Chapter 1
Introduction
©
National Instruments Corporation
1-5
LabVIEW is a powerful and easy-to-use graphical programming
environment you can use to acquire data from thousands of different
instruments including USB, IEEE 488.2, VXI, serial, PLCs, and plug-in
boards. LabVIEW helps you convert acquired data into meaningful results
using powerful data analysis routines. Add-on tools provide additional
specialized functionality. For more information visit
ni.com/labview
and
ni.com/toolkits
.
If you prefer to use Microsoft’s Visual Basic, Visual C++, and
Visual Studio .NET for the core of your application, Measurement Studio
adds tools for Measurement and Automation to each language. For more
information visit
ni.com/mstudio
.
LabWindows/CVI is an interactive ANSI C programming environment
designed for building virtual instrument applications. LabWindows/CVI
delivers a drag-and-drop editor for building user interfaces, a complete
ANSI C environment for building your test program logic, and a collection
of automated code generation tools, as well as utilities for building
automated test systems, monitoring applications, or laboratory
experiments. For more information visit
ni.com/lwcvi
.
NI-DAQmx provides an extensive library of functions that you can call
from your application development environment or interactive environment
such as NI SignalExpress. These functions provide an intuitive API for
National Instruments’ multifunction DAQ products. Features available
include analog input (A/D conversion), buffered data acquisition
(high-speed A/D conversion), analog output (D/A conversion), waveform
generation, digital I/O, counter/timer operations, SCXI signal conditioning,
RTSI or PXI synchronization, self-calibration, messaging, and acquiring
data to extended memory. For more information visit
ni.com/daq
.
National Instruments’ Modular Instruments use specialized drivers suited
to each product’s specialization. Express VIs provide customized,
interactive programming of instruments in a single interface and soft front
panels provide an interface for testing the functionality of each instrument
with no programming required. NI Switches, DMMs, High-Speed DIO,
High-Speed Digitizers, and Sources each have customized drivers for
high-end modular instrumentation systems. RF applications leverage
two drivers, NI-RFSG and NI-RFSA and Dynamic Signal Acquisition is
available through NI-DAQmx. For more information visit
ni.com/
modularinstruments
.
