Chapter 3
Install the NI-488.2 Software for MS-DOS
© National Instruments Corp.
3-7
GPIB-232CT-A for MS-DOS/Windows
If you have performed these steps and there is still a problem, refer to
Appendix C, Troubleshooting, for more information on installing or using
the NI-488.2 software.
If no errors occurred, you can proceed to learn how to use the software and
how to develop your application program.
Step 4. Developing Your Application Program
There are two tools that are useful for developing your application program:
IBIC.EXE
and
APPMON.EXE
.
Interactive Control Program (IBIC)
The easiest way to learn to communicate with your instrument is by
controlling it interactively. Located in your GPIB directory is the Interface
Bus Interactive Control program called
IBIC.EXE
. You can use this
program to communicate with your instrument; the program displays the
status and any error after each NI-488.2 call.
With
IBIC
, you can program your instruments interactively from the
keyboard rather than from an application program. Using
IBIC
helps you
quickly understand how the instruments and the NI-488.2 software work.
IBIC
is fully described in Chapter 6, IBIC, of the NI-488.2 Software
Reference Manual for MS-DOS.
While running
IBIC
, you should study the descriptions of each function
given to fully understand their purpose or you can use the online help
available if you have questions.
To use
IBIC.EXE
, connect your instrument to the bus and enter the
following commands:
cd \
dir
where
dir
is the name of the directory to which
INSTALL
copied the
NI -488.2 software. By default,
dir
is
c:\GPIB-CT
.
IBIC
You are now ready to begin developing applications. Refer to Chapter 6,
IBIC, of the NI -488.2 Software Reference Manual for MS-DOS to get
started.
