price of $499.

We’ve been talking to customers over the past year to find ways to improve VIPM. Through one-on-one interviews and on public forums such as the VIPM Idea Exchange, we’ve learned a lot about how people use VIPM and more importantly how people want to use VIPM. You’ll find many of these user-suggested improvements in VIPM 2012.

Here are a few of the major changes in VIPM 2012. You can also learn more at the JKI website, or go straight to the download page and get started today.

New Low Price, Easy Trial Activation

VIPM 2012 Pro is now $499, and if you’ve ever bought a previous version of VIPM Pro or Enterprise upgrades are just $199. We’ve also made it easy to evaluate VIPM Pro for 30 days: just activate VIPM with the special trial code VIPM-PRO-EVAL-WEB.

Unleashing VI Package Repositories

With VIPM 2012, VIPM Pro users can create as many VI Package Repositories as they want. This means that if you’re building LabVIEW add-ons or reusable libraries for your coworkers, customers, or the community, you can create one or more central VI Package Repositories to easily distribute your add-ons. Other features:

• VIPM 2012 Pro can connect to any number of repositories. Repository client limits are a thing of the past.
• VI Package Repositories can be hosted in public Dropbox folders. You no longer have to run your own web server or ftp site to host a repository (although you still can if you want).
• VIPM 2012 Pro users can now manage multiple shared repositories. Previously, VIPM could only a manage a single repository.
• VIPM 2012 Pro can create private repositories for package sharing within your organization or with your customers.
• Every VI Package Repository has a unique RSS feed so repository users can subscribe to receive package release notifications in their favorite RSS reader.

Automate Tasks With VIPM’s New VI-based API

Do you want to automate installation of packages or perform maintenance tasks on your reuse library easily? Now you can, with VIPM 2012 Pro’s new public API. Learn more here.

Here are some examples of automations you can create:

• Automated package builds: Create a one-click build for your LabVIEW add-on. Write LabVIEW code to automatically apply a VIPC file, build your package, install the built package & test it, then publish the package to your repository, all automatically.
• Unattended system updates: Script your development systems to automatically find and install add-on updates.
• Group package publishing: Create a “package release dropbox” for members of your team to put built packages into; automatically publish packages from that folder to your repository.
• New development system setup: Create a “system setup” script to automatically install “core” packages on multiple LabVIEW versions with a single command.
• System inventory and maintenance: Validate system installations, perform cleanup and maintenance on deployed systems.

VI Package Configuration (VIPC) Improvements

Our users tell us that once they start using VI Package Configuration files they can’t stop. They’ve also given us some great ideas to improve how VIPC files work. We’ve listened, and VIPM 2012 Pro adds the following enhancements:

• Apply VIPC to any LabVIEW Version: VIPM 2012 allows you to apply a VIPC in any version of LabVIEW.
• LabVIEW Project (.lvproj) Dependency Scanning Support: VIPM 2012 Pro supports LabVIEW project files as a source for finding project VI package dependencies. Use this feature to create a VIPC file containing exactly the right libraries and add-ons for each project you work on.

Other Stuff

• Did we mention that new, low price for VIPM Pro? It’s only $499, and upgrades are only $199.
• Lots of bug fixes.
• If you bought VIPM Pro or Enterprise in the last year, your upgrade is free, just like before.
• Click here for full VIPM 2012 release notes.

The millionth package deserves a party, even in the middle of workday.

Inside the Numbers

On one hand, this was a long time coming, but on the other hand we’ve gotten here pretty quickly. We started counting in 2007, and this graph shows the total VI Packages downloaded since then.

We started off modestly; only about 100,000 packages were served the first year. After that, though, the curve starts to bend. If you divide the graph into two halves, it took about 40 months to serve the first 500,000 packages and only about 20 months to serve the next 500,000.

This acceleration is also reflected in the month-by-month package download rate:

There are some bumps in the data, but the monthly package download rate has been increasing linearly ever since we started tracking it and VIPM currently serves up around 30,000 packages per month.

So What Does This Mean?

