National Instruments SCXI-1161 User Manual

Also see for DAQ SCXI-1161: Getting started Getting started guide Getting started guide Instructions for safe use

National Instruments SCXI-1161 User Manual Manual pdf 13 page image

Chapter 1 Introduction©National Instruments Corporation1-3SCXI-1161 User ManualNI-DAQ Driver SoftwareThe NI-DAQ driver software is included at no charge with all NationalInstruments DAQ hardware. NI-DAQ is not packaged with SCXI oraccessory products, except for the SCXI-1200. NI-DAQ has anextensive library of functions that you can call from your applicationprogramming environment. These functions include routines for analoginput (A/D conversion), buffered data acquisition (high-speed A/Dconversion), 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 memory.NI-DAQ has both high-level DAQ I/O functions for maximum ease ofuse and low-level DAQ I/O functions for maximum flexibility andperformance. Examples of high-level functions are streaming data todisk or acquiring a certain number of data points. An example of alow-level function is writing directly to registers on the DAQ device.NI-DAQ does not sacrifice the performance of National InstrumentsDAQ devices because it lets multiple devices operate at their peakperformance.NI-DAQ also internally addresses many of the complex issues betweenthe computer and the DAQ hardware such as programming interruptsand DMA controllers. NI-DAQ maintains a consistent softwareinterface among its different versions so that you can change platformswith minimal modifications to your code. Whether you are usingconventional programming languages, LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI,or other application software, your application uses the NI-DAQ driversoftware, as illustrated in Figure 1-1.