Chapter 1
Introduction
©
National Instruments Corporation
1-5
VXIpc 800/700 Series User Manual
Series or VXIpc-745, or through a PCMCIA slot on the VXIpc-740. The
GPIB interface on your VXIpc controller is fully compatible with the
NI-488.2 driver for a variety of operating systems. Any software using
NI-488.2 will run on the VXIpc 800/700.
You can also use the National Instruments LabVIEW and
LabWindows/CVI application programs and instrument drivers to ease
your programming task. These standardized programs match the
modular virtual instrument capability of VXI and can reduce your
VXI/VMEbus software development time. These programs are fully
VXIplug&play compliant and feature extensive libraries of VXI
instrument drivers written to take full advantage of direct VXI control.
LabVIEW is a complete programming environment that departs from
the sequential nature of traditional programming languages and features
a graphical programming environment.
LabWindows/CVI is an interactive 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.
LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI include all the tools needed for
instrument control, data acquisition, analysis, and presentation. When
you order the LabVIEW Full Development System for Windows or the
LabWindows/CVI Full Development System for Windows, you also get
more than 500 complete instrument drivers, which are modular,
source-code programs that handle the communication with your
instrument to speed your application development.
Hardware Description
The VXIpc 800 Series controllers feature a modular, PCI-based local
bus design that makes it easy to use interchangeable daughterboards to
upgrade your controller to new microprocessors, without having to
replace the motherboard or enclosure.
The VXIpc 800 Series currently consists of two models—the
VXIpc-850 and the VXIpc-860—which vary in processors and speeds.
The VXIpc 700 Series consists of two models—the VXIpc-740 and the
VXIpc-745. Both models use a 486 class microprocessor running at
100 MHz.