This means a lot of things. Obviously, we’re proud of VIPM’s success and we hope we’re making it easier for people to create, share, and sell LabVIEW add-ons. The data, I think, implies we’re making progress there.

But more than that, it shows that the LabVIEW community and “LabVIEW Ecosystem” remain healthy, vibrant, and not just growing but accelerating. We wouldn’t have these numbers without the strong community leadership we see from OpenG, LAVA, and NI Community members.

Our data, then, doesn’t just reflect the growth of VIPM, it reflects the growth of the LabVIEW platform itself. Every day, more and more people are doing better software engineering and solving harder problems in LabVIEW. We’re proud to be a part of that, and we hope you’ll celebrate with us.

If you’re not already using VI Package Manager, why not start today? You can get the free version of VIPM by clicking Find LabVIEW Add-ons… in the LabVIEW 2011 Getting Started window or download VIPM directly from jki.net.

So Which VI Package Was #1,000,000?

Appropriately enough, the millionth package was the OpenG Toolkit (if you have VIPM, click that link to install the package). Congratulations to Jonathon Green and the whole OpenG team. Keep up the great work!

Join the discussion in the comments! Do you have an idea for an awesome LabVIEW add-on? How long do you think it will take VIPM to get to 2 million packages? Tell us below.

JKI is pleased to announce the release of VI Package Manager (VIPM) 2011.0.1. This release fixes a number of outstanding issues reported by VIPM users and community members. All users should upgrade.

If you’re already a VIPM user, you’ll be prompted to install this update the next time you launch VIPM. If you don’t have VIPM 2011 yet, get it here for free.

New Fixes in VIPM 2011.0.1

A few of the notable fixes in VIPM 2011.0.1 are listed below. Click here for the full release notes.

• Fixed an issue that made some LabVIEW Tools Network views unusable under certain Windows XP themes.
• Fixed cosmetic issues with Windows “Large Font” settings.
• Fixed an issue that broke previously-working package builds if they included hyphens and periods in their names.
• Fixed multiple causes of crashes on VIPM startup.
• Improved error message when the user tries to install a set of mutually conflicting packages.

Do you have an idea for how to improve VIPM? Is there some way VIPM can make you better at your job? Visit the VIPM Idea Exchange, where VIPM users can interact directly with each other and the VIPM development team and let us know!

We need your help to make the Idea Exchange a success. You can participate in several ways:

• Submit your own ideas – Is VIPM missing something? Is there a task that is painful for you that you wish VIPM could solve? Are we just doing it wrong? Tell us!
• Vote for existing ideas – Show your support for other ideas by voting for them. Ideas with more votes carry more weight with the development team.
• Comment on existing ideas – Help clarify and expand on ideas submitted by other users to make their ideas better.

Join the VIPM Idea Exchange today! The development cycle for VIPM 2012 will be starting soon, so get your ideas submitted before the window closes.

We will be reviewing the activity on the Idea Exchange throughout VIPM’s development. The more popular an idea is, the more likely we are to include it in the next version of VIPM. Don’t be afraid to submit off-the-wall ideas or things that you think are outside “normal” VIPM usage. We want VIPM to be the best tool to create, use, and distribute LabVIEW add-ons of every kind, so it’s important that we hear from you, no matter how you use VIPM.

The Lifecycle of an Idea

The VIPM Idea Exchange is about two-way communication between you (the users) and us (the developers). To keep you updated on the status of all the ideas, we’ve created the process below. Ideas progress through the following stages:

• Under Review – New ideas start here. The VIPM developer team will review this idea and decide what to do next. An idea can go into the Planned stage or the Declined stage next.
• Planned – This idea is slated for a future VIPM release. There is still no guarantee that an idea will make it into the final product, but the likelihood is high.
• Started – This idea is under active development (design and coding) for the next major VIPM release.
• Completed – This idea has been implemented for the next VIPM release. Development is complete and it will ship with the product.
• Declined – This idea has been rejected. We’ll provide a reason accompanying the response.

Special Thanks

JKI would like to extend a special thank-you to everyone who helped out during the beta period of the VIPM Idea Exchange. You know who you are. Your feedback and help working out the kinks and submitting the first few dozen ideas has been invaluable.

