Data mining

National Instruments is changing the way engineers manage and mine test data with the release of NI DIAdem 10.0, the latest upgrade to its interactive software for inspecting, analysing and reporting test data.

The new version includes the DIAdem DataFinder, which gives engineers the power to perform Internet-like searches across their data files, regardless of format.

The DIAdem DataFinder uses the NI technical data management (TDM) data model as its internal data structure. TDM files, written natively using NI LabVIEW data storage VIs or NI LabWindows/CVI storage functions, provide three levels of hierarchy to structure test data – file, group and channel levels.

Although optimized to work with TDM files, the DIAdem DataFinder is capable of searching across all data files for which there is an associated DataPlugin. The DIAdem DataPlugin technology accommodates for legacy file formats, making them searchable.

Engineers can perform simple searches or even more advanced searches based on key descriptive information. For example, engineers can use the DIAdem DataFinder to search for all tests with a specific serial number, status and test type. After narrowing the data set, engineers then can use DIAdem to perform further analysis and reporting.