Chapter 1 Introduction
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National Instruments Corporation 1-3 DAQArb 5411 Use r Manual
Software Programming Choices
There are several options to choose from when programming your
National Instruments DAQ hardware. You can use LabVIEW,
LabWindows/CVI, or VirtualBench.

National Instruments Application Software

LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI are innovative program development
software packages for data acquisition and control applications.
LabVIEW uses graphical programming, whereas LabWindows/CVI
enhances traditional programming languages. Both packages include
extensive libraries for data acquisition, instrument control, data
analysis, and graphical data presentation.
LabVIEW features interactive graphics, a state-of-the-art user
interface, and a powerful graphical programming language. The
LabVIEW Data Acquisition VI Library, a series of virtual instruments
(VIs) for using LabVIEW with National Instruments DAQ hardware, is
included with LabVIEW.
Note: DAQArb 5411 devices can use only the Advanced Analog Output VIs in
LabVIEW for analog output functions.
LabWindows/CVI features interactive graphics, a state-of-the-art user
interface, and uses the ANSI standard C programming language. The
LabWindows/CVI Data Acquisition Library, a series of functions for
using LabWindows/CVI with National Instruments DAQ hardware, is
included with the NI-DAQ software kit.
Using LabVIEW or LabWindows/CVI software will greatly reduce the
development time for your data acquisition and control application.
VirtualBench is a suite of VIs that allows you to use your data
acquisition products just as you use standalone instruments, but you
benefit from the processing, display, and storage capabilities of PCs.
VirtualBench instruments load and save waveform data to disk in the
same forms used in popular spreadsheet programs and word processors.
A report generation capability complements the raw data storage by
adding timestamps, measurements, user name, and comments.
The complete VirtualBench suite contains VirtualB ench- Arb,
VirtualBench-Function Generator, VirtualBench-Scope,
VirtualBench-DSA, VirtualBench-DMM, and VirtualBench-Logger.