LabVIEW interface for MADOCA II with key-value stores in messages

As the next generation of the Message and Database-oriented Control Architecture (MADOCA), MADOCA II is a message-driven distributed control framework that is more accommodating, e.g., it allows control on Windows operating system as well as messages consisting of data of variable. A prototype of MADOCA II was developed in the Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW) interface in 2013 and implemented on a control system in SPring-8. However, it was recognized that the interface should be easy-to-use in order to be able to implement MADOCA II in a wide variety of LabVIEW applications, especially in synchrotron radiation experiments. In this paper, we propose a redesigned LabVIEW interface to respond to this challenge. In this interface, messaging is managed through a unified method with virtual instruments (VIs) using key-value stores. As a result, applications for the client program and the equipment management server can be easily constructed. The VIs are based on a dynamic link library (DLL) developed in C++. The interface is easily upgraded by replacing the DLL, which was also applied to the Python interface. (author)