Now tell us what you want VIPM to do!

The LabVIEW Tools Network browser is included in every edition of VIPM, even the free Community Edition.

Browse the LabVIEW Tools Network from inside VIPM

Why VIPM?

Installing toolkits and reusable code in LabVIEW using Windows installers or ZIP files is complicated and error-prone, especially if you use multiple LabVIEW versions or work on lots of projects. VI Package Manager and its VI Package file format take that pain away.

VIPM safely installs packages under multiple versions of LabVIEW, and ensures that packages that depend on each other are always installed correctly. It makes it easy and safe to install and uninstall packages at any time, so you can configure your development tools correctly for any project.

It also automates all the installation, uninstallation, and management of VI packages, eliminating the potential for error that can occur when installing things manually.

VI Packages and More

You can use VIPM 2011′s LabVIEW Tools Network browser to find any Tools Network add-on. If an add-on a VI Package, VIPM installs it directly into LabVIEW with no hassle – but if it’s not, VIPM directs you to the add-on’s manual download page so you can install it yourself.

Integration with LabVIEW 2011

When you launch LabVIEW 2011, be sure to look for the new Find LabVIEW Add-ons… shortcut in the Getting Started window. This shortcut launches VIPM and opens the new LabVIEW Tools Network view.

Use VIPM to "Find LabVIEW Add-ons" right from LabVIEW 2011

Do You Have an Add-on for the Tools Network?

If you’re a LabVIEW add-on developer, the LabVIEW Tools Network is a free and easy way to distribute your LabVIEW add-on to thousands of LabVIEW users. If you are interested in listing a product on on the Tools Network, visit NI’s LabVIEW Tools Network site and click Contribute an Add-On to the Tools Network or just click this link to get started.

Start Using VIPM 2011 Today!

If you’re not yet a VIPM user, download it and get started!  VIPM Community Edition is free and allows you to install all the great LabVIEW add-ons from the LabVIEW Tools Network and the LabVIEW community.  You can also build your own LabVIEW add-ons to share with coworkers and friends!

If you already use VIPM, just launch it and VIPM will prompt you to download the update.  If it doesn’t, select Help >> Check for VI Package Manager Update from the menu bar.

Note: All VIPM upgrades are free for VIPM Professional and VIPM Enterprise users with a current license subscription. If your subscription has expired, you may want to renew it before upgrading.  Upgrading an expired VIPM Professional or Enterprise installation will cause it to revert to Community Edition, which may not be what you want.

Chris’s UK-based team is responsible for designing, manufacturing and testing satellite payload equipments (yes, equipments*!), typically radio frequency (RF) equipment such as frequency converters, power amplifiers, and digital signal processing (DSP) hardware. Their satellites handle everything from Earth observation to space exploration and telecommunications infrastructure.

Astrium-built Hot Bird 7 Satellite. Photo ©Astrium

As Chris so eloquently put it, “there are no field returns from space.” If something breaks, it stays broken and it may compromise the whole mission! That means Astrium products must provide 100% reliable in-orbit service. To ensure this level of quality, Chris’s team runs tests of all kinds, from physical tests such as shock and vibration to system performance test in a thermal vacuum. They test everything from single hybrid subassemblies (the building blocks) to complete functional systems, such as multi-channel frequency converters and solid state power amplifiers. Some of these test campaigns are months in duration.

Chris’s large team had a code base of tens of thousands of VIs with lots of duplication and no clear ownership of the code. They knew they needed a VI reuse library so that team members could own various parts of the code, test them thoroughly, and make them available to everyone.

Chris and his team used JKI’s VI Package Manager to promote LabVIEW code reuse, create a central VI repository, and eliminate duplication of work. As an added benefit, they can now instantly recreate any LabVIEW project environment if the shipping product needs support.

Read the case study to learn how.

What’s your favorite LabVIEW-powered space application? Leave a comment and tell us…

* “Equipments” is a space industry term! Didn’t you know?

About 6 years ago, Christian’s Systems Engineering group at NI started focusing heavily on creating reference designs, components and code libraries they wanted to share with customers. Their goal was to take code created for individual customers – basically proofs of concepts – and turn those VIs into more general libraries they could share online with other customers.

