 | Visual Studio Projects for an IVI.NET Driver |
Nimbus supplies two custom project types to the Visual Studio project system that enable IVI.NET driver development, documentation, and installation.
IVI.NET Driver Help Project
This project type is used to build the IVI.NET driver help file(s) for an associated IVI.NET driver. Each help project is associated with a single IVI.NET driver project, and includes the help template files used to control the look and feel of the driver documentation being produced. A driver help project may be created by the IVI.NET Driver Wizard based on your selections, or added to the driver solution later.
IVI.NET Driver Setup Project
This project type is used to build the IVI.NET driver installer for an associated IVI.NET driver. Each setup project is associated with a single IVI.NET driver project, and includes the WiX source files used to produce the driver installer (MSI). A driver setup project may be created by the IVI.NET Driver Wizard based on your selections, or added to the driver solution later.
In addition to the above custom project types, Nimbus also supports adding three standard Visual Studio project types to a driver solution.
Unit Test Project
This is a standard Visual Studio project type that enables unit testing of IVI.NET drivers. Although Nimbus leverages the standard Visual Studio unit testing framework, the Nimbus driver automatically adds and removes unit test methods from this project as you interact with the Nimbus driver designer.
C# Console Application
This is a standard Visual Studio project type for building a console application using C#. After adding this type of project to a driver solution, Nimbus performs no further modifications. This provides a convenient way to create a starter application associated with your driver that can be used for additional testing or as sample code.
Visual Basic Console Application
This is a standard Visual Studio project type for building a console application using Visual Basic. After adding this type of project to a driver solution, Nimbus performs no further modifications. This provides a convenient way to create a starter application associated with your driver that can be used for additional testing or as sample code.
Managing Multiple Drivers in a SolutionIn some situations, it may be desirable to manage multiple IVI drivers in a single solution. Since a Nimbus IVI driver project is simply another type of Visual Studio project, this can be supported using standard Visual Studio techniques.
To add a Nimbus driver project to an existing solution
From Solution Explorer, right-click on the Solution node.
Choose Add and then either New Project... or Existing Project....
For a new Nimbus IVI driver project, choose Nimbus Projects from the New Project Wizard and proceed as usual with the New IVI.NET Driver Wizard. For an existing Nimbus IVI driver project, browse to the .csproj file for the desired driver.
The added Nimbus IVI driver project will be loaded into Visual Studio with all of its associated projects -- setup, installer, unit test, etc. A separate Nimbus node with its subnodes will appear in Solution Explorer.
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