T&M-application-development package should please loyal users and attract new ones
By Dan Strassberg -- EDN, March 18, 2004
Agilent Technologies’ VEE (Visual Engineering Environment) graphical package for developing measurement, control, test, and data-acquisition applications doesn’t have the largest market share, but it does have a loyal following (Picture). Agilent says that Version 7.0’s enhancements to the open, standards-based environment will make those followers even more loyal and bring new ones into the fold. The enhancements supports a wider range of programming styles and enable developers to more intuitively accomplish even more test-system-development tasks, thus allowing more time to focus on design challenges.
The enhancements include quick, simple access to VEE from within the Microsoft .NET Framework, an open, industry-standard programming environment that expands VEE’s customization capabilities. Users need not purchase any other .NET applications; the framework is an integral Windows component for building and running next-generation software applications and Web services. For example, the framework makes it easy to programmatically create files, send an e-mail report, or invoke a Web page.
Easy-to-use development tools for VEE include undo and redo for faster program development; property editing to allow quick and easy changes to any design- or user-interface control properties; and expanded panel-editing features, such as visible grid, rubber-band, and object alignment, to simplify programming layout. The product also supports direct LAN- and USB-connected instrumentation using industry-standard protocols and support for industry-standard IVI-COM instrument drivers.
VEE Pro 7.0 sells for $1495. Upgrades from previous versions of VEE are also available, with prices starting at $389.
Agilent Technologies, 1-800-452-4844, www.agilent.com/find/vee.
