Archived:Creating Shared Library For LabVIEW Real-Time or VeriStand on NI Linux RT Target

For New Projects, a Modernized Toolchain Is Advised Instead

This article explains how to use Eclipse C/C++ Development Tools for NI Linux Real-Time to achieve cross-compiling tasks. This toolset is not actively maintained anymore. It was last updated in 2018 and is currently not advised to be used for new projects.

Instead, NI created extensive documentation for a modernized toolchain, which is easier to learn and utilize. That documentation also provides information on typical steps, like building, deploying, and debugging a shared library. If you are planning to do C/C++ development and are searching for the right toolchain, then visit Getting Started with C/C++ Development for NI Linux Real-Time.
 

Overview of the Following Eclipse-Based Content

With NI Linux Real-Time, you can develop, debug, and deploy shared library to the open embedded processor written entirely in C or C++ using Eclipse. This article explains how you can compile your C or C++ code into a *.so shared library file to be used in NI Linux RT target with LabVIEW or VeriStand. Example projects are provided at the bottom of this page.
To develop, debug, and deploy application or executable for NI Linux Real-Time, refer to Building C/C++ Applications for NI Linux Real-Time.

Before proceed, you can check the operating system of your Real-Time target from Real-Time Controllers and Real-Time Operating System Compatibility.

Installation

To set up Eclipse with the appropriate GCC C cross-compiler for your embedded system follow the instructions in Getting Started with C/C++ Development Tools for NI Linux Real-Time, Eclipse Edition
If you are compiling .so model for VeriStand, make sure you have installed NI VeriStand Model Framework. Refer to How Do I Install the NI VeriStand Model Framework?
 

Creating a C/C++ Project 

1. Launch C/C++ Development Tools for NI Linux Real-Time, Eclipse Edition.
2. When prompted, select a folder in which to store Eclipse projects and click OK.
3. In the Eclipse welcome screen, select the Workbench icon on the far right to open the workbench view.
4. Create a new project in the C/C++ perspective by navigating to File>>New>>C Project and choosing a Shared Library project and the Cross GCC Toolchain.

5. Select both Debug and Release configurations for creation.
6.  When prompted to configure the Cross GCC prefix and path, select the appropriate path and prefix for your NI Linux Real-Time target from the list below and displayed in the following screenshot for an Intel x64 target:

7. If the source folder does not exist, right-click your project folder and select New>>Source Folder. Then import your .c file by right-clicking on your source folder and choosing Import. Select General>>File System, then browse to the directory of the existing C code to import .c file.
8. When completed, your Project Explorer pane should look like the screenshot below. In this example engine.c is the C File we want to compile into a .so file. If you are compiling the .so file for a Veristand model, you need to include ni_modelframework.c and ni_modelframework.h. Refer to Introduction to NI VeriStand Model Framework for the location of components.

9. Right-click your project in the Project Explorer tab and select Properties.
10. Select C/C++ Build in the left pane of the Properties window. Under Builder Settings tab, select Internal builder from the Builder type pull-down menu.
11. Select Settings under C/C++ Build in the left pane of the Properties dialog box. Under Tool Settings tab, navigate to Cross GCC Compiler>>Miscellaneous. In the Other flags text box, add a space after the existing text and enter one of the following values:

12. Under Tool Settings tab, navigate to Cross GCC Linker  >> Miscellaneous. Enter one of the following values into the Linker flags text box:

13. Navigate to C/C++ General>>Paths and Symbols in the left pane of the Properties window. Go there to the Symbols tab and select Add. Enter a symbol of Name kNIOSLinux , press OK and afterwards Apply.

 

14. Navigate to C/C++ Build>>Settings in the left pane of the Properties window. Under Tool Settings tab, navigate to Cross GCC Compiler >> Miscellaneous. Enable Position Independent Code option and click Apply.

    

15. Navigate to Cross GCC Compiler. In the Command text box, add a space after the existing text and enter -fvisibility=protected to instruct GCC to set the symbol visibility to protected and click Apply.

16. Go the Error Parsers tab. Make sure that only the GNU Assembler Error Parser, GNU gmake Error Parser 7.0, and the GNU Linker Error Parser options are enabled. Press Apply and afterwards OK to close the Properties window.

 

17. Right-click your project in the Project Explorer tab and select Build Project. Once complete, a .so file will be generated. 

Two example projects have been attached to this article. You can select File >> Import >> General >> Existing Project Into Workspace to import the example project into workspace of Eclipse. You then replace the .c and .h file and proceed to build the project.

• SimpleLibrary.zip contains project for simple add operation.
• EngineModel.zip contains project for VeriStand model created from C:\VeriStand\20xx\ModelInterface\custom\examples\engine

Next Steps

You can proceed to import and use the shared library in LabVIEW or VeriStand.