Chapter 1 Introduction
DAQCard E Series User Manual 1-2

National Instruments Corporation

What You Need to Get Started

To set up and use your DAQCard E Series card, you will need the
following:

One of the following cards:
DAQCard-AI-16E-4
DAQCard-AI-16XE-50

DAQCard E Series User Manual

One of the following software packages and documentation
NI-DAQ for PC compatibles
LabVIEW for PC compatibles
LabWindows/CVI

Your computer

Software Programming Choices

There are several options to choose from when programming your
National Instruments DAQ and SCXI hardware. You can use
LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, NI-DAQ, or register-level
programming.

LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI 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 VIs for using
LabVIEW with National Instruments DAQ hardware, is included with
LabVIEW. The LabVIEW Data Acquisition VI Library is functionally
equivalent to the NI-DAQ software.
LabWindows/CVI features interactive graphics, a state-of-the-art user
interface, and uses the ANSI standard C programming language. The