Chapter 1 Introduction
Serial for Windows NT
1-4
©
National Instruments Corporation
with standard PC COM ports. The serial hardware contains FIFOs
(First-In-First-Out buffers) for reduced susceptibility to interrupt latency
and faster transmission rates. Full Plug and Play compatibility gives you
the convenience of switchless configuration and installation. Refer to
Appendix A, Specifications, for more information about the serial
hardware specifications and operating conditions.
NI Serial Software Overview
The NI Serial software for Windows NT includes a native Windows NT
kernel driver that can provide full interrupt-driven, buffered I/O for
multiple COM ports. Using this driver, you can obtain a maximum baud
rate of 115.2 kbytes/s. The NI Serial software also provides a
configuration utility, which is integrated with the Windows NT Control
Panel. Refer to Appendix A, Specifications, for more information about
software specifications and recommended operating conditions.
The NI Serial software includes the following components:
•
Device driver
•
Diagnostic test
•
Configuration utility
Optional Programming Tools
Your kit includes the NI Serial software for Windows 95 and
Windows NT. In addition, you can order the LabWindows
®
/CVI or
LabVIEW software from National Instruments. LabWindows/CVI and
LabVIEW include instrument driver libraries that make it easier to
communicate with your serial instruments.
LabWindows/CVI is an interactive ANSI C development environment for
building test and measurement and instrument control systems. It
includes interactive code-generation tools and a graphical editor for
building custom user interfaces. It also includes built-in libraries for
IEEE 488.2, VXI, RS-232 control, and plug-in data acquisition. When
you order LabWindows/CVI, you also get hundreds of complete
instrument drivers, which are modular, source-code programs that handle
the communication with your instrument so that you do not have to learn
the programming details.
