Storing Data and Reducing Data Copies with Data Value References

Because LabVIEW copies data frequently, applications with large data sets might experience slower performance and out of memory errors. You can help manage memory and avoid frequent data copies by using data value references to store large data sets.

The following block diagram shows how to access and operate on the data stored at the location the data value reference points to.

Note You can enable read-only access to the data value reference by right-clicking the border node on the right of the structure and selecting AllowParallel Read-Only Access. When the border node on the right is unwired, LabVIEW allows multiple, concurrent read-only operations and does not modify the data value reference.

Storing and Reducing Copies of External Data

External data value references are similar to data value references except they work directly with data owned by components external to LabVIEW, like the direct memory access (DMA) buffer of a device driver that controls a data-streaming device. You can work with this external data without incurring a copy to bring the data into LabVIEW. If a device driver supports an external data value reference, you can interact with the external data similarly to the way you interact with data value references. You also can use the Advanced TDMS VIs and functions to interact with external data value references.

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