National Instruments 320685D-01 Creating Static Libraries in LabWindows/CVI

Chapter 3 Windows95/NT Compiler/Linker Issues

National Instruments Corporation 3-25 LabWindows/CVI Programmer Reference Manual

If your function panel file contains help text, you can generate a Windows help file from it

using the Generate Windows Help command in the Options menu of the Function Tree

Editor window. The Create Dynamic Link Library command provides an option to include

links into the Window help file in the Type Library. These links allow Visual Basic users to

access the help information from the Type Library Browser.

Visual Basic has a more restricted set of types than C. Also, the Create Dynamic Link

Library command imposes certain requirements on the declaration of the DLL API. Use the

following guidelines to ensure that Visual Basic can use your DLL:

• Always use typedefs for structure parameters and union parameters.

• Do not use enum parameters.

• Do not use structures that require forward references or that contain pointers.

• Do not use pointer types except for reference parameters.

Creating Static Libraries in LabWindows/CVI

You can create static library (.lib) files in LabWindows/CVI for Windows 95/NT. Static

libraries are libraries in the traditional sense—a collection of object files— as opposed to a

dynamic link library or an import library. You can use ju st one p roject to create static library

files that work with all four compatible external compilers, but only if you include no object

or library files in the project.

You must have a separate project for each static library you want to create. Select Static

Library from the submenu attached to the Target command in the Build menu of the Project

window. When you select the Static Library option, the Create Static Library command

appears below the Target command in the Build menu. Refer to Chapter 4, Source,

Interactive Execution and Standard Input/Output Windows, of the LabWindows/CVI User

Manual for detailed information on the Create Static Library command.

Note If you include a .lib file in a static library project, LabWindows/CVI includes all

object modules from the .lib in the static library it creates. When you create an

executable or DLL, LabWindows/CVI uses only the necessary modules from the

.lib file.

Note Do not set the default calling convention to __stdcall if you want to create a

static library for all four compatible external compilers.