From Block Diagrams To Graphical Programs In Dsp

Recent Control Systems, Communication Systems and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) courses have relied heavily on MATLAB and/or C, representing the state of the art in textual programming, for their standard computer tools. Many textbooks are published containing examples, if not sections, utilizing these textual languages. Whereas this environment may be efficient in manipulating equations, textual implementation of processes best described by block diagrams loses its intuitive substance. In this paper, we will describe experiences in a DSP course with an alternative graphical programming environment, namely LabVIEW, from both a student’s and an instructor’s perspective. We will describe the adjustments that have to be made by individuals trained in conventional, textual programming environments during the transition to the graphical environment. We will give examples of implementations that are better left graphical, such as direct form, canonical, transpose of canonical and cascade realizations of IIR filters. We will conclude with a summary of student feedback on the effectiveness of the graphical programming environment in the presentation of DSP topics.