Chapter 3 Developing Your Application
©
National Instruments Corporation 3-7 VXI/VMEpc 600 Series for Windows 95/NT
For the Borland C compiler:
-DVXINT; BINARY_COMPATIBLE;
You will also need to link in the appropriate import library for your code.
If you are using a Microsoft C compiler, use the nivxint.lib in the
nivxi\win32\msc\ directory. If you are using a Borland C compiler, use
the nivxint.lib in the nivxi\win32\borlandc\ directory.
Refer to the documentation that came with your compiler package for
detailed instructions about using the compiler and the various tools (linker,
debugger, and so on). Your compiler documentation is an important and
useful source of information for writing, compiling, and debugging C
programs.
DebuggingNI Spy, VISAIC, and VIC are useful utilities that can aid in identifying the
causes of problems in your application.
NI Spy tracks the calls your application makes to National Instruments
T&M drivers including NI-VXI, NI-VISA, and NI-488.2. NI-488.2 users
may notice that NI Spy is very similar to GPIB Spy. It 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.
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.
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 (next to the
Gobutton) to get help for that page, or you can 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.