VIPM installs your reusable VIs directly into the LabVIEW palettes

In the process, they encountered all the normal roadblocks and pain points of LabVIEW code distribution. They found it too clumsy to use Windows installers together with the LabVIEW Application Builder. Worse, this method caused problems with dependencies and versioning, and it required too much documentation. The other common VI distribution method, distributing VIs in ZIP files, created too much of a manual and error-prone installation process for customers.

JKI’s VI Package Manager software avoids all of these problems.  When VIPM Community Edition added the ability to build packages for free, the Systems Engineering group quickly adopted it and began using it to build their own LabVIEW reuse libraries as well as libraries and reference designs for NI customers. And now that VIPM powers the LabVIEW Tools Network and is recognized by NI as a preferred method to distribute LabVIEW add-ons, it’s an even more convenient solution for the NI Systems Engineering group… one they can easily recommend to their customers.  

Download the case study today and learn how VIPM helped NI Systems Engineering…

• Support better engineering processes by reusing code
• Improve collaboration among global teams
• Reduce opportunity for VI installation errors
• Save time in creating and distributing reusable LabVIEW code
• Motivate the team to produce better code (because they know others will see it!)

Has your team had good experiences with VI Packages? Or bad ones? Leave a comment to help guide others…

Life's Fluidics Test Screen

The Challenge: Produce a complete software solution to operate a trio of products that prepares samples for DNA sequencing using the latest techniques. The system needed to include commercial shipping software along with software tools for R&D feasibility, manufacturing and field service. Life needed to deliver robust software within a compressed schedule of nine months – without an established software development infrastructure.

The Solution: To meet their tight deadlines and stringent requirements for system quality and functionality, Life leveraged JKI’s commercial software development tools and expertise from our NI Certified LabVIEW Architects to create a flexible, extensible suite of software products in LabVIEW. Together with JKI’s Rapid Application Framework for LabVIEW and VI Package Manager, LabVIEW enabled the seamless development of a fully configurable software solution that satisfied ever-evolving hardware and user interface needs.

Want to learn how LabVIEW helps prepare DNA samples and see how Life’s system works? Read the full case study, LabVIEW Accelerates Next Generation DNA Sequencing.

JKI is pleased to announce the release of VIPM 2010 Community Edition for Mac OS X.  JKI strongly recommends all OS X users upgrade to take advantage of literally hundreds of new features and speed improvements we’ve added to VIPM since VIPM 2.0, the last OS X-compatible version.

VIPM 2010 for Mac OS X allows users to download and install LabVIEW add-ons from the LabVIEW Tools Network, install VI Packages, and apply VI Package Configuration files created by VIPM for Windows.  It also adds support for LabVIEW 2010 and beyond. We’re extremely excited that VIPM can now support cross-platform installation of the latest LabVIEW add-ons.  (Note: you can’t actually build packages with it yet due to some outstanding bugs; we’re working on it.)

How to Get VIPM 2010 for Mac OS X

If you’re already a VIPM user, VIPM will notify you that there’s a new version available the next time you launch it, or you can select Help >> Check for VI Package Manager Update from the menu bar. You can also download VIPM directly.

If you’re not already using VIPM, what are you waiting for? Download VIPM Community for free and install all the great LabVIEW add-ons available from the LabVIEW Tools Network, JKI, OpenG.org, and more!

JKI is pleased to announce the second maintenance release of VIPM 2010.  We recommend all VIPM 2010 users upgrade.

This release contains mostly fixes for bugs reported by VIPM users, but we’ve also made a few improvements.  You can read all about it in the Release Notes.

How to Get VIPM 2010

If you’re already a VIPM user, VIPM will notify you that there’s a new version available the next time you launch it, or you can select Help >> Check for VI Package Manager Update from the menu bar. Of course, you can also download VIPM directly.

If you’re new to VIPM, what are you waiting for? Download VIPM Community for free now and get started with all the great LabVIEW add-ons available from the LabVIEW Tools Network, JKI, OpenG.org, and more!