Chapter 3
Developing Your Application
©
National Instruments Corporation
3-9
VXI-1394 Interface for Windows NT/98
Debugging
National Instruments provides several useful utilities that can aid in
identifying the causes of problems in your application. These utilities
include NI Spy, VISAIC, VIC, and the NI-488.2 Troubleshooting Wizard.
NI Spy
NI Spy tracks the calls your application makes to National Instruments
T&M drivers including NI-VISA, NI-VXI, and NI-488.2. This utility
highlights functions that return errors, so you can quickly spot which
functions failed during your development. NI Spy can log the calls your
program makes to these drivers so you can check them for errors at your
convenience.
VISAIC and VIC
You can also control your instruments interactively using VISAIC and
VIC. You can use VISAIC to control and communicate with your
instruments with NI-VISA without having to write a program. VIC gives
you a similar environment that uses NI-VXI. These utilities are an excellent
platform for quickly testing instruments and learning how to communicate
with them.
Note
VISAIC finds all VXI, VME, GPIB, and serial instruments in your system.
VIC recognizes only VXI and VME instruments, not GPIB or serial instruments.
Refer to the online help for instructions on how to use VIC or VISAIC and
to learn about their features. In VIC, click on the ? button (located next
to the Go button) to get help for that page, or type
help
. You can also
right-click on a component on the screen to access What’s This help. In
VISAIC, you can right-click to reach What’s This help and function help.
NI-488.2 Troubleshooting Wizard
To troubleshoot NI-488.2 problems, run the NI-488.2 Troubleshooting
Wizard:
1.
Select Start»Programs»National Instruments NI-488.2»Explore
GPIB.
2.
Start the NI-488.2 Troubleshooting Wizard by choosing
Help»Troubleshooting»NI-488.2 Troubleshooting Wizard.
