©
National Instruments Corporation
B-1
PCI-DIO-96/PXI-6508/PCI-6503 User Manual
B
Register-Level Programming
This appendix describes in detail the address and function of each PCI-DIO-96, PXI-6508,
and PCI-6503 register, contains instructions on how to operate DIO board circuitry, and
provides examples of the programming steps necessary to execute an operation.
Note
Current revisions of the NI PCI-DIO-96 and PXI-6508 no longer support the
OKI 82C53 programmable interval timer. If you are using a PCI-DIO-96 revision G
or earlier or PXI-6508 revision D or earlier, refer to the information in this appendix.
Note
If you plan to use a programming software package such as LabVIEW,
LabWindows/CVI, NI-DAQmx, or Traditional NI-DAQ (Legacy) with your DIO board,
you need not read this appendix.
While it is possible to program your DAQ device at the register level, National Instruments
strongly recommends using NI-DAQmx, Traditional NI-DAQ (Legacy), or driver software
and application development software such as LabVIEW, Measurement Studio for Visual
Studio .NET, or LabWindows/CVI to program your NI PCI-DIO-96, PXI-6508, and
PCI-6503 device for improved productivity. NI-DAQmx and Traditional NI-DAQ (Legacy)
software provides easier programming with the same flexibility as register-level
programming.
NI-DAQmx and Traditional NI-DAQ (Legacy) driver software will not work for your
programming needs in some cases, however. For example, if you are programming your
82C53 for hardware-timed interrupts or you are programming your DAQ device in an OS
that is unsupported in NI-DAQmx or Traditional NI-DAQ (Legacy), NI-DAQmx Base
software could be used as an alternative. If your OS is also unsupported in NI-DAQmx
Base, you would then need to program your device using this appendix.
The NI Measurement Hardware Driver Development Kit (MHDDK) provides
register-level programming examples and a bus interface for many operating systems. The
MHDDK is a good starting point for developing a custom driver. You will also need the
register map in this appendix. Note that some advanced functionalities such as interrupts
are only covered in the examples in this appendix and not in the MHDDK examples. To
access this document, go to
ni.com/info
and enter the info code
mhddk
.