NI LabVIEW 2010 Optimizes Compiler for Faster Code Execution

NI Also Includes LabVIEW Add-On Developer Program to Expand the Platform with New Functionality and to New Applications

AUSTIN, Texas, August 2, 2010 - NIWeek - National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) today announced LabVIEW 2010
(www.ni.com/labview/whatsnew), the latest version of the graphical
programming environment for design, test, measurement and control
applications. LabVIEW 2010 delivers time savings with new features such as
off-the-shelf compiler technologies that execute code an average of 20
percent faster and a comprehensive marketplace for evaluating and purchasing
add-on toolkits for easily integrating custom functionality into the
platform. For field-programmable gate array (FPGA - www.ni.com/fpga)
users, LabVIEW 2010 delivers a new IP Integration Node that makes it possible
to integrate any third-party FPGA IP into LabVIEW applications and is
compatible with the Xilinx CORE Generator. National Instruments also
implemented more than a dozen new features suggested by lead users through
the LabVIEW Idea Exchange (www.ni.com/ideas), an online feedback forum
that marks a significant new level of collaboration between NI R&D and
customers.

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Introduced in 1986, LabVIEW abstracts the complexity of programming by
giving users drag-and-drop, graphical function blocks and wires that resemble
a flowchart to develop their sophisticated systems. LabVIEW offers
integration with thousands of hardware devices, provides hundreds of built-in
libraries for advanced analysis and data visualization and is scalable across
multiple OSs and targets such as x86 processors, real-time OSs (RTOSs) and
FPGAs. From the LEGO(R) MINDSTORMS(R) NXT robotics kit to the CERN Large
Hadron Collider (sine.ni.com/cs/app/doc/p/id/cs-10795), a large
spectrum of users worldwide has adopted LabVIEW.

"LabVIEW users are some of the most innovative people in the world, and
their input helps us make LabVIEW an ever more effective and productive
programming tool," said Jeff Kodosky, National Instruments business and
technology fellow, cofounder and 'father of LabVIEW.' "With LabVIEW 2010, we
have taken their feedback and suggestions and opened up the platform to
further customization so that our customers and partners can expand LabVIEW
to new applications that have not yet experienced the power and efficiency of
graphical programming."

Executing Code Faster

Key to the productivity delivered by LabVIEW is the compiler, which
abstracts tasks such as memory allocation and thread management. The compiler
hierarchy has evolved over the lifetime of LabVIEW to become smarter and more
optimized. With LabVIEW 2010, the compiler data flow intermediate
representation has been further optimized, and Low-Level Virtual Machine
(LLVM), an open source compiler infrastructure, has been added to the
software's compiler flow to accelerate code execution. National Instruments
has conducted benchmarks ranging from real-world customer applications to
low-level functions, and the new compiler delivers an average improvement of
20 percent across these benchmarks.

Extending the LabVIEW Platform through Partnerships

With the release of LabVIEW 2010, National Instruments is introducing the
LabVIEW Add-On Developer Program to give thousands of partners the
opportunity to expand the platform and introduce custom functionality into
LabVIEW. The program establishes an online marketplace as part of the updated
LabVIEW Tools Network for developers to offer their free and paid toolkits
and a comprehensive location for LabVIEW users to browse, download, evaluate
and purchase the add-ons. More than 50 add-ons from NI and third-party
developers are available, including code reuse libraries, templates, UI
controls and connectors to other software packages. Additionally, LabVIEW
users can use the VI Package Manager from JKI to connect directly to the
LabVIEW Tools Network from their desktop and manage add-on installations and
updates.

Additionally, National Instruments has partnered with leading technology
providers such as Xilinx to further open up the LabVIEW environment. One
example in LabVIEW 2010 is the new IP Integration Node, which makes it
possible for users to integrate any third-party FPGA IP into the LabVIEW FPGA
Module and offers direct compatibility with cores created with the Xilinx
CORE Generator.

Delivering What Customers Want

During the development of LabVIEW 2010, NI R&D used the new LabVIEW Idea
Exchange on www.ni.com/ideas to solicit feature ideas from customers.
In addition to submitting new ideas, customers can use the exchange to
collaborate on suggestions submitted by others and vote on their favorite
features. Fourteen popular submissions from the LabVIEW Idea Exchange were
implemented in LabVIEW 2010 including many that improve code documentation
and organization.

LabVIEW 2010 also uses customer feedback to deliver new features that
make getting started easier. For example, LabVIEW now provides a new hardware
configuration tool that makes it possible for users to access and configure
their LabVIEW Real-Time (www.ni.com/realtime/software.htm) targets
remotely via a Web browser. Other features include a smart installer that
automatically detects the software associated with a serial number for faster
installation and an improved instrument driver finder that offers prebuilt
project examples for specific instruments.

Adding Functionality for Large Application Development

For more advanced users and development groups, LabVIEW 2010 includes new
features that improve interfaces to reusable code, group VIs and their
hierarchy for faster build times and separate the VI source code from the
compiled version to aid in source code management. These capabilities are
ideal for large group development where code maintenance across many users,
software versions and computer platforms is critical.

Readers interested in learning more about LabVIEW 2010 and downloading
the evaluation software can visit www.ni.com/labview/whatsnew. Members
of the LabVIEW service maintenance and support program will receive LabVIEW
2010 automatically in the mail or can download the new version from the NI
Services Resource Center at www.ni.com/src. Readers whose software is
part of a company-wide Volume License Agreement (VLA) should contact their
VLA administrators for special installation instructions.

About National Instruments

National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way
engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for
measurement, automation and embedded applications. NI empowers customers with
off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective
hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 30,000 different companies
worldwide, with no one customer representing more than 3 percent of revenue
and no one industry representing more than 15 percent of revenue.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 5,000 employees and direct
operations in more than 40 countries. For the past 11 years, FORTUNE magazine
has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America. Readers
can obtain investment information from the company's investor relations
department by calling +1-512-683-5090, e-mailing nati@ni.com or visiting
www.ni.com/nati. (NATI-G)

    Pricing and Contact Information

    NI LabVIEW 2010                        11500 N Mopac Expwy, Austin, Texas
    Priced* from US$1,249; euro 1,299;     78759-3504
     yen 175,000                           Tel: +1-800-258-7022,
    Web: www.ni.com/labview/whatsnew       Fax: +1-512-683-9300
                                           E-mail: info@ni.com

*All prices are subject to change without notice.

LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, ni.com and NIWeek are trademarks of
National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks
or trade names of their respective companies.

    Editor Contact:         Hilary Marchbanks, +1-512-683-5937

    Reader Contact:         Ernest Martinez, +1-800-258-7022

Editors, Hilary Marchbanks, +1-512-683-5937, or Readers, Ernest Martinez, +1-800-258-7022