The following figure and corresponding descriptions illustrate how the major parts of a TestStand application interact.

• TestStand Sequence Editor—The TestStand Sequence Editor is a development environment in which you create, edit, execute, and debug sequences and the tests sequences call. Use the sequence editor to create and edit other components, such as step types and process models.
• TestStand User Interfaces—A TestStand User Interface is an application you deploy to a development system or a production station to provide a custom GUI for executing, debugging, or editing sequences. Simple user interfaces might only support running sequences, while more complex user interfaces or custom sequence editors might support editing, running, and debugging sequences.
• TestStand User Interface Controls—The user interfaces use the TestStand User Interface (UI) Controls, a collection of ActiveX controls for creating custom user interfaces and sequence editors in TestStand. These controls simplify common user interface tasks, such as displaying sequences and executions. You can use these controls in any programming environment that can host ActiveX controls.
• TestStand Engine—The TestStand Engine is a set of DLLs that exports an ActiveX Automation API. The TestStand Sequence Editor and UI Controls use the TestStand API, which you can call from any programming environment that supports access to ActiveX servers, including code modules you write in LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI.
• Module Adapters—The TestStand Engine uses module adapters to invoke code modules written in a variety of languages and application development environments (ADEs), including LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI. Module adapters load and call code modules, pass parameters to code modules, and return values and status from code modules. TestStand handles core test management functionality, including the definition and execution of the overall testing process, user management, report generation, database logging, and more.
• TestStand Deployment Utility—After you develop, customize, and debug a TestStand system, you can deploy the system to multiple test stations. The TestStand Deployment Utility simplifies the complex process of deploying a TestStand system by automating many of the steps involved, including collecting sequence files, code modules, configuration data for instruments, and support files for the test system. You can also use the deployment utility to create a full deployment installer or a patch deployment installer.