Chapter 1
Introduction
1-2
©
National Instruments Corporation
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NI-DAQ for Macintosh
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NI-DAQ for PC compatibles
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VirtualBench
❑
Your computer
Unpacking
Your PCI-1200 is shipped in an antistatic package to prevent electrostatic
damage to the board. Electrostatic discharge can damage several
components on the board. To avoid such damage in handling the board,
take the following precautions:
•
Ground yourself via a grounding strap or by holding a grounded object.
•
Touch the antistatic package to a metal part of your computer chassis
before removing the board from the package.
•
Remove the board from the package and inspect the board for loose
components or any other sign of damage. Notify National Instruments
if the board appears damaged in any way.
Do not
install a damaged
board into your computer.
•
Never
touch the exposed pins of connectors.
Software Programming Choices
There are several options to choose from when programming your
National Instruments DAQ or SCXI hardware. You can use LabVIEW,
LabWindows/CVI, ComponentWorks, VirtualBench, NI-DAQ, or
register-level programming.
National Instruments Application Software
ComponentWorks contains tools for data acquisition and instrument
control built on NI-DAQ driver software. ComponentWorks provides a
higher-level programming interface for building virtual instruments
through standard OLE controls and DLLs. With ComponentWorks, you
can use all of the configuration tools, resource management utilities, and
interactive control utilities included with NI-DAQ.
LabVIEW features interactive graphics, a state-of-the-art user interface,
and a powerful graphical programming language. The LabVIEW Data
Acquisition Virtual Instrument (VI) Library, a series of VIs for using
LabVIEW with National Instruments DAQ hardware, is included with