1. A computer-implemented method for creating a prototype that includes motion control, machine vision, and data acquisition (DAQ) functionality, the method comprising: displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) that provides GUI access to a set of operations, wherein the set of operations includes one or more motion control operations, one or more machine vision operations, and one or more DAQ operations; receiving user input to the graphical user interface specifying a sequence of operations, wherein the specified sequence of operations includes at least one motion control operation, at least one machine vision operation, and at least one data acquisition operation; and storing information representing the specified sequence of operations in a data structure, wherein the specified sequence of operations comprises the prototype.