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Chapter 1 Introduction
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National Instruments Corporation 1-5 AT-MIO-16X User Manual
VirtualBench features virtual instruments that combine DAQ products,
software, and your computer to create a stand-alone instrument with the
added benefit of the processing, display, and storage capabilities of
your computer. VirtualBench instruments load and save waveform data
to disk in the same forms that can be used in popular spreadsheet
programs and word processors.
Using ComponentWorks, LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or
VirtualBench software will greatly reduce the development time for
your data acquisition and control application.
NI-DAQ Driver Software
The NI-DAQ driver software is included at no charge with all National
Instruments DAQ hardware. NI-DAQ is not packaged with SCXI or
accessory products, except for the SCXI-1200. 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
(timed D/A conversion), digital I/O, counter/timer operations, SCXI,
RTSI, self-calibration, messaging, and acquiring data to extended
memory.
NI-DAQ has both high-level DAQ I/O functions for maximum ease of
use and low-level DAQ I/O functions for maximum flexibility and
performance. Examples of high-level functions are streaming data to
disk or acquiring a certain number of data points. An example of a
low-level function is writing directly to registers on the DAQ device.
NI-DAQ does not sacrifice the performance of National Instruments
DAQ devices because it lets multiple devices operate at their peak.
NI-DAQ also internally addresses many of the complex issues between
the computer and the DAQ hardware 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. Whether you are using
conventional programming languages or National Instruments
application software, your application uses the NI-DAQ driver
software, as illustrated in Figure 1-1.