Chapter 1
Introduction
©
National Instruments Corporation
1-3
NI-DAQ Driver Software
The NI-DAQ driver software is included at no charge with all National
Instruments DAQ devices. NI-DAQ has an extensive library of functions
that you can call from your application programming environment. These
functions include routines for 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, RTSI,
self-calibration, messaging, and acquiring data to extended memory.
NI-DAQ also internally handles the complex communication between the
computer and the plug-in device, such as programming interrupts and
DMA controllers. NI-DAQ maintains a consistent software interface
among its different versions so that you can change platforms with minimal
modifications to your code. Figure 1-1 illustrates the relationship between
NI-DAQ and your National Instruments application software.
Figure 1-1.
The Relationship between the Programming Environment,
NI-DAQ, and Your Hardware
ComponentWorks,
LabVIEW,
LabWindows/CVI,
or VirtualBench
Third-Party
Programming
Environment
NI-DAQ
Driver Software
DAQ or
SCXI Hardware