Test steps

The test steps put the calls to Nominal in your sequence, so you choose what gets logged and when. They need your API key in StationGlobals.nominal_api_key; see Connect to Nominal.

The steps follow the lifecycle of the LabVIEW® client: connect with your API key, locate a dataset by RID or find an asset and associate a dataset with it, open a stream, log against that stream, then close the stream and the connection.

For logging, Stream Points to Channel, Stream Array to Channel, and Stream Waveform to Channel cover data your sequence already holds as an array or a waveform. When a sequence produces one reading at a time, the point buffer and batch buffer collect values and flush them in a single call, which keeps array manipulation out of TestStand®. The batch buffer stores a channel name per series, so it suits several instruments at once, while the point buffer is the simpler choice for a single one.

The example sequence shows the whole arrangement end to end. The Reference lists every step and its parameters.

Variables the steps expect

Each step’s parameters default to these variables, so a sequence that declares them can use the steps without changing their parameters.

Variable	Type	Holds
StationGlobals.nominal_api_key	String	Your API key
Locals.nominal	Object Reference	The connection to Nominal
Locals.asset, Locals.dataset, Locals.channel, Locals.run, Locals.event	Object Reference	The asset, dataset, channel, run or event a step finds or creates
Locals.stream	Number	The stream
Locals.pointbuffer, Locals.buffer	Number	The point buffer and the batch buffer