Labels in Web Dynpro's

Has anybody had any trouble getting labels to display in a view at runtime - I have concluded that this is perhaps a bug, but would like to confirm. I have checked and rechecked the properties of labels with no luck.

Secondly, I am having a little trouble getting my mind round the API. How would one get a handle on a label or input at runtime to set it's properties?

Many thanks,

Rowan