Introduction
Chapter 1
NI-488.2M UM for Windows NT
1-6
© National Instruments Corp.
For high-speed operation, the following restrictions apply:
•
All devices in the system must be powered on.
•
Cable lengths as short as possible up to a maximum of 15 m of cable for each
system.
•
With at least one equivalent device load per meter of cable.
If you want to exceed these limitations, you can use bus extenders to increase the cable
length or expander to increase the number of device loads. Extenders and expanders are
available from National Instruments.
The following sections describe the NI-488.2M software, which controls the flow of
communication on the GPIB.
The NI-488.2M Software Elements
The following section highlights important elements of the NI-488.2M software for
Windows NT and describes the function of each element.
NI-488.2M Driver and Driver Utilities
The distribution disk contains the following driver and utility files:
•
readme.txt
is a documentation file that contains important information about the
NI-488.2M software and a description of any new features. Before you use the
software, read this file for the most recent information.
•
gpibclsd.sys
is the Windows NT kernel driver that implements the NI-488.2
device-level functions.
•
gpibclsb.sys
is the Windows NT kernel driver that implements the NI-488.2
board-level functions.
•
gpib
xxxx .sys
(where
xxxx
represents a particular type of GPIB hardware–for
example,
gpib-mc.sys
for the MC-GPIB board or
gpibatnt.sys
for the
AT-GPIB/TNT board) is the Windows NT kernel driver that implements
hardware-specific features of the NI-488.2M software.
•
gpib-32.dll
is a 32-bit dynamic link library that acts as the interface between all
applications and the kernel mode GPIB driver.
•
ibic.exe
is an interactive control program that you use to communicate with the
GPIB devices interactively using NI-488.2 functions and routines. It helps you to
learn the NI-488.2 routines and to program your instrument or other GPIB devices.
