Glossary
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National Instruments Corporation
G-3
CMOS
Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor.
counter/timer
A circuit that counts external pulses or clock pulses (timing).
D
DAC
Digital-to-analog converter—an electronic device, often an integrated
circuit, that converts a digital number into a corresponding analog voltage
or current.
DAQ
See
DAQ device
A device that acquires or generates data and can contain multiple channels
and conversion devices. DAQ devices include plug-in devices, PCMCIA
cards, and DAQPad devices, which connect to a computer USB or 1394
(FireWire
®
) port. SCXI modules are considered DAQ devices.
data acquisition
(DAQ)
Acquiring and measuring analog or digital electrical signals from sensors,
transducers, and test probes or fixtures. Generating analog or digital
electrical signals.
DC
Direct current—although the term speaks of current, many different types
of DC measurements are made, including DC Voltage, DC current, and DC
power.
device
An instrument or controller you can access as a single entity that controls
or monitors real-world I/O points. A device often is connected to a host
computer through some type of communication network.
See also
.
DIO
Digital input/output.
driver
Software unique to the device or type of device, and includes the set of
commands the device accepts.
F
ft
Feet.